The Flag Football Route Tree: A Coach's Guide

If you have ever watched a football broadcast and heard the announcers talk about a "9 route" or a "post-corner", they are talking about the route tree. It is the shared language coaches and receivers use to describe where a receiver runs on any given play. Learning it makes your playbook cleaner, your play calls faster, and your receivers a lot easier to coach.

This guide walks through the standard passing tree, adapts it for flag football, and shows you when to call each route. Whether you coach 5v5, 6v6, or 7v7, the route tree gives you a shared vocabulary that will save you hours on the practice field.

What is the route tree?

The route tree is a numbered system that assigns each pass route a number, usually 0 through 9. Even numbers go toward the sideline, odd numbers go toward the middle of the field. The higher the number, the deeper the route.

At the youth and high school level, most teams use a nine-route tree that looks like this:

• 0 or 1: Quick slant or hitch
• 2: Slant
• 3: Comeback
• 4: Curl
• 5: Out
• 6: In (dig)
• 7: Corner
• 8: Post
• 9: Go (fly, streak)

You do not have to use these exact numbers. Some staffs invert the tree, some use letter codes, some just call routes by name. What matters is that every receiver on your team hears the same call and runs the same route the same way, every time.

The routes, one at a time

Here is what each route actually looks like on the field and when to use it in flag football.

The hitch (0/1)

The receiver runs three to five yards, plants hard, and turns back to the quarterback. It is the safest route in football. If the defense gives you cushion, the hitch is a free five yards on every snap.

Call it against soft coverage, on third and short, and any time you need a quick completion to move the sticks.

The slant (2)

The receiver takes two or three quick steps upfield and cuts sharply toward the middle of the field at about a 45 degree angle. The quarterback throws it right as the receiver makes the break.

Slants are your best answer to pressure. In flag football with no blocking, the rush gets to the quarterback fast. A slant gets the ball out before the flag pull.

The comeback (3)

The receiver runs 10 to 12 yards upfield, then breaks back toward the sideline and the line of scrimmage. It is a timing route and requires a quarterback who can throw with anticipation.

Comebacks are excellent against defensive backs who bail deep at the snap. In youth flag, save this one for older age groups where receivers can sell the deep route.

The curl (4)

Similar to the comeback, but the receiver breaks back toward the middle instead of the sideline. The receiver runs 8 to 10 yards, plants, and turns to find the ball in the soft spot between the linebackers and the safeties.

Curls work well against zone coverage. If you see the defense playing zone, put a curl in the seam.

The out (5)

The receiver runs 8 to 10 yards upfield and cuts sharply toward the sideline. The ball should arrive as the receiver plants and turns.

Outs are money on the sideline. In flag football, an out route near the sideline gives your receiver room to catch and turn upfield before the defender can pull the flag.

The in, or dig (6)

The mirror image of the out. The receiver runs 8 to 10 yards upfield and cuts sharply toward the middle of the field.

Digs are dangerous because they attack the middle of the field where linebackers roam. In flag, digs work best when you first pull the linebackers out of the middle with a play-action fake or a shallow crossing route.

The corner (7)

The receiver runs 8 to 12 yards upfield, then breaks at a 45 degree angle toward the back corner of the field. It is a deep route to the sideline.

The corner is a great red zone route. When the field shrinks, the corner of the end zone becomes the softest spot in almost any coverage.

The post (8)

The receiver runs 10 to 15 yards upfield, then breaks at a 45 degree angle toward the goal posts, cutting inside a defender's leverage.

Posts are your shot plays. When you know the safety is out of position or the middle of the field is open, dial up a post and take a chance.

The go, or fly (9)

Straight down the field. The receiver runs as fast as they can. The quarterback throws it deep and lets the receiver run under it.

Go routes are simple, but effective. Even if you never complete one, the threat of the go route forces the defense to stay deep and opens up all the underneath routes.

Adapting the tree for flag football

The full nine-route tree was designed for tackle football with all-day pass protection. Flag football is a shorter, faster game with a live rush and no blocking. That changes how you use the tree.

Focus on the quick game. Slants, hitches, and outs give your quarterback fast throws that beat the rush. These three routes will account for most of your completions.

Save the deep routes for the right moments. Posts and go routes are shot plays. Call them a few times a game to keep the defense honest, but do not build your offense around them.

Pair routes together. The route tree is not just a list of routes; it is a way to combine them. A slant paired with an out gives the quarterback a high-low read. A curl paired with a corner attacks two levels of the defense at once. Learn to think in combinations, not just individual routes.

For a look at how these routes fit into full play concepts, check our 7v7 flag football plays guide and our flag football plays for 11 to 14 year olds.

Teaching the tree at practice

Do not hand your 8 year old receivers a diagram and expect them to learn all nine routes in one practice. Teach the tree in layers.

Start with three routes: the hitch, the slant, and the go. Those three cover short, intermediate, and deep, and they give your quarterback something to throw against any coverage. Master those before you add anything else.

Once your receivers can run those three routes cleanly, add the out and the curl. Now you have five routes that give you a real offense.

Add the dig, corner, and post as your team matures. By the end of the season, a well-coached team can run the whole tree.

Reps matter more than variety. A team that runs five routes perfectly will beat a team that runs nine routes sloppily. Do not add complexity for its own sake.

Tracking route effectiveness

Once your team knows the tree, the next step is figuring out which routes actually work for your personnel. This is where stat tracking earns its keep. If you know that your outside receiver catches 80 percent of slants but only 40 percent of comebacks, you can call the slant more often and skip the comeback until you fix the timing.

StatHawk logs every completion, target, and route type so you can spot these patterns without keeping paper notes on the sideline. Coaches using StatHawk to track flag football stats end up with clearer game plans because they call plays based on what their team actually does well.

The bottom line

The route tree is the shared language of football offense. Teach it to your team, keep your calls simple, and pair routes into concepts that attack the defense at multiple levels. Do not overload young receivers with all nine routes at once. Start small, master the basics, and build from there.

The best offenses in flag football are not the ones with the most creative plays. They are the ones where every player knows exactly what to do, every time. The route tree is how you get there.