JV Playbook 2.5: Practicing With Low Numbers: Turning a Challenge Into a JV Advantage
If you haven’t already, check out my episode of Football Talk with Coach Chip: The Podcast. https://open.spotify.com/episode/1Gd6yJYY3uMCjuMO1mJ25z?si=M_ltVNUVSDup-_92UMtk5Q
If there’s one thing guaranteed at the JV level—other than teenagers forgetting their cleats in the car—it’s that you will not have the numbers you wish you had. Some seasons you feel like you’re running an entire platoon system and two scout teams. Other seasons, you’re lucky if you have enough kids to run inside run without your kicker filling in at guard.
But as annoying as low numbers can be, they’ve quietly become one of the best teachers I’ve ever worked with. Coaching a team with limited bodies forces creativity, forces efficiency, and forces you to cut the fluff out of your practice plan. It shines a bright light on what actually matters—fundamentals, reps, communication, and effort.
So, this article is all about how to practice effectively when your roster looks more like a basketball team than a football team, and how to turn that reality into a strength, not an excuse. Let’s dive in.
Making Team Reps Count: Creative Ways to Do More With Less
When you’ve got 22+ players, you can run clean, symmetrical 11-on-11. Everyone has a spot. The scout team looks like a scout team. The starters get clean looks. It’s a coach’s dream.
When you’ve got 18 players? Well… it’s time to get creative.
One of the best ways to keep structure to your team periods without needing a full complement of bodies is to run 11-on-7.
11-on-7 in the Run Game
Now, this sounds counterintuitive—why run the ball with no defense on the perimeter? But hear me out.
For the run game, 90% of the teaching happens inside the box. Your offensive line, tight end, fullback, and quarterback can get a full-speed run rep against a complete defensive box—DL, ILBs, and whichever OLB fits your scheme—without needing the corners and safeties.
The benefits are huge:
-Your linemen get real fits against real defenders.
-Your backs get more carries because the tempo increases without needing to reset 11 defenders.
-Your QB gets more footwork reps because it’s all quick reset and go.
-Your front-seven defenders get more triggers and fits, which is the backbone of JV defense anyway.
This setup allows you to get 15–20 quality run reps in a 10-minute period. That’s gold.
11-on-7 in the Pass Game
This is one of my favorite low-number hacks. You still use 11 on offense—because the spacing matters—and seven on defense (DL + LBs + safeties). The structure lets you:
-Work protections realistically
-Train your QB’s timing vs live defenders
-Get WRs clean routes without 11 dudes clogging space
-Coach your back-end defenders without the clutter
In full 11-on-11, the pass game gets tight and congested. With 11-on-7, you allow your skill players to work with extra clarity before everything gets condensed on game day. Plus, let’s be honest: with JV numbers, most of the time your corners are tired anyway. This helps them too.
Mixing Personnel to Increase Total Reps
At the sub-varsity level, the biggest mistake you can make is running all your starters together and all your backups together. When numbers are low, you can’t afford to do that anyway. But even if you had numbers—mixing personnel is still superior.
JV is about development. The second-teamers are tomorrow’s starters. They’ll play varsity before you know it. So instead of giving them five reps total in a team session with other backups, do this instead:
-Rotate a second-team guard in with the first-team OL.
-Sub in a second-team WR with the starters so he’s catching passes from the QB he’ll likely play with next year.
-Put backup LBs into the first-team defense for 2–3 reps at a time.
-Rotate second-string DL so they learn to fit against the best OL.
What you’re really doing here is raising their baseline of what “good football” looks like. Players learn best by competing up, not sideways. And the hidden advantage? Your starters are going to improve too. When a starter has a second-teamer next to him, one of two things happens: He communicates more, and he becomes a leader. Both are wins. You’ll hear your center explain a combo block he normally assumes the starting guard understands. You’ll watch your Sam backer correct the backup safety’s alignment. You’ll see your QB learn how to command everyone, not just the guys he’s used to. That is JV football at its best.
Half-Line: The Most Underrated Tool for Low-Number Teams
If you’re short on players and not using half-line, you’re missing the best tool in your practice toolbox. Half-line lets you isolate one side of your offense vs one side of your defense—usually 5 or 6 players each—and run full-speed reps without needing 22 players available. You get good-on-good reps without overloading players, the teaching is cleaner because it’s isolated, players get more turns because everything resets faster, and it forces technique, not survival.
When you’re low on numbers, running 11-on-11 quickly exposes your weakest links and slows everything down. But half-line lets you elevate everyone because the structure is smaller and the coaching is tighter.
Half-Line Run Game
You can coach every detail of your run game: down blocks, kick-out blocks, pull reads, backside hinges, RB tracks, LB fits, and edge leverage. Players get more reps in 10 minutes of half-line than 30 minutes of full team. This is especially crucial for offensive linemen, who need 10,000 steps, not two perfect reps.
Half-Line Pass Game
You can work quick game vs a half coverage shell, play-action footwork, outside WR releases, corner/safety leverage reads, hot throws and pressure pickups, and all without needing 22 kids. It’s concentrated, efficient, and incredibly effective when you’re trying to develop young players in a short practice window.
Using Small-Sided Competitive Drills to Increase Live Reps
Low numbers are not an obstacle—they’re an opportunity to amp up competition in small groups.
Some of the best practice drills for low-number teams include:
1v1 WR/DB (lots of turns, great conditioning, easy teaching)
Inside run 5v5
OL vs DL pass rush pods
LB vs RB blitz pickup
Kickout/fit drills for TEs and DEs
3v3 blocking/defeating blocks circuits
These drills allow you to simulate real contact and real football without needing full units. They’re also safer because fewer bodies mean fewer chaotic collisions. The secret is tempo. Everyone rotates fast. Everyone stays engaged. Everyone learns.
How to Plan a Low-Number Practice Without Losing Your Mind
The real challenge isn’t the drills—it’s the structure. A practice plan for a 45-man roster looks a lot different than a plan for 22.
Here’s how I build a low-number plan:
Conditioning Through Reps, Not Running
Low numbers often mean conditioning takes care of itself. When players get more reps, they become football-conditioned, not track-conditioned. There’s nothing wrong with a little extra run at the end of practice. But when your players are taking 30–40 team reps, 20 half-line reps, and a dozen individual technique reps, you’re building, real conditioning, real stamina, and real football shape. Every rep is a conditioning rep.
This is the silent advantage of low-number football—your players get better conditioned faster because they are constantly working.
Developing Players Faster Through More Contact With “Good” Players
One hidden gem of low-number roster sizes is your second-team players get more reps against your best players. In big programs, the backups spend most practices blocking backups, defending backups, and running scout with limited feedback. When numbers are low, though,
Your backup left tackle is blocking your best defensive end.
Your second-team corner is covering your fastest receiver.
Your backup LB is fitting against your starting RB.
This accelerates development faster than any drill you can design. Players learn best by competing against people better than they are. I’ve seen backup linemen who looked overwhelmed in Week 1 transform into capable players by Week 6 simply because they were forced to block a strong starter every day in half-line. This is the hidden gift low numbers give us.
Closing Thoughts: Low Numbers Don’t Define Your Season—They Define Your Creativity
I’ll be the first to say it: having low numbers is frustrating. It’s stressful. It forces you to rethink structure, rethink depth, and rethink how you manage practice. But low numbers don’t ruin a season. They clarify it. They make you better as a coach. They give your players more reps. They force your team to rely on fundamentals and technique. They demand efficiency, communication, and accountability.
Some of the most cohesive, toughest, most resilient JV teams I’ve ever coached were the ones where we barely had enough bodies to run scout. And year after year, those same low-number groups produced some of the strongest varsity contributors we’ve had. Low numbers aren’t a curse. They’re a challenge. And challenges build teams far better than comfort ever will.
Until next week, just remember; Teach it, rep it, build it. That’s the JV Way.
