ProgramHQ Flag

Help

Short answers for coaches, and a section for parents and players. Can't find it? Email admin@theprogramhq.com.

Getting started

Set your league's rules on the Team page: players a side, field size, rush line, pass clock and no-run zones.
Draw a play in the Playbook, or add the two starter plays (a pass and a run) to learn from.
Build a defense on the Defense tab.
Make a pack and text the link to your players and their parents.

New to it? The walkthrough builds a whole play with you in about two minutes, one step at a time.

▶ Run the walkthrough

Drawing plays

A play is built in four steps along the bottom of the editor: Formation, Draw, QB reads and Watch it.

How do I draw a route?

Put your finger (or mouse) on a player and drag where he runs, in one motion. Lift where the route ends. Don't pause before you drag, or you'll move the player instead.

How do I move a player without drawing a route?

Press and hold the player without moving, then slide him. Undo is at the top right.

How do I change how a route ends, or add a note for a kid?

Tap the player without dragging. You can change the end of the route, make cuts sharp or rounded, set when he starts, and write a note. Players see the note in their pack.

What are QB reads?

Tap receivers in the order the QB looks: 1, 2, 3. When you watch the play, the ball goes to read 1.

Can one play have different ball carriers?

Yes. Use Ball options in the QB step: the same play, with the ball going to a different player. Each option gets its own rules check, and players can flip between them in their pack.

What does the rules check mean?

The box under the field checks the play against your league's rules (for example, running in a no-run zone, or a rusher starting too close). Green means legal. It follows the rules on your Team page.

League rules and numbers

The head coach sets the league rules once on the Team page: 5v5, 6v6 or 7v7, field size, end zones, rush line, pass clock and no-run zones. The field, the formations, the rules check and the defense all follow them.

Kids' numbers: also on the Team page. Set the number each kid knows their spot by, and turn on “Show numbers instead of letters” if your team calls spots by number. A single play can still change a number just for that play. No names are needed or stored.

Defense

Start from a ready-made defense (Cover 4, Cover 2, Cover 3 and more) or from scratch. Pick your age level so the defenders react the way kids that age really do, then run it against any play in your playbook.

How do I change what a defender does?

Under “Every defender's rules”, tap a name. His rules come in three boxes: Alignment (where he lines up), At the snap (rush, spy, zone or man, and how he plays it) and After the ball (rally, square up or contain). The note box is for your players to read; it doesn't change how he plays.

Simple or Full?

Simple keeps it to the basics, which is right for young teams. Full adds man technique (over the top, trail, press) and leverage, banjo (switch) on bunch and stacks, a robber, and zone reads (pattern match): read a receiver, or two (2 to 1, 2 to 3), and for each release take him, carry or sink under another receiver, or stay in the zone. Mix man and zone defenders for combo coverages. You can switch back to Simple any time; nothing is lost.

Can the defense adjust to different formations?

Yes. Run it against a formation (trips, bunch and so on), pick an Adjust button, and move defenders or change their jobs (like a banjo switch against your bunch). That adjustment is saved for that formation only, and it mirrors to the other side automatically. The readout shows how many receivers the defense counts on each side.

How do I test a defense against my whole playbook?

Under the field, tap “Run all plays.” Every play runs against your defense (the QB reading the coverage) and you get a report: plays stopped, big plays, average yards, and each play worst-first, with what happened and why. Tap a play to watch it. Pick a Situation first (drive start, no-run zone, goal line, 1- or 2-point try) to test it there; run plays are skipped where the offense has to pass.

Rush plans and motion?

In Full, a rusher can rush straight at the QB, delay a beat and then go, or contain (rush his outside shoulder and keep him in the pocket). Under “When they motion,” pick Bump (everyone re-aligns to the new formation) or Lock (the defender on the motion man runs with him). How many players can rush is a league rule on the Team page.

How do I disguise a coverage?

In Full, under Disguise, pick “Show a different look.” Start the look from one of the defenses (like Cover 2), or tap “Move players for the look” and drag them. Then pick when they rotate: early (during the cadence, so the QB sees it), on the snap, or late (a beat after). On the field, the faded circles show the other picture. When you run a play, the QB reads his first throw off what he saw before the snap, and the line under the result tells you if he was fooled.

What does the QB do when I run my defense?

On pass plays he reads the coverage: he goes through the play's QB reads in order and throws to the first one open. If the rusher gets close he gets rid of it early, and if the pass clock runs out he throws to his best look. After the play, a line tells you what he saw on each read. Younger levels read slower and need more room to throw. Turn off “QB reads the coverage” to have him throw where the play is drawn.

How do I scout an opponent?

In the play editor's Formation step, set “Whose play” to an opponent's and type their name. Their plays go in their own folder in your Playbook, show up as “🆚” on the Defense page, and the whole-playbook report can run just their plays against your defense.

Does it save?

Yes, as you go. The badge at the top says when it's saved.

Packs and quizzes

A pack is a set of plays and defenses you send to your team as one link. Players pick their spot, watch the plays, read their job and take a quiz. No sign-in, no app.

If I change a play, does the pack update?

Yes. Packs always show your latest version, so you never need to send a new link.

Where do the quiz questions come from?

From the plays and defenses in the pack. For defense you can keep the simple quiz or choose which formations and plays it asks about.

Can I see my players' quiz scores?

We don't save scores, to keep kids' information private. Instead, under a pack tap “Quiz links by player number”: each player gets his own link, his number shows on his score card, and he screenshots it and texts it to you. No names, and the numbers live only in the links.

How do I stop a link from working?

Turn the link off on the pack, or delete the pack. Anyone who opens it after that sees a “link isn't working” page.

Game Day and no signal

On Game Day, tap your plays in the order you call them. Play 1 is the first you tap. Then tap a number on the sideline to show that play big. The numbers match your wristbands, so “Run 3!” is the same play everywhere.

Defense too: tap Defense at the top of Game Day, then pick your defensive calls in order (D1, D2…). Tap a call to see it lined up against any formation with each player's job. Print → Defense makes a wristband card for every defensive spot with the same numbers.

No signal at the field? Open Game Day once at home with signal. When you see “✓ Saved for offline”, it works with no signal. If you change plays later, open it again with signal so it picks up the changes.

Wristbands and play cards

From the Playbook, tap “Wristbands & play cards”. Pick plays in the order you call them, then choose wristbands (small, medium or large) or play cards, for every spot or just one.

Use the Print button. If the colors are missing, turn on “Background graphics” in the print settings. You can also save it as a PDF.

Practice plans

On the Practice tab, make a plan in 5-minute segments (tap +5 to stretch one as long as you want). Give each position group its own work, add the plays and defenses they run, and put a 1- to 5-minute water break between offense and defense. Add a start time and every segment shows its clock time.

How do I see a play during practice?

Tap it in the plan. It opens the drawing; “Back to the plan” (or “Back to practice”) takes you right back. You can edit it from there too.

How does the practice timer work?

Tap “Start practice.” A big countdown shows the segment on now, each group's work and plays, and what's next. It chirps at one minute left, beeps when the segment ends, and moves on by itself. Pause, add a minute, or skip ahead any time. The clock keeps running while you look at a play. Turn your volume up; the screen stays on while it's open. It works with no signal too: open the plan (or Start practice) once at home with signal, and the plan, the timer and every play in it are saved on your phone.

Where do drills and templates come from?

New plans start from a template (first practice, regular, game week, older team, short) or blank. In any group, tap “Drills” to pick from the library by age, or make your own: your drills and templates are saved for your team. Everything stays yours to change; you can always just type what you want.

How do players see the plays before practice?

In the plan, tap “Send its plays to players.” It makes a pack with every play and defense in the plan (sending again updates the same link). Text it to parents.

Can I print it or send it to another coach?

Yes. “Print” gives you a sheet with the times and each group's work (with the play drawings if you want). “Text it to a coach” makes a link: they see the plan and can watch the plays, with no sign-in. You can turn the link off any time.

Your team and assistants

Everyone on a team sees and edits the same playbook, defenses and packs. The head coach invites assistants from the Team page with an invite link.

How long does an invite link last?

14 days, or until it's used the number of times you set. You can turn it off any time.

My assistant says the invite doesn't work.

Make a new one on the Team page and send it again. He needs to open it and sign in (or sign up) on the device he'll use.

I signed in but it says Flag is invite-only.

Flag is invite-only right now. Ask your head coach for an invite link from his Team page.

Put it on your home screen

Open your playbook, then:

iPhone (Safari): tap the Share button, then “Add to Home Screen”.
Android (Chrome): tap the ⋮ menu, then “Add to Home screen” or “Install app”.

It opens full screen, like an app, with the Flag icon.

For parents and players

Do we need an account or an app?

No. Open the link your coach sent. There's nothing to sign up for or download.

What do we do with the score at the end?

Take a screenshot of the score card and text it to your coach. It shows your child's number if the coach sent a numbered link; nothing is saved anywhere.

What do we do with the link?

Pick your child's spot (letter or number). Watch each play, read what that spot does, then tap “Take the quiz”. Do it together a few times before practice.

What information do you collect about my child?

None that identifies them. We don't ask for names, and quiz answers aren't saved. Closing the page clears everything.

The link says "This link isn't working."

Your coach may have turned it off or replaced it. Ask your coach for the new link.

Still stuck?

Email admin@theprogramhq.com. Tell us what you were doing and what you saw, and a screenshot helps. Parents: for questions about plays or the team, ask your coach.

← Back to the playbook