---
title: "Teaching flag pulling and avoiding flag guarding"
description: "Flag pulling is the most important defensive skill, and flag guarding is one of the most common penalties. Here's how to coach both."
canonical_url: "https://englewoodflagfootball.com/news/teaching-flag-pulling-and-avoiding-flag-guarding/"
meta:
  "og:description": "Flag pulling is the most important defensive skill, and flag guarding is one of the most common penalties. Here's how to coach both."
  "og:title": "Teaching flag pulling and avoiding flag guarding"
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Coaches

# Teaching flag pulling and avoiding flag guarding

Flag pulling is the most important defensive skill, and flag guarding is one of the most common penalties. Here's how to coach both.

Englewood NFL Flag Football·Sep 23, 2026

![A ball carrier in a green jersey runs with the ball while a defender in purple chases his yellow flags](https://englewoodflagfootball.com/.netlify/images?w=1440&h=810&fm=webp&q=70&url=%2Fuploads%2Frunner-chase.jpg)

Flag pulling is to flag football what tackling is to tackle football. Flag guarding costs **10 yards and loss of down**, and it's one of the most common penalties young players get called for. Teach both early and your team will be ahead all season.

## What the rules say

**A legal flag pull:**

- Only happens when the ball carrier has full possession of the ball.
- Never involves diving, tackling, holding or running through the ball carrier.
- Can never involve trying to strip the ball. Stripping is a 10-yard penalty and an automatic first down.
- Never targets a player without the ball. Pulling a receiver's flag before the catch is an illegal flag pull (5 yards and an automatic first down), and repeated off-ball pulls will be penalized.

**Flag guarding** is any attempt by the ball carrier to keep a defender from the flags:

- stiff-arming
- dropping a head, hand, arm or shoulder over the flags
- covering the flags with the jersey (jerseys must be tucked in every play)
- diving, leaping or jumping to avoid a flag pull
- spinning out of control

Spins and jump cuts are legal, as long as the player stays on their feet and in control.

## Coaching flag pulling

1. **Eyes on the hips.** The hips go where the ball carrier goes. Watching the ball, the head or the feet leads to missed pulls.
2. **Break down.** Shorten your steps and lower your hips as you get close, so you can react to a cut.
3. **Angle, don't chase.** Take a path that cuts off the ball carrier instead of running behind them.
4. **Two hands, then show it.** Reach for the flag with both hands. Once it's pulled, hold it up high so the official sees it.

**Drill:** pair players in a 5-yard-wide lane. The ball carrier tries to get past while the defender breaks down and pulls. Swap every rep. Make it a game by counting clean pulls.

## Coaching ball carriers to avoid flag guarding

- **Carry the ball away from the flags,** high and tight, never down by the hips.
- **Hands away from the belt.** Swing your arms naturally and never reach back over the flags.
- **Win with your feet.** Teach jump cuts, change of pace and spin moves done in control.
- **Stay on your feet.** No diving for extra yards and no hurdling defenders. Leaving your feet is only allowed to avoid a collision.
- **Tuck in before every snap.** Make "jerseys tucked, flags on the hips" part of the huddle routine.

## Sideline habits

Players who aren't in the game shouldn't be pulling flags on the sideline, especially with younger kids. Save it for practice drills.

Find the full rules on our [rules page](https://englewoodflagfootball.com/rules/), and more defensive drills from NFL FLAG on their [drills page](https://nflflag.com/football-drills).

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