How to use Teach Playbook

Everything you need, from signing in to building your team’s playbook.

1. Getting started

Sign in (this also creates your account)

Go to teachplaybook.com and choose Sign in. Enter your email and choose Email me a sign-in link. You’ll get an email from Teach Playbook with a Sign in link and a 6-digit code: click the link, or type the code. There’s no password. The first time, check your spam or promotions folder.

Players under 13 use Teach Playbook through a parent’s or guardian’s account, with them.

Join your team

Your coach will give you a team code like ABCD-2345, or an invite link. After signing in, choose Enter team code, type the code and choose Join team. If you got a link, open it, sign in, and the code is filled in for you.

Find your plays

At the top left, the Playbook menu switches between your teams and My personal plays. Pick your team, then choose a play from the play list — it opens straight away.

The play list is grouped into Run, Pass and Opponent plays (an opponent’s plays, grouped by team). The Run · Pass · Opponent buttons next to the list switch each group on or off, in any combination.

The play list also has an Examples group with ready-made plays anyone can open, even before signing in.

2. Watching a play

• Press ▶ Play to watch the whole play run. Drag the slider under the field to step through it, use ↶ Start over to watch it again from the beginning, and change the speed (½ speed is great for learning).
• Tap any player to read their job and goal in plain words. It shows in the panel on the right and in a popup next to the player. To get the popup out of the way, press – on it; tap the ⓘ on the player to bring it back.
• Highlight this player dims everyone else, so you can follow one player through the play.
• Show defense / Hide defense turns the defense on and off.

3. Trying changes and saving your own version

This is where Teach Playbook helps players learn: move things and see what happens.

• Move players: drag any player to a new spot.
• Draw assignment: tap a player to select them, then tap empty spots on the field to add points to their path.
• Undo takes back your last change. Reset play puts the whole play back to how it was when you opened it — and if you didn’t mean to, Undo brings your changes back. Reset token (in the right panel) clears one player’s path.
• Press ▶ Play again to see how your change affects the play.

Players and parents can’t change the team’s plays, but they can keep what they tried: Save my variation saves a private copy only you can see. Switch to team’s play takes you back to the coach’s version.

4. Coaches: building plays

Start a play

• Start from a play you have, an example, or the starter kit. Or choose + New play… next to the play name and pick a starting formation (Pro I, I formation, spread trips or Double Wing), with every player lined up and nothing drawn yet. Then type the play’s name in the box with the ✎.
• Play notes (under the play name) say what the play is for and why it works, e.g. “Motion left, reverse right. Attacks a defense that chases the motion.” Everyone on the team can read them. No players’ names.
• Next to the name, set the play type: Run, Pass or Opponent. A play starts as Pass when the quarterback throws, otherwise Run. Use Opponent for a look you expect to face, say Shrub Oak’s offense, and type the opponent’s name. Opponent plays stay separate from your own playbook.
• A yellow Formation check appears if the offense breaks a basic rule: fewer than 7 on the line of scrimmage, someone lined up past it, or motion that isn’t legal. It’s a reminder, not a block, because leagues vary.
• Add starter plays adds 12 standard plays (I formation, spread trips and Double Wing, each with a matching defense) to the playbook you have selected. Pressing it again skips plays already added.

Give each player a job

• Tap a player, then use the right panel: Position or number (the label on the token), Assignment, and My job / My goal notes that players will read.
• Assignment: Block, Run / route, or Ball carrier. A play has one ball carrier; if you don’t pick one, the quarterback keeps the ball and runs. The quarterback also has Hand off left/right, Pitch left/right and Throw; the ball goes to the ball carrier. For passes, Throw at sets an exact throw time — or set Throw timing to To a spot on a route and tap a spot on a receiver’s route: he becomes the target, with the throw timed so he catches it there (a “catch” ring marks the spot).
• Draw each player’s path with Draw assignment. Blockers engage the first defender they meet, then pick up the nearest free defender.
• Blocking controls (select a blocker): Blocks names his man — he goes after that defender and no one else (with no drawn path, straight at him at the snap). Hold the block for N seconds, then he lets go and continues his drawn path — e.g. hold the end, then climb to the linebacker.
• Chip block (select a receiver or back): if he meets a defender on his route, he blocks him for N seconds, then keeps running it. A receiver still chipping when the ball arrives lets go to catch it.
• Player speed makes a player faster or slower than everyone else.
• Draw motion puts one player in motion before the snap: select a receiver or back, choose Draw motion, and tap the field. The ball is snapped when his motion ends, then he runs his assignment from there. Only one player can be in motion, and he can’t be heading toward the line at the snap. Clear motion removes it.

Save and share

• Save play saves a new play to the selected playbook. Once it’s saved, Save changes updates it and Save as new play saves a copy, leaving the original as it was. Next to the name you’ll see ● Unsaved changes or ✓ Saved.
• Copy to team… copies the play on the board into another team you coach, or into your personal plays. Each copy is independent.

5. Coaches: defense

• The Defense play menu above the field lines up a full defense in one click: 4–3, 5–3, 4–4, 6–2, 3–4, Cover 1 (man), Cover 2, Cover 3, man outside with two deep safeties, and a nickel look against trips.
• Tap any defender to change their job. Assignment options:
  • Rush / blitz: comes after the ball on every play, run or pass. A drawn path is his rush lane; Then picks gap first, outside contain, straight to the ball, or just the path. Use it for blitzes, even by a linebacker or defensive back.
  • Read run/pass: reads the play the whole time. On a run he plays his drawn run fit (gap, contain, read then pursue, or just his path); On a pass linebackers drop to the short middle and defensive backs cover the nearest receiver, or pick one.
  • Zone coverage: choose Draw zone, tap at least 3 points around the area, then Finish zone. A drawn path is his drop or disguise (show blitz, then drop). He covers whoever enters his zone and comes up to fill on a run.
  • Man coverage: pick the player he Covers. He stays with that player; a dashed line shows the pairing. Follow motion (on by default) makes him walk across when his man goes in motion; turn it off to show a defender who doesn’t. Man defenders don’t get a drawn path; on a run they come up and pursue.
  • Deep safety: stays deep, drifts with the play, breaks on the throw, and is the last line on a run.
  • Defensive shifts: select defenders and use Draw motion to move them before the snap — several can shift at once.
• Mix them freely, for example corners in man and safeties in zone.
• Motion shows the coverage: a defender in man coverage follows his man when he goes in motion; zone defenders stay where they are. See the two “Motion vs” examples.
• Ask “what if?”: Beat blocker lets a defender ignore blocks, then Wins his block at N seconds (0 = never blocked) lets him get blocked and then shed it, and Miss tackle lets the runner keep going after contact. Clear route removes a player’s path and keeps everything else. Try one change, press Play, and compare.

6. Teams: your name, team details, codes and roles

• Everything about people and teams lives under ⚙ Account & teams (top of the app), away from the play buttons.
• Your name on a team: coaches and owners can set a short display name, like “Coach Mike”. Parents and players set Parent or Player plus jersey number(s), like “Parent · #23” — numbers only, never names, so no child’s name is stored. Coaches can set or fix a parent’s or player’s numbers for them.
• Create team makes you the team’s owner. You can add team details: the ZIP code of your home field (where you play home games — not your home address), town, state, age group, level and league. Only your team sees them, and owners can change them later under Team details.
• With your team selected, open ⚙ Account & teams → Members & codes. Choose Viewer (players and parents) or Coach (can edit plays), then Generate access code and share the code or link.
• Generating a new code replaces the old one. People already on the team keep their access.
• In the member list, switch anyone between Viewer, Coach and Co-owner. Co-owners have the same control as you. Owners can’t remove or demote each other; each owner can only Step down to coach themselves, and a team always keeps at least one owner.
• Remove takes someone off the team and also resets both codes. Anyone can leave on their own (except the last owner) from ⚙ Account & teams → Leave this team…. You’ll be asked to type the team’s name, so nobody leaves by accident.
• Coaches can open Team members to see who’s on the team and set parents’ and players’ jersey numbers; codes, roles and removing people stay with owners.

Tip: post the viewer code in your team’s group chat, and send the coach code privately to your coaches.

7. Need help?

Email support@teachplaybook.com and tell us what you were trying to do and what you saw.