Just like a game of wiffle ball on the beach, Beach Football brings the same fun to a beach day with a bit more action-packed intensity to it then horseshoes and bocce ball.

Beach Football can be played 2vs2 or with a full-team on both sides.  If you have an odd number of players, designate someone steady-quarterback.

            Beach Football

Since this isn’t the NFL or College Football, the game should be played with simple rules.  First-downs should be used in beach football, but instead of using 10 yards for a first-down, use completions in a series.  Three completions within a series make up a first down.

Designate rules beforehand to handle blitzes and pass rushes.  A good rule of thumb is the old “Five Mississippi Rush” rule.  The “Five Mississippi Rush” rule stems from playground football at the school yard.  It simply means the defensive player cannot cross the line of scrimmage to rush the quarterback until after he or she has counted to five.  The defensive player must count aloud for the quarterback to hear: “One Mississippi, Two Mississippi, Three Mississippi…” The defensive player must continue counting until they reach Five Mississippi, then they can proceed to rush the quarterback.

The defensive team can only “blitz” once per series.  This means they can rush the quarterback without counting to Five Mississippi, but must yell out BLITZ as they charge the quarterback.

Split the sides evenly and add some competitive makeup to it – losing team gets dinner that night.  Be sure to split the teams evenly to have a competitive makeup on both sides of the ball.  Although you will be surprised to find that some of the most competitive players on the field will be the Mom’s and Aunts who seem so sweet, but will lay you out in a minute if it means that don’t need to worry about dinner that night.

The end of a beach football game is usually the best.  Whether you are playing rough touch, two-hand touch, or tackle, by game’s end, everyone is covered in sweat and sand and requires a dip in the ocean.  All good beach football games end with a crowd of sandy bodies running down the beach and hurling themselves in the ocean waves.