Football scout card template

Four blank scout cards to a page, ready to draw on. Each one has the card number, formation, play, personnel, down and distance and hash at the top, and a field below with the line of scrimmage and the offensive line already drawn. Draw the opponent's play, cut the cards apart, and hold them up to your scout team.

Download the PDF Draw their plays

Free, no account, nothing to install. Football scout cards, four to a page, US Letter. Draw their plays opens a football field in Playmaker, free and with no account.

The first page of the football scout card template PDF
The first page, as it prints.

How to use this template

  1. Print as many pages as you need

    Print at actual size on US Letter or A4. Each page has four cards, so a twenty-play scout script is five pages.

  2. Fill in the top of each card

    Number the card, then write the formation, the play, the personnel group, the down and distance and the hash, so the scout team lines up in the right place.

  3. Draw the play

    The line of scrimmage and the five offensive linemen are already on the field. Draw the backs, the receivers and the routes or the defense around them, as they run it on film.

  4. Cut and use them in practice

    Cut along the dashed lines and hold each card up in the huddle. Put the coaching point at the bottom, so the scout team knows what your starters are working on.

Download the template

Found a play worth showing your team? Draw it in the a play creation tool built for coaches and press play to watch it run.

What a scout card is

A scout card is one opponent play on one card, held up in the huddle so your scout team can run it against your starters. It is how a defense practises against next week's offense, and how an offense practises against next week's defense. A good card is quick to read: the formation and the play at the top, a clear diagram, and nothing else.

This template prints four of them on a page. Each card has a field drawn to scale from sideline to sideline, with yard lines every five yards, hash marks at high school width, the line of scrimmage, and the five offensive linemen with the center marked as a square. That leaves only the part that changes from play to play for you to draw.

The top of the card

Every card has a number, the formation, the play, the personnel group, the down and distance and a hash to tick. The number lets you call the cards in order from a script, the hash puts the ball in the right place, and the personnel tells your scout team who needs to be on the field. At the bottom there is a line for the coaching point: the one thing your starters should be looking for on that play.

Offense and defense cards

For a defensive scout card, draw their backs and receivers and their routes or blocking around the offensive line that is already there. For an offensive scout card, draw their defense lined up over the line: the front, the linebackers and the coverage shell. The football scouting report template tells you which plays and fronts are worth a card, from their down and distance tendencies.

Draw their plays

Hand-drawn cards work, and they take a long time. Open the football play designer instead, draw each play once and press play to watch every route run. It is the same play creation tool coaches use for their own playbooks, free and with no account. Show the moving play to your scout team before practice, and they will run it closer to the way the opponent does. Starting from a common formation such as the I formation or singleback spread saves placing every player. Sign in and you can save the plays into a playbook for that week: the free plan saves a few plays, and Pro saves as many as you draw.

Playmaker does not have a scouting feature. These cards are the paper half, and Playmaker is where the plays get drawn and watched.

Common questions

What is a football scout card?

A card showing one play the opponent runs, with the formation, the play and the down and distance. Coaches hold it up to the scout team in practice so they can run that play against the starters.

What should be on a scout card?

A card number, the formation, the play, the personnel group, the down and distance, the hash, a clear diagram, and one coaching point. Keep it to that, because the scout team reads it in a few seconds in the huddle.

How many scout cards do I need?

Usually one for each play in your scout script, often fifteen to twenty-five for a week of practice. Four fit on each page, so print five or six pages.

Is the football scout card template free?

Yes. It is free to download and print, with no account and no email address. Each page has a small Playmaker mark at the foot.

Is the field drawn to scale?

Yes, from sideline to sideline, with high school hash marks. The offensive linemen are drawn bigger than scale, as on most scout cards, so you can draw around them.

More free printable templates

Show your team what you found

Draw the plays from your report in Playmaker and press play. Your players watch every run move before game day. Free, with no account.

Draw their plays

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