7v7 HEAVEN: Coaches learn ‘who wants to compete’ in summer football
Canton quarterback AJ Anderson looks for an open receiver Tuesday night against Crestwood.
Highlight-reel catches, OMG! pass break-ups and target-finding spirals were abundant throughout Tuesday night’s 7v7 football scrimmage featuring the Canton and Dearborn Heights Crestwood football teams.
More than anything, though, the close-to-90-minute session at the Plymouth-Canton Educational Park’s east turf field was a platform for both squads’ coaches to evaluate their players’ X factors.
“The No. 1 thing I’m looking for is who wants to compete,” said second-year Canton Head Coach Eric Newton. “Football is a different game, obviously, once you get the pads on, but we can learn a lot about a player’s competitiveness by watching them in 7v7 games.
Evaluating players’ intangibles
“We’re also looking for things like: Are they lining up right? Are they running the right routes? Are they putting in an effort to gain extra yardage after the catch. Another thing that we’re looking for is how a player reacts after they make a mistake. Are they mad? Do they pout? We can learn a lot from these games, even without pads.”
(To check out video of a dynamic Canton touchdown pass against Crestwood, click here.)
Played without interior linemen (except a center who snaps the ball to the quarterback before every play), 7v7 is a more-condensed, faster version of football, according to TheChampLair.com.
“Invented in the 1940s by American soldiers living in army bases around Europe and the Pacific, the soldiers wanted to play a game that wouldn’t injure them ahead of going into battle,” the website said, describing its origins.
Chemistry builder
It’s a perfect way for receivers and quarterbacks to build chemistry — and for defensive backs and linebackers to work on their coverage skills.
Among the Canton players who benefitted the most from this summer’s 7v7 slate of games is senior-to-be Alex Wassel, who is an accomplished basketball player for Canton, but had never played high school football.
“Alex and I were both on the committee to help select a new varsity basketball coach at Canton (after longtime coach Jimmy Reddy resigned following the 2024-25 season),” Newton said. “During the off-season, I was looking for multi-sport athletes to help our program and I asked Alex if he wanted to give football a shot, and he did.
“It’s all about finding kids who want to compete.”
Times have changed
Newton said 7v7 has come a long way since his days as a gridiron standout at Redford Union High School.
“Back then, we’d maybe play one or two 7v7 games a summer,” he reflected. “For instance, a lot of kids played baseball in the summer, so if our quarterback was playing in a baseball game, our coach wouldn’t schedule games on that day.
“It’s come a long way since then. There are even opportunities for kids to play for teams other than their school team.”
10-team tourney at Plymouth
Plymouth High School is hosting a 10-team 7v7 tournament — The Throwdown Before the Shutdown — on Thursday from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. if you want to get a taste of what the sport is about.
While winning the tourney would be nice, the participating teams’ coaches will probably tell you it’s more important that they learn more about the strengths and weaknesses of the players on their roster.
“And,” Newton concluded, “who wants to compete.”
Ed Wright can be reached at 734-664-4657 or edwright@socialhousenews.com.
