Stealing Signals

“I think that it is part of the game. It forces you to become more creative in protecting your calls, which is a good thing both for my staff as well as our players.”
- Anonymous

“Although I never go into a game with the intention of stealing signals, if a coach on the sideline or booth picks up on something, I will use that to our advantage. I feel that if it is being done in plain view on a sideline, its fair game. However, I feel using video equipment to obtain signals crosses the line.”
- Anonymous

“We always have two young coaches in the booth trying to pick up on the other team’s signals.”
- Anonymous

“I think ‘stealing’ is misleading. If you use cameras or assign an individual to watch/record the other team’s signals then, yes, it could be seen as malicious or unsportsmanlike. However, if during a game you are aware of similar plays being called and you can identify that play or plays because the coach is sending in the same obvious signal than it is your right to take advantage of that opportunity.”
- Anonymous

“As a staff we have stolen signs from our film exchanges with our opponents. It definitely worked to our benefit because our kids knew the plays of our opponents.”
- Anonymous

“I think it becomes difficult "not" to steal signals when you’ve become very familiar with a team and their tendencies over the years. It certainly is wrong to knowingly steal other team’s signals through whatever means you can.”
- Anonymous

“Stealing signals is no different than studying keys of players or offensive tendencies.”
- Anonymous