Defensive Linemen the Neglected Group

One of the most neglected positions in youth football is the defensive lineman. A lot of times we get so busy sorting out the offensive line that we neglect the defensive linemen. We basically set them up as blocking dummmies opposite the o-linemen and as we practice offensive line fundamentals they are told to line up here or line up there and come hard. As a result these players become lost in the shuffle and we wonder on game day why we cannot get a stop on defence.

Usually these players are perhaps slower and not as athletic as your fine tuned O-linemen. So how can we make them into ferocious ball attackers? Its simple my friend. You need to make a commitment to them the same as you do with your offensive linemen. As a lot of smaller programs have both of these groups together because of numbers , its important that all practice their defensive linemen fundamentals as much as offensive line. Everything from stance, footwork, snap explosion, engaging the blocker to block shedding, getting up field to the ball, tackling as well as system assignments should be covered. Another key would be teaching them how to read their blocks . By reading the block of the o-linemen the d-linemen can effectively determine what kind of play the offence is running and make an agressive read to the ball.

All in all, a good run stopping, sacking defensive line starts in practice and is worth the time of investment.

Cheers!

Football Footwork Fundamentals

If you don't implement solid footwork drills and fundamentals as part of your practice plan then you are selling your players short in their football developement. A lot of minor coaches overlook this part of their practice elements but the reality is that they have to be able to move in order to be effectice football players. How many times have you seen a big lineman that looks impressive but cannot move their feet therefore are slow and ineffective. The same can be applied to your athletic wide reciever who cannot plant or cut and unless he is running straight down field is ineffective or covered easily as a result of his poor footwork.

Footwork drills are simple to run and can be implemented very easily in your practice plan. You can do either team footwork drills right after your warm-up or implement your footwork drills as part of your group team work. It does'nt take long maybe 10 minutes per practice. All you need is some cones and some bags.

Always start them off in their stance and on your signal get them moving.

There are lots of drills to choose from when practicing footwork fundamentals. Choose drills by position. For example, your defensive backs would focus a lot on back-peddling with change of direction. Your offensive linemen would focus their footwork fundamentals geared around their first step left, right, angle, etc . Work on your footwork each and every practice and watch your players improve.

Cheers!

Football Playbooks and Spring Cleaning

Spring is almost here and like any good youth football coach its time to evaluate your football systems and do some spring cleaning and get rid of some clutter. Time to go through the playbook and evaluate plays that you ran the previous season.

For the most part your play evaluations should be based on the football players that you have returning and how they fared in your offensive system last season. Perhaps they struggled in a particular look or formation, or they just weren't ready to do what you asked them to do from within the football system.

On the other hand, they have a years experience under their belt , are probably a little bigger and stronger, and more mature than they were the previous year and maybe now this play that failed you so bad last season might be a "go to" play this season.

 It's up to you as the football coach to determine that as nobody knows your players better than you do.

As you do your football spring clean-up, you may as well evaluate your football drills, practice plan, special teams,and even your assistant coaches. As well, evaluate your own performance as we all can improve in football somewhere.

Cheers!