Receivers: Ball Security Drill
Catching the football properly and effectively is fundamental to a strong offense. A great catch can be broken down into three steps: First, keep your arms extended out in front of your body with your hands out forming an imaginary triangle with your fingers and thumbs. Second, keep your eyes on the ball through the entire catch. Third, secure the ball tight and high against your ribs, forearm, and biceps. Many receivers can get into a bad habit of looking away from the ball before it is stored away properly. This error leads to incomplete passes or worse, a fumble. To overcome this habit set up a simple drill where two players pass the ball to each other stopping at each critical step: the catch, the follow through, and the tuck.
Tackling Fundamentals and Safety
It has been stated many times that a defensive teams win games, and the most fundamental part of a defensive team is performing a great tackle. If executed poorly not only will you not succeed in stopping the offensive team, but you could possibly injure yourself in the process. Some points to remember when tackling:
First, plant yourself in front of your opponent. Plant your cleats in the grass squarely in front and in the middle, bisecting the player in half. At the same time you want to bring your arms back in anticipation for the next phase.
Second, push your other foot keeping your knees low and bent, and in sync with your feet throw your hands up hard around the offensive player. At this point you are well planted in front and your head should be in direct contact. To protect yourself never, ever try to tackle with the crown of your head, but instead keep your head back, and your head square. A great way to insure that you are in the right position is to practice touching your facemask to the football of the opposing player.
Third, throw your hips up and hard as you drive the offensive player backwards. Setting yourself up for this last step will ultimately prove the success in the tackle.
Making a great hand off
Handoff skills can secure yardage on the field and increase your overall success. We will explain this in a common scenario between a quarterback and a running back. A good hand off starts with the running back giving a target to the quarterback, this can be done in the running back keeping his arms flat against his body, one arm low and the other high creating an open square or target around the chest for the quarterback to slide the ball in. When the quarterback slides the ball into the arms, or the pocket as it is called, the running back closes his arms around the ball to protect it. As the running back leaves from the handoff he needs to stay low to react quickly and again to protect the ball.
Practicing the Hand off
Running backs should constantly practice the hand off. This drill requires more than one player; it starts off with two lines, line A and line B, the front of each line facing each other a couple of yards apart. A player leaves line A with the football and runs at line B. At the same time a player leaves line B, and when they meet in the middle Player A hands off the ball to Player B. Now player B has the ball and will hand off the ball to the next person in Line A who will hand off to the next player in Line B. It should be a constant motion. This is a great drill to help running backs practice hand offs, and should be run every day.
Catching the football properly and effectively is fundamental to a strong offense. A great catch can be broken down into three steps: First, keep your arms extended out in front of your body with your hands out forming an imaginary triangle with your fingers and thumbs. Second, keep your eyes on the ball through the entire catch. Third, secure the ball tight and high against your ribs, forearm, and biceps. Many receivers can get into a bad habit of looking away from the ball before it is stored away properly. This error leads to incomplete passes or worse, a fumble. To overcome this habit set up a simple drill where two players pass the ball to each other stopping at each critical step: the catch, the follow through, and the tuck.
Tackling Fundamentals and Safety
It has been stated many times that a defensive teams win games, and the most fundamental part of a defensive team is performing a great tackle. If executed poorly not only will you not succeed in stopping the offensive team, but you could possibly injure yourself in the process. Some points to remember when tackling:
First, plant yourself in front of your opponent. Plant your cleats in the grass squarely in front and in the middle, bisecting the player in half. At the same time you want to bring your arms back in anticipation for the next phase.
Second, push your other foot keeping your knees low and bent, and in sync with your feet throw your hands up hard around the offensive player. At this point you are well planted in front and your head should be in direct contact. To protect yourself never, ever try to tackle with the crown of your head, but instead keep your head back, and your head square. A great way to insure that you are in the right position is to practice touching your facemask to the football of the opposing player.
Third, throw your hips up and hard as you drive the offensive player backwards. Setting yourself up for this last step will ultimately prove the success in the tackle.
Making a great hand off
Handoff skills can secure yardage on the field and increase your overall success. We will explain this in a common scenario between a quarterback and a running back. A good hand off starts with the running back giving a target to the quarterback, this can be done in the running back keeping his arms flat against his body, one arm low and the other high creating an open square or target around the chest for the quarterback to slide the ball in. When the quarterback slides the ball into the arms, or the pocket as it is called, the running back closes his arms around the ball to protect it. As the running back leaves from the handoff he needs to stay low to react quickly and again to protect the ball.
Practicing the Hand off
Running backs should constantly practice the hand off. This drill requires more than one player; it starts off with two lines, line A and line B, the front of each line facing each other a couple of yards apart. A player leaves line A with the football and runs at line B. At the same time a player leaves line B, and when they meet in the middle Player A hands off the ball to Player B. Now player B has the ball and will hand off the ball to the next person in Line A who will hand off to the next player in Line B. It should be a constant motion. This is a great drill to help running backs practice hand offs, and should be run every day.
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