Practice Recap - Monday July 15 2008

A fine, fine day for practice. The weather was great. Dad and I spent a few hours this weekend putting together a new chute for the organization to use.

The players are falling into place better, physically and mentally. You can see it getting better. I do anyway.

We took the lineman back to the rear of the park. Back there is where the sled and chute are located. We spent both training periods back there. During the first period we spent time on the sled. We asked the players to do the "Quick Hands" drill.

Quick Hands





X X X X


Setup

In front of sled, players get on both knees. They cross their feet and then sit back on heels. There hands should be at their sides, right by their hips.

Execution
On the whistle players should explode up and deliver a proper ball punch to the padded sled. They should quickly sit back, assuming the starting position.

Coaching Points

• EXPLODE - Players have to blow out of there
• Exhale - When striking they should blow out
• Hip Roll - Get players to place their hips next to opponents
• Hit On The Rise - DO NOT STRIKE OUT, STRIKE UP
• Elbows In - No chicken-wings
• Arms - Eliminate the wind-up
  

After a number of reps, we changed to what I'll call the "Strike and Shuffle" drill. At a later time, i will incorporate Seat Rolls instead of the shuffle.

Strike and Shuffle

Setup

Need a sled like below..







X sssss X sssss X sssss X
X
X
X
X

Execution
This is another hand-striking drill. The difference here is that the players are all standing. The player at the beginning of the line steps in front of first pad, chopping his feet. On the whistle, the player should break-down and ball-punch the pad. This is followed by a quick shuffle to the next pad on the sled in the desired direction. The player should continue to chop feet and repeat this process, on the whistle, all the way down the sled.

Coaching Points

• Breakdown - Players must drop their bottom so they can hit on the rise...
• Hit On The Rise - DO NOT STRIKE OUT, STRIKE UP
• Elbows In - No chicken-wings
• Arms - Eliminate the wind-up
• Exhale - When striking they should blow out
• Hip Roll - Get players to place their hips next to opponents
• Crossover - Do not crossover

This drill should be executed to both sides, left and right.

After water we moved on to our next session. The session consisted of making use of the chute that we built over the weekend. I was really excited for this session. Because of the time put into building the chute i was really interested to see how it helps out. We used it to execute the "Chute and Drive" drill. We are still early in the season so we are doing things that ensure we get proper technique.

Chute and Drive

Setup

X

Coach

Execution
This drill is all about proper form while executing a block. Players should line up, single file, behind the short side if the chute. When chute is vacant the next player steps into the chute and gets into his three point stance. On cadence, the player explodes through the chute. The chute will naturally help keep the player low. If they do not stay low, the player will bust his head on the chute. The round pad at the "out-end" of the chute forces the player to maintain the spacing between the player's legs. This is essential to a good "drive". A coach or player should stand at the "out-end" with a blocking shield and provide a target/resistance to the executing player.

Coaching Points

• Explode - Players must be forceful
• Stay Low - Or get your head knocked off
• Hit On The Rise - When exiting the chute, hit up not out..
• Arms and Elbows - Strike up keeping elbows in
• Footwork - Ensure that player is straddling the bag lying on the ground
• Steps - six to eight inch steps

My Thoughts
A very productive day for the lineman. We got quite a few repetitions in on the sled. I want more in the chute though. The drills executed today are the FUNDAMENTALS and should be executed at least once a week.