Jump to content
Y-coach.com - Forum
Sign in to follow this  
PrimeMover

Looking For An O-line Solution...

Recommended Posts

Greetings... I'm new here... I'm into my first year of coaching youth football... was real successful as a player 20 years ago, but... that was 20 years ago...

We're into our 2nd week of practice and I've got an offensive line made up of 5th and 6th graders who are really playing football for the first time... those 6th graders who remain from last years 0 and 8 squad don't seem much different than the 5th graders... anyway, new coaching staff this year... go figure

Here's the deal, they know their assignments for the few plays that we've installed, but they get off the line like they're rolling out of bed.

Does anyone have any suggestions or drills that will help to get them firing off the ball?

Any assistance you might lend would be greatly appreciated...

Alright... I found 'tennisball' by rooting around here... looks good...

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Greetings... I'm new here... I'm into my first year of coaching youth football... was real successful as a player 20 years ago, but... that was 20 years ago...

We're into our 2nd week of practice and I've got an offensive line made up of 5th and 6th graders who are really playing football for the first time... those 6th graders who remain from last years 0 and 8 squad don't seem much different than the 5th graders... anyway, new coaching staff this year... go figure

Here's the deal, they know their assignments for the few plays that we've installed, but they get off the line like they're rolling out of bed.

Does anyone have any suggestions or drills that will help to get them firing off the ball?

Any assistance you might lend would be greatly appreciated...

Alright... I found 'tennisball' by rooting around here... looks good...

While it may not be helpful in your case, my O-line seems to be a tad more sluggish than I`d like. This sluggishness is allowing the d line to brutalize my backs. Needless to say, my backs aren`t happy, so tonight I am letting the backs ventue down to the linemen`s individual blocking practice to face off against the linemen. My backs are a bit more experienced in some cases and are wanting to beat on the line to show them how to fire off the ball.

Tennis ball drill has helped some, but I still want more progress.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Coach, I also coach 5th and 6th graders 1st and second year players.

#1. Stance, make sure they have good stances, they can concentrate and fire off better if they are comfortable in their stance.

#2. Footwork, make sure they are taking baby steps both left and right foot lead, rep first and second steps thousands of times through out the season.

#3. Equipment, shute, dummys, sled, Equipment is usually hard to come by for youth programs, obviously most teams do not have a 5 man sled but if you do it can do wonders for the front five comming off the ball. We have a two man sled and two one man sleds for youth, But my favorite tool is the 5 man shute I built for youth players. WE live in that thing and use hand held dummys instead of stand up dummys that way the bag holders can get the bag closer to the ground and it forces the O-line to fire off low and hard to complete the drill.

#4. Mental attitude! Some players think it is a demotion for lesser athletes to play the line they do not want to be there and they feel unimportant. You need to get those boy believing in themselfs with some attitude that they are the most important part of the team which they are!

#5. Personell, Do not put fat freddy's on the o-line. I would rather have a 100lb goofball than a lazy 170lb fat kid on the line. You are going to go 0-8 again if you put big slow kids on the o-line that do not get off the ball!! simple as that. Take a serious look at who you have the the gaurd and tackle position.

#6. Blocking scheem, do you block rules or angles or land marks or double teams what? hopefully not big on big drive blocking it will not work, Kids need to know who to block and why we are blocking them on each play. Your linemen can not have a doubt about who to block on a play or typically they will not block anyone!!!!!!!!!

#7. Do not vary the cadence or snap count! Go on one or two every time! Your kids will get off the ball better if the count is the same on every down. There will be no doubt or guessing or watching the ball they just fire off on reflex when you use the same count all the time. Then if you change it up use a quick count, go on sound, freeze play, or silent count to catch the defense off gaurd.

#8. PUT IT ALL TOGETHER! Get the kids in a comfortable stance, using correct baby step footwoork, get some equipment, build a shute out of fence posts and rope if you have to, and rep firing off the ball 100 times a practice, get your linemen to have a KILLER attidude! And get some good fullback type athletes at gaurd TE and tackle. Make sure you have a solid blocking scheem so the kids do not have to think who to block it will be a reflex. Use the same snap count, when you try to fool the defense you only fool yourself and get a 5 yard penalty. Your kids will be better off using the single count.

There you go coach just as simple as that,

hope it helps.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

While it may not be helpful in your case, my O-line seems to be a tad more sluggish than I`d like. This sluggishness is allowing the d line to brutalize my backs. Needless to say, my backs aren`t happy, so tonight I am letting the backs ventue down to the linemen`s individual blocking practice to face off against the linemen. My backs are a bit more experienced in some cases and are wanting to beat on the line to show them how to fire off the ball.

Tennis ball drill has helped some, but I still want more progress.

Coach, Please don't have your backs come and knock your linemen down another notch. That would be counter productive!

I tell my linemen that backs and qbs are wimps and do not have the skill and strength or attitude to play on the line. Your backs need to worship the line because without them they are dead in the water. If you have your backs enter into the sacred area of the offnesive line have them cheer and encourage the linemen during a lineman challenge drill. such as king of boards or whatever.

Make them feel like the most important part of the team which they are!!! don't degrade them by putting them up against more experienced better athletes and have them fail I don't know what you would expect to gain by that.

best of luck coach! and encourage your linemen.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Coach, I also coach 5th and 6th graders 1st and second year players.

#1. Stance, make sure they have good stances, they can concentrate and fire off better if they are comfortable in their stance.

#2. Footwork, make sure they are taking baby steps both left and right foot lead, rep first and second steps thousands of times through out the season.

#3. Equipment, shute, dummys, sled, Equipment is usually hard to come by for youth programs, obviously most teams do not have a 5 man sled but if you do it can do wonders for the front five comming off the ball. We have a two man sled and two one man sleds for youth, But my favorite tool is the 5 man shute I built for youth players. WE live in that thing and use hand held dummys instead of stand up dummys that way the bag holders can get the bag closer to the ground and it forces the O-line to fire off low and hard to complete the drill.

#4. Mental attitude! Some players think it is a demotion for lesser athletes to play the line they do not want to be there and they feel unimportant. You need to get those boy believing in themselfs with some attitude that they are the most important part of the team which they are!

#5. Personell, Do not put fat freddy's on the o-line. I would rather have a 100lb goofball than a lazy 170lb fat kid on the line. You are going to go 0-8 again if you put big slow kids on the o-line that do not get off the ball!! simple as that. Take a serious look at who you have the the gaurd and tackle position.

#6. Blocking scheem, do you block rules or angles or land marks or double teams what? hopefully not big on big drive blocking it will not work, Kids need to know who to block and why we are blocking them on each play. Your linemen can not have a doubt about who to block on a play or typically they will not block anyone!!!!!!!!!

#7. Do not vary the cadence or snap count! Go on one or two every time! Your kids will get off the ball better if the count is the same on every down. There will be no doubt or guessing or watching the ball they just fire off on reflex when you use the same count all the time. Then if you change it up use a quick count, go on sound, freeze play, or silent count to catch the defense off gaurd.

#8. PUT IT ALL TOGETHER! Get the kids in a comfortable stance, using correct baby step footwoork, get some equipment, build a shute out of fence posts and rope if you have to, and rep firing off the ball 100 times a practice, get your linemen to have a KILLER attidude! And get some good fullback type athletes at gaurd TE and tackle. Make sure you have a solid blocking scheem so the kids do not have to think who to block it will be a reflex. Use the same snap count, when you try to fool the defense you only fool yourself and get a 5 yard penalty. Your kids will be better off using the single count.

There you go coach just as simple as that,

hope it helps.

Coachbreck... many thanks for your comments... the only thing that you suggest that we're not quite at yet is where I convince the head coach that our 170lb left tackle needs to be replaced because he absolutely does not want to hit, or be hit. I got a couple other guys who'd fill the bill much more effectively... We'll get there... As far as equipment goes, we're blessed... we got all the top notch equipment we can eat...

I'm going to print off your comments and keep them in my back pocket.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Here's another idea, coach:

Take a stop watch and time them on a 10 yd dash from 3 pt stance. Have them practice this many times per practice and time them again the next week. If you time them one at a time and use individual times, as well as the cumulative group time (add them all up), you should be able to set modest goals and work toward getting faster. Every week they should shave off the cumulative score.

It's kind of funny, but do you think those kids know what you REALLY mean when you say "FIRE OFF THAT BALL!"? This will help them understand and if you set the goals intelligently, they will start to understand success and expect themselves to succeed.

dbcoach

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

You are in a tough spot coach. The head coach or offensive coordinator should give you the blocking scheems so you know what to look for and teach but most of the blocking scheems should be gone over in team practice vs air or bags or live. You really need to rep plays as a whole offnese vs the fronts you will see from week to week AND THAT IS WHAT YOU SHOULD BE DOING FOR THE MAJORITY OF PRACTICE.

As far as blocking rules you can borrow some simple ones Such as GOD (gap on down)

as far as drills go some o-line coaches love sleds and feel that is the way to go to get kids firing off and driving their feet. I however am not much of a sled guy but I could not live with out my shute and two hand shields .

I think you are in a spot where a lot of youth coaches find themselfs and that is unfortunate, get them believing in themselves and do what ever you can to make the best of it. Comming here for advice is a good start.

I am the head coach and offensive coordinator and I would not let Joe Gibbs coach my offensive line it's that important to me.

good luck coach

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Hey whats up. I been coaching for 6 years 1 flag, 5 tackle and we run the Double Wing Offense. 4 out of the 5 we where division champions the one year we where not we made play-offs and lost in the final bowl game and got 2nd in the Div 2 nationals for the AYF last year. Our linemen are the machines that make us win! Pretty much we have a 7 man line. Center, 2 guards, 2 tackles and 2 tide ends. Centers rules are always 1) down, 2) man on. Guard & Tackles down, man on. TE down, man on, read up. and ofcourse there is times our guards and tackle pulls and TE on that side scoops or cuts. The important thing is that this offense works great cus of the misdirection of the ball and the line man have rules they must follow. Making them think and giving them assignments so they know! they are part of the system. I would recommen you go take a lok and coach wyatss site or just do a search for double wing. This will help you understand the technique and the develpment of a good line. You dont have to run that offense but the philosophy on how it is taught can help you get your kids into high gear!.

Good luck!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Greetings... I'm new here... I'm into my first year of coaching youth football... was real successful as a player 20 years ago, but... that was 20 years ago...

We're into our 2nd week of practice and I've got an offensive line made up of 5th and 6th graders who are really playing football for the first time... those 6th graders who remain from last years 0 and 8 squad don't seem much different than the 5th graders... anyway, new coaching staff this year... go figure

Here's the deal, they know their assignments for the few plays that we've installed, but they get off the line like they're rolling out of bed.

Does anyone have any suggestions or drills that will help to get them firing off the ball?

Any assistance you might lend would be greatly appreciated...

Alright... I found 'tennisball' by rooting around here... looks good...

Coach,

What type of offense are you running? Big questions because it affects your blocking schemes and philosophy.

What type of splits, depth of line, and stance are you using?

A few keys areas with youth players:

1) Stance - every linemen must have a stance that they can get into correctly and comfortably so that they can get out of it quickly and explosively. Bigger kids that are not athletic might need to be in a two point stance (see my website at www.gregorydoublewing.com and click on the fundamentals tab).

2) Need to either have blocking rules that are simple or a predefined path/direction that the lineman must hit. Rule examples are OIL (a really bad rule - ON/INSIDE/LINEBACKER), GOD (GAP/ON/DOWN), MOMA (MAN ON/MAN AWAY - the actual center rule in the DW offense), and ZONES (COVERED/UNCOVERED RULE). Blocking a designed path would be WEDGE, SAB, and TRACK schemes.

Normally with rules not every man has the same exact rule. For example the GOD rule the man at the point of attack actually will have a GAP/DOWN while everyone inside has the GOD rule. The man outside the POA would have an FBI rule (FIRST BACKER INSIDE). So rule blocking for kids can get a little confusing as you have to determine the POA and then make sure everyone understands their position relative to the POA and their rule. I like using SAB and WEDGE blocking as my primary blocking for kids...but it all depends on your offensive scheme.

3) Initial footwork and body position. I use a concept called BEEF when I teach my linemen their first four steps. It teaches the body position and technique along with the footwork that I want them to execute.

4) Line Splits - the type of offense you run and the talent of the line will affect your splits.

5) Line Depth - the type of blocking schemes your run, the talent of your line, and they type of defenses you face will affect your depth.

Give me some feedback and I can help you out.

Jack

www.gregorydoublewing.com

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Thanks.

By the way, I just tried the tennis ball OL drill with my 10 year old OL son.

It was amazing.

The first few tries showed his fire off was terrible. He went up and then out slow and weak.

After about 8 tries, he was firing out and catching the ball. I was even able to start moving back. He picked up 2+ feet of explosion in 10 minutes. He was rated by the other coaches as our top OL man, so if he was not exploding then we definately have work to do.

Thanks again.

Here a link that I found teaching the drill: http://www.infosports.com/football/arch/2518.htm

I could not find the drill on this site.

PS. The head coach ran the whole team through this drill tonight. It worked great.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
Sign in to follow this  

×
×
  • Create New...