Blocking Schemes

[lpj 0]

Hey guys im a first year offensive coach for 12-13 year old kids.Trying to figure out the best blocking scheme for the power i and a straight t formations.Any suggestions??

[Boomer007 0]

Without knowing anything about your players abilities, I'd say keep it simple at first. Use a form of zone blocking (where each lineman calls out his assignment at the LOS). Once you are confident that the linemen understand the basics, and can block well, introduce second level blocking, traps, pulling, and actual sets for indvidual plays.

The worst thing you an do is try to install some extreme blocking scheme with linemen that don't know the fundamentals of blocking.

[Big Shel 0]

Hey guys im a first year offensive coach for 12-13 year old kids.Trying to figure out the best blocking scheme for the power i and a straight t formations.Any suggestions??

I've always used rule-based blocking schemes. GOOD/GOL (a variant of GOOD/GOD for non-wing formations) is a great scheme, and can be used for Power I and Straight T formations. The rules apply to power, counter and trap plays; sweep and reverse have another rule.

You can find specifics on the GOOD/GOD rules at http://coachcalande.proboards.com/index.cgi?

[lpj 0]

okay well how about this which is better at this age group shoulder blocking or hands blocking? and how often should they be on the sled and the chute

[Big Shel 0]

okay well how about this which is better at this age group shoulder blocking or hands blocking? and how often should they be on the sled and the chute

Shoulder vs. hands blocking is an old argument. In my opinion, shoulder blocking works better at this age group. Of course, I'm biased, as my coaching background is mainly wing t/double wing, both of which utilize shoulder blocking to a large extent. I will admit that hands blocking is superior for pass blocking and makes reach blocking easier on sweeps and sprint outs and that's how I incorporate it into our offense.

As for sled time, our OL hits the sled every day, though for less time as the season progresses (5-10 minutes at this point in the season). We've found that the repetition keeps the OL sharp; they tend to get sloppy in their technique (flat back, wide base, running the feet) without the frequent reminder.

[lpj 0]

what about line splits? whats the best way to get the most out of a big but not very talented line?

[Big Shel 0]

what about line splits? whats the best way to get the most out of a big but not very talented line?

Sorry lpj, I haven't been to this site in a while. By "big but not very talented", I'll assume you mean slow and inexperienced? I personally would use tighter line splits (again, I'm partial, as a DW coach) to make it more difficult for the defense to blitz (no more than 6 inches). If you're going to run the power-I, I would put your 4 back in a sniffer position to the strong side B gap and use him as a kickout block on powers, a lead block on iso's, and a puller on counters and traps. This will alleviate (or at least reduce) the need for your linemen to pull, as well as break a key for defenses that have their LB's key guards. I use this scheme for one of my changeup packages, except my 2 and 3 back are in a splitback formation (runs like DW but without the motion).