Why Practice Football Techniques? Because You Get Better – Here Are a Couple to Try
Basics to football hand offs
Learning the basics in a handoff is essential to a strong offense. We will explain this in a common scenario between a quarterback and a running back. The running back starts the hand off running towards the quarterback with his arms open creating a pocket for the quarterback to slide the football right into the running back’s chest. 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.
Points on tackling safely and effectively
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 you, or your players don’t take tackling seriously you will not stop the offense and could also cause injuries. Some points to remember when tackling:
First, you need to stop the opponent quickly so make sure to place yourself directly in front of the opponent’s path. An excellent technique is to plant your foot in the middle of your opponents. At the same time you want to bring your arms back in anticipation for the next phase.
Second you want to bring your other foot into the mix, and at the same time throw your arms up and around your opponent. As your feet plants your head should be making its first 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. You need to literally imagine that the football is a big hamburger and you want to bite it and not slam your forehead against it.
The third and last step is to bring your hips up and drive the opponent backwards and towards the ground. Setting yourself up for this last step will ultimately prove the success in the tackle.
Conditioning: Quick step crossing
Reaction is as skill that players need to develop through conditioning and drills. This practice drill is intended to increase reaction speed and the ability to quickly change directions. It starts by placing players in a small four square box. Then the player will proceed to jump from on area or box to another, thus forcing the player to jump laterally, diagonally, frontwards, and backwards. Coaches should encourage one foot jumping to increase further strength and reactions on the field.
The importance of learning the Playbook
Every football team will have certain plays. It will be essential to learn your part in that play to benefit yourself, and the whole team. Rule number one in starting out a new play is following your coach’s instructions. A lot of habits can form in the first couple of practice plays, for this sake it is a good idea to take them slow at the start. Remember that if you need help, you should ask for it. At times we have seen a player fail to advance or refine their techniques because they don’t ask for added assistance. Don’t let this happen to you The last helpful hint that we want you to learn is the power of visualization. Go over the plays in your mind, over and over again. Make your mind work them out and your muscles memorize them even when you sleep.
