Understanding College American Football Defensive
Conditioning Drill: Up Downs
The popular conditioning drill known as up downs is a very effective way to increase cardiovascular activity and endurance. This drill starts by having the players run in place as fast as they can encourage them to get their knees up as high as they can. Then at random a coach will yell, down or blow a whistle at which the players must dive to the ground do a push up and then jump back into running in place. This drill is an excellent workout and should be worked in slowly at first and then increased in intensity and length over time.
Protecting the football as you run
A team that prevents fumbles is a team that wins. Nothing is worse for your offensive team then turning it over carelessly to the other team in a fumble. There are four points to protecting the football. The claw position is the first point, meaning that you grab the football clawing at the point of the football with your fingers. Second, wrap your forearm completely around the football. The third point is securing the other point of the football with your bicep making sure that it is right up against it. Last point is to hold the back of the football right up against the ribcage and as you run keep it high and tight. As a player, you will want to make sure that you are well practiced in this skill, and as a coach you should dedicate some time to ball carrying skills. By reducing the risk of a fumble you will increase the offensive strength in effectively driving across the field and scoring touchdowns.
A great Handoff Drill
Because hand offs are such a vital part of a running offense, running backs should practice hand off skills every day. One great hand off drill starts by having two separate lines of players facing each other: line A and line B. The player from line A leaves the line with the football running towards line B. At the same time that the first player leaves player B leaves his line towards player A, as they pass each other in the middle player A hands off the football to player B. At the point of the hand off another player leaves line A and runs towards player B, who hands off the ball to the new player. This drill should perform in a seamless motion. This is a great drill to help running backs practice hand offs, and should be run every day.
Weightlifting
No practice regime would be complete without lifting weights. Not only will it add muscle to your body and increase your strength, it will also help you to increase your maximum power. Maximum power is different from strength because it is the power that you exert on the field during a play. Strong and powerful execution will enable fast plays, quick action, and recognition on the field. As you continue in your weightlifting program, we highly recommend that you get a personal coach to push you in your goals, teach you proper techniques, and ensure that you are doing the right work for your position.
The popular conditioning drill known as up downs is a very effective way to increase cardiovascular activity and endurance. This drill starts by having the players run in place as fast as they can encourage them to get their knees up as high as they can. Then at random a coach will yell, down or blow a whistle at which the players must dive to the ground do a push up and then jump back into running in place. This drill is an excellent workout and should be worked in slowly at first and then increased in intensity and length over time.
Protecting the football as you run
A team that prevents fumbles is a team that wins. Nothing is worse for your offensive team then turning it over carelessly to the other team in a fumble. There are four points to protecting the football. The claw position is the first point, meaning that you grab the football clawing at the point of the football with your fingers. Second, wrap your forearm completely around the football. The third point is securing the other point of the football with your bicep making sure that it is right up against it. Last point is to hold the back of the football right up against the ribcage and as you run keep it high and tight. As a player, you will want to make sure that you are well practiced in this skill, and as a coach you should dedicate some time to ball carrying skills. By reducing the risk of a fumble you will increase the offensive strength in effectively driving across the field and scoring touchdowns.
A great Handoff Drill
Because hand offs are such a vital part of a running offense, running backs should practice hand off skills every day. One great hand off drill starts by having two separate lines of players facing each other: line A and line B. The player from line A leaves the line with the football running towards line B. At the same time that the first player leaves player B leaves his line towards player A, as they pass each other in the middle player A hands off the football to player B. At the point of the hand off another player leaves line A and runs towards player B, who hands off the ball to the new player. This drill should perform in a seamless motion. This is a great drill to help running backs practice hand offs, and should be run every day.
Weightlifting
No practice regime would be complete without lifting weights. Not only will it add muscle to your body and increase your strength, it will also help you to increase your maximum power. Maximum power is different from strength because it is the power that you exert on the field during a play. Strong and powerful execution will enable fast plays, quick action, and recognition on the field. As you continue in your weightlifting program, we highly recommend that you get a personal coach to push you in your goals, teach you proper techniques, and ensure that you are doing the right work for your position.
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