Some benefits to Weightlifting

No practice regime would be complete without lifting weights. The benefits of lifting weights are found in added strength, but more importantly it will increase your maximum power. Maximum power differs in importance to strength due to the fact that it is exertion during play and not just muscle mass. Strong and powerful execution will enable fast plays, quick action, and recognition on the field. Weight lifting can cause injuries, and as such we highly recommend having a professional coach on hand during weightlifting sessions. You trainer will also help you accomplish your weightlifting goals and teach you new techniques.

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. A player leaves line A with the football and runs at line B. In sync with that first player, a second player leaves line B, when they meet player A passes to player B. At this moment another player leaves line A and accepts a handoff from player B. It should be a constant motion. It is an effective drill to teach handoff skills and help running backs achieve higher accuracy and consistency.

Traditional Driving Block

Driving and blocking are the bases for a good lineman. The drive block is the most fundamental and should be practiced often. This drive block means that you are going to push the opponent in the direction that they are aligned. The first step of this block is the scrimmage alignment, in order to drive to the right or left this basic block will push your opponent in the way that they are aligned, so if they are aligned to the right the drive will push them to the right. Execute the drive by bolting off the line with your play side foot; again if the play is happening on the left side then you will use your left foot. Connect hard against your opponent, bring your other foot into play and continue to drive in the aligned direction.

Around the world: Improved Ball Handling

This drill is used to increase players ball handling skills on the field. The secret to this drill is having the ball constantly moving around and from hand to hand. The drill starts with the head moving the ball in a circular motion from hand to hand, then proceeds to go under the arms, around the waist, then the knees, and finally through and in between the players legs.

Coaches can mix up the drill by shouting out body parts that the players will have to start circling with the football; they can also reverse the direction that the ball is traveling by calling, reverse. The reverse option is an important command as it will keep the players on their toes and focuses on concentration and ball handling.

We recommend that you end this drill by doing several football drops. For example, the player drops the ball and retrieves it quickly. It will also help to change the hand that the players uses to pick up the ball to ensure both hands are learning this technique.