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Post by mountainman on Oct 8, 2018 13:13:12 GMT -6
I'm sure that this topic has been covered numerous times on here, but what do you do to create physicality and toughness in your program? We are pretty soft right now. At a school that i have been at for a number of years. Most of the time as DC, the past year and a half as HC. We use to be the toughest and most physical team around. We have been very successful and with state championships, runners ups, semifinals, etc. The past 3-4 years a softness has crept in to the program that we can not seem to eradicate. We have tried hitting more in practice, practicing "live" more than we normally do, tackling drills, sled work, etc. Nothing seems to work. Is it just a matter of a kid being aggressive and ours are not? Just looking for tips to turn this tide and get back to being a more physical team. I still believe that the most physical team usually wins a football game even in the era of the spread, RPO's, and pass happy offenses.
Thank you in advance!
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Post by larrymoe on Oct 8, 2018 13:17:49 GMT -6
Weight Room.
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Post by chi5hi on Oct 8, 2018 15:41:08 GMT -6
I'm sure that this topic has been covered numerous times on here, but what do you do to create physicality and toughness in your program? We are pretty soft right now. At a school that i have been at for a number of years. Most of the time as DC, the past year and a half as HC. We use to be the toughest and most physical team around. We have been very successful and with state championships, runners ups, semifinals, etc. The past 3-4 years a softness has crept in to the program that we can not seem to eradicate. We have tried hitting more in practice, practicing "live" more than we normally do, tackling drills, sled work, etc. Nothing seems to work. Is it just a matter of a kid being aggressive and ours are not? Just looking for tips to turn this tide and get back to being a more physical team. I still believe that the most physical team usually wins a football game even in the era of the spread, RPO's, and pass happy offenses. Thank you in advance! Your team will play...like they practice. Limit thud practice to only the occasions where you're not in full pads. Otherwise, when you're on the field, practice as if it were a game. No quick whistles. Go full-bull. They'll be more physical. |
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Post by coachf8 on Oct 9, 2018 6:35:21 GMT -6
I’m going to preface this by saying this is going to sound crazy, because when it was introduced to me, I thought it was stupid. It was introduced to me by an old school defensive coordinator who was a stellar linebacker in college way back when and then played a few years on the Eagles practice squad. I thought he was looney when he suggested this but our team went from being not physical at all and giving up 36 points defensively to being extremely physical and giving up 21 on average, big jump. So maybe your thinking “well it could have been a number of things, kids, scheme, etc.”
I started this year at a new school, without him on staff. Heard the samething “kids aren’t physical, offensive line is soft, won’t hit, won’t tackle” last year they gave up 38pts a game. We implemented this same drill. I’ve had multiple coaches talk about how physical we are and defense is giving up 18 on average, held last weeks opponent to 90 total yds.
Simple drill:
Line everyone up in a single line behind the first pad on your four/five/six man sled. Each person has to engage the sled or “fit”. Just like you would meet a lead blocker as a linebacker on iso, engage, hands under armpits, meet force with force. After the first pad, the move onto the next and the next. After the line is complete, go back the other way. Then we do a fit and rip. Same drill but you rip after you engage and move onto the next pad.
We have a lev sled so you can engage and then lift it, then move on.
I know it sounds stupid but the more I’ve processed it I’ve come up with the philosophy behind it. Kids are hitting an inanimate object that won’t hit back but there learning to hit with force, they’re getting use to contact and that translates to when they hit another player.
When we first did this, kids couldn’t do it, literally the sled was kicking their tails bc they weren’t using force, rolling hips, etc. Now, not a single kid fails on it.
I will swear by this drill when it comes to making a team more physical.
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Post by The Lunch Pail on Oct 9, 2018 6:44:50 GMT -6
Build confident players. Lots of people mistake playing slow with playing soft. Simplify, make it a point to play faster, and your team will look a lot “tougher”
Also, weight room.
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Post by olcoach53 on Oct 9, 2018 6:48:52 GMT -6
This is a tough one with a smaller squad. Do you hit live more and risk injury or do you thud more to save bodies but risk physicality...It is a question that we ask ourselves every week.
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Post by coachdavis11 on Oct 9, 2018 6:55:47 GMT -6
I’m going to preface this by saying this is going to sound crazy, because when it was introduced to me, I thought it was stupid. It was introduced to me by an old school defensive coordinator who was a stellar linebacker in college way back when and then played a few years on the Eagles practice squad. I thought he was looney when he suggested this but our team went from being not physical at all and giving up 36 points defensively to being extremely physical and giving up 21 on average, big jump. So maybe your thinking “well it could have been a number of things, kids, scheme, etc.” I started this year at a new school, without him on staff. Heard the samething “kids aren’t physical, offensive line is soft, won’t hit, won’t tackle” last year they gave up 38pts a game. We implemented this same drill. I’ve had multiple coaches talk about how physical we are and defense is giving up 18 on average, held last weeks opponent to 90 total yds. Simple drill: Line everyone up in a single line behind the first pad on your four/five/six man sled. Each person has to engage the sled or “fit”. Just like you would meet a lead blocker as a linebacker on iso, engage, hands under armpits, meet force with force. After the first pad, the move onto the next and the next. After the line is complete, go back the other way. Then we do a fit and rip. Same drill but you rip after you engage and move onto the next pad. We have a lev sled so you can engage and then lift it, then move on. I know it sounds stupid but the more I’ve processed it I’ve come up with the philosophy behind it. Kids are hitting an inanimate object that won’t hit back but there learning to hit with force, they’re getting use to contact and that translates to when they hit another player. When we first did this, kids couldn’t do it, literally the sled was kicking their tails bc they weren’t using force, rolling hips, etc. Now, not a single kid fails on it. I will swear by this drill when it comes to making a team more physical. I'm having trouble seeing this in my tiny brain.... Do they engage with their shoulder somewhat like a tackle or is it just with the hands in proper position? |
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Post by coachf8 on Oct 9, 2018 7:08:40 GMT -6
No, they start from about 2-3yds away, come up, engage the sled as if they're taking on a blocker (hands inside armpits) and roll their hips.
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Post by aceback76 on Oct 9, 2018 7:16:59 GMT -6
I'm sure that this topic has been covered numerous times on here, but what do you do to create physicality and toughness in your program? We are pretty soft right now. At a school that i have been at for a number of years. Most of the time as DC, the past year and a half as HC. We use to be the toughest and most physical team around. We have been very successful and with state championships, runners ups, semifinals, etc. The past 3-4 years a softness has crept in to the program that we can not seem to eradicate. We have tried hitting more in practice, practicing "live" more than we normally do, tackling drills, sled work, etc. Nothing seems to work. Is it just a matter of a kid being aggressive and ours are not? Just looking for tips to turn this tide and get back to being a more physical team. I still believe that the most physical team usually wins a football game even in the era of the spread, RPO's, and pass happy offenses. Thank you in advance! We BEGIN in the out-of-season with Mat Drill "Combatives" (which every SEC team does). Cannot detail typing, but would talk to anyone about these who wishes to phone. ONE of Lou Holtz' books (I believe it was "THE GRASS IS GREENER") has a great section devoted to them, & you can get it thru Inter-library loan. |
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Post by 19Gate83 on Oct 9, 2018 7:26:55 GMT -6
Board Drills
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Post by coachagamble on Oct 9, 2018 8:07:35 GMT -6
Boards can help. One drill we got from The Citadel that has been good for us is the tower drill.
OL vs. DL , 5 yards away TE/H vs.LB, 5 yards from him WR vs. DB. Ball carrier is trying to make it through the tower. Offensive players are working on sustaining blocks defensive players are working on shedding blocks and tackling. Winner has half the conditioning.
With this said there's no quick fix, quick drill, weight room fix to physicality. It is a day in day out task of trying to build. We have struggled this year but the one thing I can say is from game one to now our staff has worked hard to build some physicality with the kids and we're seeing it out there on the field. But I feel that building a physical group drill (4 to score, tower drill, Oklahoma, boards, etc) with a competition aspect to it can help.
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Post by doitforthekids on Oct 9, 2018 9:53:52 GMT -6
Confidence and habits. You must train your players to run through the opposition with full force. If their confidence is low, they will hesitate and shy away. You must drill into their bodies HOW to hit and reinforce constantly to have relentless feet. Start by hitting inanimate objects, move to hitting shields, then to opposing players they should beat (make them win in scenarios they should). Finally once their confidence is up, gradually let them hit players as good or better than them. Now, you some of that with the entire team and other parts (winnable matchups) with specific players you’re trying to build.
Old coaching legend once told me “don’t put your best on best, it’s ok to have 2 guys believe they are THE STUD. Pit them against someone they should whip, and let someone else surprise you”. Part of building confidence! We have 2 OL’s that NEVER hit each other and think they can whip anyone! (They started the year looking like Tarzan and playing like Jane).
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Post by mountainman on Oct 9, 2018 12:23:26 GMT -6
Some great thing here. Thank you. Very interested in the sled drill. We have a sled from the WWII era. Been looking in to getting a new one for next year. Really could use some suggestions on sleds. We have been researching, but have not made a decision yet.
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Post by coachcb on Oct 9, 2018 12:40:49 GMT -6
Everything that's been posted above is great. Here's my two cents:
Make sure that you have your eleven best football players on the field, not your eleven best athletes. Virtually everywhere I've been there's been a few diamonds-in-the-rough that aren't the most athletic kids within the program but they're aggressive, coachable and playing them seems to bring up the level of violence of everyone around them.
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Post by coachjo14 on Oct 12, 2018 11:18:24 GMT -6
Great stuff in here.
Some of my personal favorites:
Tower drill as was described earlier in this thread, Sled work, board drills, Oklahoma, Goal Line Period, Circle Drill (Two guys line up in the middle of the team and drive each other to the circle. No throwing, hip tossing, or turning), Foxholes (there is a rabbit who has the ball and two blockers who can't double team the defender, but take turns blocking as the rabbit runs around the "foxhole". The drill does not stop until the defender clubs up the rabbit or he yields).
An interesting take on board drills and the circle drill that I have seen is guys continuing to the ground and the drill not being over until one player is on top of the other one and fully locks him out on the ground. I saw this when I was recruiting one spring and realized why they usually had dogs...
Obviously the weight room and mat drills are huge!
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Post by coachjo14 on Oct 12, 2018 11:23:15 GMT -6
I heard of a program where the boys play "kneeball" at the end of a workout. (It only happened twice an offseason from what I understand). The boys play on their knees in an enclosed space a game that is similar to rugby. It is all about knuckling down and bowing your necks... From all accounts it was very physical.
At the end of practice in camp we used to have sumo wrestling matches, one man tug of war matches, and ever an American Gladiators inspired Power Ball competition (5 footballs one trash can 30 seconds each to score as many times as possible).
These drills are always competitive and have conditioning for the offense/defense attached to them.We tried to match the kids up by weight as closely as possible... These drills also allow you to see who will fight and who will curr...
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