barnone
Sophomore Member
Posts: 132
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Post by barnone on May 22, 2007 7:30:24 GMT -6
Coaches I need some help. I am having to replace four o-linemen from a State Championship team. Right side looks good, but my left side is not good. My problem is this. I have a 6-3 275 pound Soph. that benches about 330, (strong as an ox). However, He is completely slow off the ball, and just doesn't get mean and nasty like I need him. He is a great kid, and I want to give him every shot, because he could be great. So how do I help him improve. Any ideas or suggestions would be great.
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Post by briangilbert on May 22, 2007 7:32:46 GMT -6
Work with him every day you can on technique, mentor the kid. If he see's how invested you are in him, he may start to really care about football even more; to the point where he will have enough confidence in himself to play with some nasty.
That's really all anyone can ever do in my opinion.
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barnone
Sophomore Member
Posts: 132
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Post by barnone on May 22, 2007 7:37:40 GMT -6
I hear you. He really is a good kid and wants to play it, he just isn't getting it done and we have a spring scrimmage Friday against two schools that are much bigger in class then us.
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Post by wildcat on May 22, 2007 7:40:56 GMT -6
What about defense? Kid like that sounds like the perfect 3 tech...
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barnone
Sophomore Member
Posts: 132
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Post by barnone on May 22, 2007 7:48:49 GMT -6
We are kind of looking there, but he would be at the best the 3rd option. And I really need him on the oline. If I can just get him comming off of the ball quicker, a lot quicker, than he would be ok. It is just frustrating. I wish I could develop a system that could make kids like this monsters, heck I would be rich if I could.
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Post by brophy on May 22, 2007 8:08:44 GMT -6
buy him a jump rope and MAKE him jump rope before/after every weight room session.
the mean and nasty part, I think you would have to use some psychology on the boy. Don't cajole him too much, get him to first identify with being a lineman (self-perception), then show him technique to allow him to be consistently successful (not just maul people)....when he becomes dominant with SKILL, he will pull the trigger on being a bad ace.
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barnone
Sophomore Member
Posts: 132
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Post by barnone on May 22, 2007 8:26:54 GMT -6
Thanks brophy. I love the jump rope idea, I had also thought about doing some dot work.
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Post by threeback on May 22, 2007 8:39:05 GMT -6
Lock him in a room for three days with no food and water and only let him loose on game night.
Seriously, we had a similar problem with one of our O-lineman a few years back. Big as all get go sophomore year, but soft. He was like that until the end of his junior year, then something just clicked and he got mean- VERY mean. His senior year, he dominated and was recruited by pretty much everyone.
My old high school coach had a saying that "Only a hungry dog will hunt." Make the kid hungry for praise. Motivate him to be the best, and make him understand the he has the potential to be something special. And make very sure that in that game that it finally "clicks" for him, to praise the heck out of him. Once he sees what he is capable of and is praised for it, I think he'll lay it on the line for you.
For his footwork- jump rope before and after the weightroom. We also had our O and D lineman play soccer against each other. Called it "hogball". Kids loved it and it will make you laugh until you throw up- but it's great for their coordination.
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Post by coachm on May 22, 2007 8:52:56 GMT -6
make him a FB.  can use him to block powers or kickouts and pass pro from wherever. |
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Post by realdawg on May 22, 2007 8:56:15 GMT -6
Hey look at the bright side, at least your not small and soft like my guys!
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bhb
Junior Member
Posts: 259
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Post by bhb on May 22, 2007 9:02:25 GMT -6
or small, soft, AND slow- like my guys..LOL.. (oh, and I think we might be a little dumb on top of everything-LOL)
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Post by coachfite on May 22, 2007 9:05:16 GMT -6
Also, one way we get our big boys feet moving is we introduce them to Raquetball.
Amazing what that spot can do for football players.
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Post by wildcat on May 22, 2007 9:27:04 GMT -6
Just to piggyback on what Brophy said...being aggressive is largely a result of being self-confident. Sounds to me like this kid doesn't have a whole lot of self-confidence and that is at least in part why he may be so timid.
Once a kid can gain confidence in what he is supposed to do and doesn't have to think about it every step of the way, he can just go out and play football with reckless abandon. However, during the "teaching" process, he might seem a step slow because he really doesn't have faith in his abilities or in what he is supposed to do.
Show me a kid who is aggressive on the football field and I will show you a kid who trusts his coaching, technique, and instincts.
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Post by knight9299 on May 22, 2007 9:46:27 GMT -6
I hear you. He really is a good kid and wants to play it, he just isn't getting it done and we have a spring scrimmage Friday against two schools that are much bigger in class then us. I have a buddy that was 6'5" 250 as a frosh. All through middle school he dwarfed other kids. He said he heard a lot of "don't hear the other kids" Or when he did finally get irritated about some twerp and did act aggressively the twerp's parents would freak out. So he's a gentle giant. Sounds like you have the same thing here. I'd try highlights of o-lineman pancaking guys that LSU video might work. I had sophomore that was 6'3 220. Third biggest guy o-line soph through varsity. But he just didn't bring it. I tried everything, fire & brim stone, pats on the back. Finally one practice he got mauled by a junior. I lost it. "what will it take for you to get ticked off and play like your hair is on fire?!" He looked at me and gave me the same goofy smile and shrug. The varsity HC came over to me and told me some kids just can't flip the intensity switch. I turned around to find the 2nd string tackle. And the sophomores buddy came up to and said he could get him mad. I told him go for it. The kid went up to big ol' softy said something in his ear. The next play the was inside zone. double 3 tech to mike. The guard never got to the 3, the big ol' softy mowed him down & decleated Mike. I asked the kid what he said. "It was easy, I just said I wanted to date his sister"  I made that kid my official get my tackle's fire lit guy. |
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Post by brophy on May 22, 2007 9:47:15 GMT -6
there is a good paragraph in John Madden's first book about his theory on Olinemen. Olinemen are usually those big fat kids in school. The kids that always get told "don't hurt Johnny" "you're playing too rough", "you're bigger than the other boys...tone it down"....all their life they are told to settle down because they are the TommyBoyBullInAChinaShop..... They can't get physical with any other kids, otherwise they are being a bully.... However, if a kid that is diminuitive at that age is actually ENCOURAGED to rough house because they are so small - what is HE going to hurt, anyway? Which is why I brought up the psychology thing....these kids don't feel like they "fit in" with the everyday kid. They aren't popular with girls....they probably get made fun of... My point is, THAT is why they are timid - if you are trying to force them into something they aren't, they will rebel against it. But if you get them to buy into an acceptable identity (football player....Olineman) by showing them how "good" they are (confidence), get them to identify themselves with other Olinemen (Robert Gallery, Joe Thomas, Orlando Pace, etc...) and how those guys dominate, now you have changed his perception / model of what a "football player" is (not Tiki Barber or Brian Urlacher). Now, all you have to do is teach the kid HOW to be effective / efficient because the minute he gets owned by a bigger kid (or smaller kid) he will lose focus. Teach him how to dominate with technique (not size). |
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barnone
Sophomore Member
Posts: 132
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Post by barnone on May 22, 2007 9:57:48 GMT -6
Thanks guys. Will try to implement some of this stuff. It has got to click for him at some point.
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Post by brophy on May 22, 2007 10:03:44 GMT -6
ALSO.............(and I think EVERY program has to do this..)
CELEBRATE your offensive linemen...make them their own cult. Take the Alex Gibbs approach and do things just for them (dinners, movies, T-shirts) so they can pride in what they are doing, that they WANT to be an Olineman. That position is tough enough as it is without the public perception of it being the purgatory of football.
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Post by wingt74 on May 22, 2007 10:17:28 GMT -6
Board drills...i had the same problem last season, I researched Board Drills, used the drills in practice, and watched my big guys get mean and nasty on the field. Coach above is correct...they want to dominate...they just don't know how. Ignorance breeds lack of confidence. Board drill: Flat board on the ground (I use thin 1/2 moon bags). Two lineman lineup face to face, straddling the board/bad, hands locked, and try to drive each other back and on to the ground. If their feet touch the board, they lose. Great pic of it here www.gomocs.com/images/articles/46018_board_drill.jpg |
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Post by coachmathis on May 22, 2007 10:18:37 GMT -6
I would say use some sports psychology on him .Find out why he plays football, what he likes and doesn't like what motivates him, what makes him mad, etc. This could give you an inside track on what might bring out the beast in him. Sometimes Ill put that guy consistenly up against one of my toughest guys and then basically he is either going to man up or get his you know what knocked into the dirt. At the same time this is happening and he is getting beating down( which usually happens the first couple of times) I coach hard on technique and how to do it right and point out the little things that they do correct and re-enforce that I know that he can handle the guy.
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Post by threeback on May 22, 2007 10:22:25 GMT -6
Like Brophy said- make the O-line proud. We broke school records in PPG and YPG this year, and in our school newspaper, guess who we had pictures of?- the o line. No backs, receivers, or Qbs- just the line. The kids absolutely loved it.
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Post by spartancoach on May 22, 2007 10:37:07 GMT -6
Just tie him to a pole and beat him until he is mean. Much quicker than all that other stuff.
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Post by realdawg on May 22, 2007 10:57:37 GMT -6
On a serious note, one thing that helped us last year was board battles inside the chutes. Helps them stay low and its a one on one man on man battle. We called them "man makers"
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barnone
Sophomore Member
Posts: 132
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Post by barnone on May 22, 2007 11:16:07 GMT -6
Yes I like that.
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Post by kloranc on May 22, 2007 11:23:30 GMT -6
See if you can bribe the head cheerleader into dating him! That will make him the most confident guy in school!!!
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Post by brophy on May 22, 2007 11:29:09 GMT -6
See if you can bribe the head cheerleader into dating him! That will make him the most confident guy in school!!! while you're at it........ |
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Post by wingt74 on May 22, 2007 14:01:47 GMT -6
See if you can bribe the head cheerleader into dating him! That will make him the most confident guy in school!!! In my profession, we call this "Thinking outside the box" Well done |
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Post by coachjim on May 23, 2007 3:25:26 GMT -6
In practice, stick a guy even bigger then he is on the other side of the line that burns and embarrasses him into getting angry. The only thing that has ever made me get better is failure. Perhaps he feels like he can just get by on his size alone and needs a good lesson in humility.
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barnone
Sophomore Member
Posts: 132
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Post by barnone on May 23, 2007 7:09:22 GMT -6
I have a kid that has been our starting center since he was a freshman. (He is pretty much our oline leader and can whoop any kid on our team.) I talked to him yesterday and he is going line up across from him in any drill that it is possible for him to do that. BTW our Center is also our starting 3tech. It should be interesting. On another note, I don't think the kid will respond well to other kids getting on him because of his nature, our center has been real good working with him so far, encourages him when earned and explains mistakes... good stuff.
On a positive not I think I found a new pulling gaurd yesterday, which in our O is extreemely important.
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I made that kid my official get my tackle's fire lit guy. 
