Professional Football Running Back Tips
Drive Block
Driving and blocking are the bases for a good lineman. The drive block is the most fundamental and should be practiced often. It is a simple yet effective way to move your opponent. It starts with the lineup, when you are facing your opponent notice which way they are aligned, if they are off to the right then you will drive them to the right if the play is occurring on the left side of the field. When driving start with your play side foot. Connect hard against your opponent, bring your other foot into play and continue to drive in the aligned direction.
Conditioning: Quick step crossing
Football is all about action and reaction, and those that practice reacting quickly in a variety of directions will dominate the field. The point to this drill is having players practice quick directional changes on the field. It starts by placing players in a small four square box. The drill starts by having a player stand in one area or box, and has them jump diagonally, laterally, frontwards, and backwards from one area to another. Some of the variations can be on legged; either right or left, or changing the order those players will perform the drill.
Around the world: Improved Ball Handling
Ball handling is one of the most vital skills that a player can have on the field, and this drills goal is to help players get a better feel and control for the football. In this drill players will be constantly moving or passing the ball from one hand to the other. The drill is simple and starts by having the player pass the ball around their head, torso, arms, knees, and even between their feet from one hand to another in constant motion.
In this drill the coaches responsibility is to observe the smoothness of the drill, and to also shout commands of body positions to move the ball around, and also to reverse the direction of the football. Changing the direction of the football ensures that they dont form a habit, and that they remained focused on the ball and controlling the movement.
At the very end of the drill the players will do several simple drops. This means that the player will drop the football and retrieve it again quickly. To further increase pickup skills have your players change up the hands that they are using so that both their strong and weak hands are developed.
Basics to football hand offs
Learning the basics in a handoff is essential to a strong offense. Lets look at a simple hand off between a quarterback and a running back to point out the fundamentals of this skill. A good hand off starts with the running back giving a target to the quarterback, this can be done in the running back keeping his arms flat against his body, one arm low and the other high creating an open square or target around the chest for the quarterback to slide the ball in. When the running back receives the football he clamps down both arms hard on the football 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.
Driving and blocking are the bases for a good lineman. The drive block is the most fundamental and should be practiced often. It is a simple yet effective way to move your opponent. It starts with the lineup, when you are facing your opponent notice which way they are aligned, if they are off to the right then you will drive them to the right if the play is occurring on the left side of the field. When driving start with your play side foot. Connect hard against your opponent, bring your other foot into play and continue to drive in the aligned direction.
Conditioning: Quick step crossing
Football is all about action and reaction, and those that practice reacting quickly in a variety of directions will dominate the field. The point to this drill is having players practice quick directional changes on the field. It starts by placing players in a small four square box. The drill starts by having a player stand in one area or box, and has them jump diagonally, laterally, frontwards, and backwards from one area to another. Some of the variations can be on legged; either right or left, or changing the order those players will perform the drill.
Around the world: Improved Ball Handling
Ball handling is one of the most vital skills that a player can have on the field, and this drills goal is to help players get a better feel and control for the football. In this drill players will be constantly moving or passing the ball from one hand to the other. The drill is simple and starts by having the player pass the ball around their head, torso, arms, knees, and even between their feet from one hand to another in constant motion.
In this drill the coaches responsibility is to observe the smoothness of the drill, and to also shout commands of body positions to move the ball around, and also to reverse the direction of the football. Changing the direction of the football ensures that they dont form a habit, and that they remained focused on the ball and controlling the movement.
At the very end of the drill the players will do several simple drops. This means that the player will drop the football and retrieve it again quickly. To further increase pickup skills have your players change up the hands that they are using so that both their strong and weak hands are developed.
Basics to football hand offs
Learning the basics in a handoff is essential to a strong offense. Lets look at a simple hand off between a quarterback and a running back to point out the fundamentals of this skill. A good hand off starts with the running back giving a target to the quarterback, this can be done in the running back keeping his arms flat against his body, one arm low and the other high creating an open square or target around the chest for the quarterback to slide the ball in. When the running back receives the football he clamps down both arms hard on the football 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.
