Coach's Corner

Defensive Line Drill #6
5-Man Sled

Objective - Develop hand explosion and footwork.

Action - Align the defensive linemen in a single-file facing the first dummy on the five-man sled. The first player gets in his stance and at the whistle, he explodes up into the first dummy. The defensive lineman should use good hand position and be leveraged on contact. Then he moves down the sled attacking the remaining four bags with his hands. Then the next defender starts the football defensive line drill.

Coaching Details - Your defenders should come out of their stances low, with power and explode their hands up into the dummy. Be sure they come off the "blocker" well and work on quick feet shuffling as they move down the sled.

Defensive Line Drill #7
Shed Drill

Objective - Teach correct hand technique when shedding blockers.

Action - Pair up defensive linemen (one on offense, the other is the defender) and have them line up on a line of scrimmage. On the coach's signal, the offensive player drives his helmet beyond the defensive player's right side in order to try and knock him off the line. The defender should shuffle to the right and shove his hands into the blocker's numbers in order to try and negate the block. Once he's locked up, the defender should then try to escape from the blocker.

Coaching Details - Watch for correct starting stances and run the defensive line drill from both directions. Emphasize quick foot movement to your defenders and correct hand placement in order to get good leverage.

Defensive Line Drill #8
Attack Blocking Schemes

Objective - Teach defensive linemen fundamentals of beating various blocking schemes.

Action - Section defensive linemen into groups of three (two blockers and one defender). The coach will identify a blocking scheme, such as a pull, double team, reach block, etc., as well as whether to go off the ball or man movement. On the signal, the defender attacks the whatever block has been called, using the proper technique for that blocking scheme.

Coaching Details - Emphasize and teach proper fundamentals for defeating the various blocking schemes.

Defensive Line Drill #9
Contain Responsibility Drill

Objective - Teach the fundamentals of keeping contain responsibility.

Action - Align two blockers: one on the line with the other positioned right behind him, both facing the defender who is lined up "head up" over the first blocker. For this example, we'll run the drill to the defender's right, so line up a running back behind the blockers and offset to the defender's left. On the coach's signal, the first blocker tries to hook the defender inside as the running back sweeps out the defender's right side. After the defender gets around the first block, the second blocker tries to chop block him as the RB tries to get outside. The defender gets through the second block, then moves in to tackle the running back behind the line.

Coaching Details - Emphasize to the defender the need to keep his outside leg and arm free. Run the defensive line drill to both sides. Be sure the defender attacks upfield, concentrates on one blocker at a time until he's free to attack the next block, then takes down the RB with an angle tackle.

Defensive Line Drill #10
Reaction Drill

Objective - Teach better reaction skills to offensive lineman movement.

Action - Position 3 cones into a triangle, each about 7-10 yards apart. Put a running back at one cone, with a blocker facing the defensive lineman down between the other two cones. The coach stands behind the defender and signals to the running back and blocker whether to run to the right or left cone. On the signal, the RB runs to a cone while the defensive lineman fights off the block and prevents the ball carrier from reaching the cone.

Coaching Details - Emphasize and teach proper fundamentals for defeating the block.

Canadian Rule Book For Tackle Football
Approved for use by the CIS, CJFL, CCAA, and Football Canada. This book lists the rules and regulations that govern Canadian Amateur Football.
Includes:

• code of ethics
• regulations
• officials' signals
• rules

  This book also includes the Case Book which contains interpretations and rulings, for common and complex game situations, that are recognized by the Football Canada Rules' Committee and will provide for a common interpretations of various plays across Canada.

  Canadian Football Officials' Program (CFOCP) Training Manual - Red Book
  This manual provides an introduction to football officiating for the beginning official. The basic rules, fundamental skills and recommendations for getting off to a good start make up the first section. The next part of the manual deals more with the job of officiating, stressing the qualities of a good official, do's and don'ts for officials, job description and positioning charts for the various members of the officiating crew.

The quarterback should stay away from the huddle until it has been formed. Then he should get in, call the play, and get the momentum going. The main thing to remember in calling plays in the huddle is to keep your head up and look directly at your players. Some quarterbacks get their heads down and wind up talking to the ground. If you get your head up, look a man right in the eye, and tell him, "Brother, I want you to block," there's a pretty good chance he'll get the job done. Nobody likes to talk with a person who avoids looking at him, and this same psychology holds true for the relationship between a quarterback and his teammates.

It's a fact that football players don't develop leadership with their mouths. However, there is one slight exception to this fact, although it has nothing to do with bragging or big talk. It involves the way a quarterback calls plays. In order to put your team in motion you need to develop the fine art of signal calling. A quarterback must have a good, clear, crisp, voice because his voice reflects his confidence, his determination, and his responsibility. Many high school quarterbacks mumble signals. Guys on the team will be asking, "What did he say? What was that?" If there is too much confusion, they may have to call a check or even waste a time-out to get things cleared up. Make sure that you are clear and decisive in calling signals. A quarterback may call a bad play, but if he does it with conviction, his lineman will go out and do the job for him. They may even turn that bad play into a successful one. But if the quarterback calls a good play in a voice that lacks clarity and authority, the play is likely to fall flat.

Now let's discuss different types of counts once you get to the line. A rhythmic count is one in which a quarterback calls the signals in a consistent tempo-hut one, hut two, hut three-or without the numbers-hut, hut, hut. The important factor here is that there is a beat that your team can time. For instance, if you call the play on "three," the center will start the ball moving as you say the "hut" part of the "hut three" or certainly no later than the "th" part of the "three." As the team gets accustomed to the quarterback's cadence, they also get used to the center's reflexes and know almost instinctively just when he'll snap the ball.

You may want to switch to a non-rythmic count because as your team gets used to your cadence, the opposition does too. A nonrhythmic count works this way: the quarterback calls a play on "three," but instead of calling the number three he uses only the "huts" without the numbers; as the quarterback gets his team set at the line of scrimmage, he barks out "hut" and pauses, another "hut" is given, followed by a longer pause, and finally the last "hut" is heard, and the ball is snapped. The defense obviously can't guess the rhythm of the count because only the quarterback knows when he's going to snap out that last "hut". The effectiveness of the center's snap depends on how quickly he can react. Both rhythmic and non-rythmic counts have their proponents. Some coaches feel that with a rhythmic count the whole team gets into a good tempo. Others feel that by conditioning your team to wait you keep the defense on edge because they have no way to timing the snap. Whichever type of count you use, the center has a lot of work to do, so you had better get together with him and start working.