Running Back Drills

Ball security drills everday!! They can do them during agility's once they understand the concepts of how to protect the football.

JD

ADDITIONAL THOUGHT: BE SURE AND INCLUDE DRILL THAT WILL PERFECT HIS TECHNIQUE IN RUNNING THE SPRINT DRAW (TAKING THE HANDOFF FROM THE QB SMOOTHLY, IN A PRECISON TRANSFER OF THE BALL ON THIS PLAY!)

COACH EASTON

I've been coaching backfield for 11 years now, and I've picked up on some pretty good stuff. I try to stick with a few drills that the kids will benifit from and that are good fundamental drills. I break them down into different categories depending on the areas of emphasis we are looking at.

1. BALL SECURITY:

-MONKEY ROLLS with footballs (someone else already described it here, and I fully agree!)
-PIGGY BACK (Have RB's partner up. One partner is the ballcarrier and the other drapes himself over his back, one arm up over the ballcarrier's shoulder, the other is used to try and strip the ball. The ballcarrier must drive through 10 yards and maintain posession.
-GAUNTLET (Run through a gauntlet of players, holding one football in each arm, while they try to strip it. Holding 2 balls makes it tougher, and the back must really concentrate)
-HANDOFF LINES (The old little league drill where the two lines run at each other and backs exchange the balls at half speed)

2. RUNNING / BALLCARRY DRILLS:

-BAG AGILITIES (4 tackle dummies, stepping over bags. One foot, Two feet, bunny hops, etc. We will sometimes jam them with shields as they run through to add a balance or ball security element to the drill
-SHUTTLE RUN (Have two backs quickly shuffle back and forth between 2 cones at 5 yards. Use SHORT CONTROLLED steps, do not overstride and let your feet get out from under the framework of your body. Quick feet, low base, short steps)
-ZIG ZAG (run to the cone and cut at an angle. Vary the distance between the cones. Empahsize lowering hips, keeping the football against the body, keeping the feet quick and under the frame of the body-no over striding)
-BLASTER TUNNEL (self-explainitory)
-STRAIN DRILL (2 backs get hip-to-hip holding shields. A RB runs from 4yds deep and hits between the two shields, keeping his shoulders low, neck bulled, eyes up. The legs must continue to drive as he "strains" against the resistance. After 3 seconds, the shields let up and the back bursts through, maintaining balance and forward explosiveness)
-SIDELINE TIGHTROPE (Set up 3 players with shields every 5 yards about 2 yards from the sideline. Pitch the ball to a RB using whatever style of pitch you wish to work on that day. The RB runs up inside the gauntlet and the players with the shields jam the ballcarrier trying to knock him out of bounds. They cannot move their feet, just arms. The ballcarrier must dip and rip through, staying in bounds and fighting for extra yardage.)
-WATER SKI (same as the "piggy back", but the non-ballcarrying partner will hold the RB by the collar of his shoulder pads. The ballcarrier must drive with high knees and strong running form to get through 5 yards. MAKE SURE the ballcarrier is keeping the ball tucked in and is not letting it get away from his body as he strives for the extra yardage.)
-DIVE AND CUT (Practice a variety of exchanges with the QB's such as straight dives, reverse pivots, option rides, etc. Have the backs take handoffs and cut off of a coach's command. Monitor proper stance, starts, handoff pockets, eye and shoulder levels, etc.)

3. BLOCKING DRILLS:

Please look under "Offensive Drills" for a huge entry I posted on our progressions for teaching isolation and kickout blocking. This is something we take a great deal of time on perfecting. I think the thread has a title referring to "Coaching the Iso Block" or something like that.


My belief is this: Don't send the kids through crazy obstacle courses. Don't invent any whacky drills that look great and are "really fun". Just teach fundamentally sound drills that emphasize ball security, toughness, and athletic development. All that other stuff will never help these guys win a game.


Coach, let me know if you need any help, and good luck.

Coach,

To be honest, we use the exact same progression, but we approach a defender lined up as a DE type player and we do it with our first step at the appropriate angle to kick-out. We emphasize sliding the helmet upfield on the fit, but otherwise it is the exact same drill, just with a different approach.

Thanks!

Yes,

We have him aim at the base of the inside number. Gives the back a proper landmark, even if he doesn't get there in reality, it should put him in the proper position and with the proper leverage to take the defender back and out of the hole!

Coach,

I think that answer will vary somewhat based on a couple of different factors:

1: What are your line splits in the offensive line? If you run tighter splits, then the angle is flatter and the block is much more immediate. If you run more traditional splits (2 feet) or wider, than the angle is much more direct and the player must gather himself and be under control, because "lining up" the block is tougher the further you have to run. Our splits are typically 2 feet.

2. What is your FB depth? By the sound of it, if you're an option team your FB is probably at about 4-5 yards. Now you definitely have to coach up the angle a bit more. You'll see some Wing-T and Double Wing teams sneak their FB up tighter so that the kick-out is more like a pulling guard trapping the defender. The angle is much flatter.

3. What alignment are you typically looking at kicking out? Do you try to blast a 7 technique out of there, or is it typically anything 8 or 9?

The truth is, we get a great deal of repetition on the "kick out" block because we coach it the exact same way we coach our protections for 3-step drop game. What we've found useful is to map out the spacing either with cones or a "spacing hose" that you may use to execute your backfield plays. Give the FB a landmark to aim for in his first step, and base his approach with the goal of protecting that C gap at all costs. Depending on speed and ability (and perhaps scouting), we typically vary our landmarks anywhere from the inside hip of the playside tackle to the outside hip of the playside tackle. The FB must know that as he runs to his landmark, his eyes are constantly tracking the base of the inside jersey number of the defender. Once he reaches his landmark, the FB will either have to flatten his course slightly to make the block, or he will be making the impact at the hole. Either way, you've protected the gap and given the RB the lane he needs to hit.

Coach, hopefully this has helped you somewhat!!