Blocking in Space

I think a lot of problems come from the thought that they block to the player. Like tackling, they have to learn to block through him. Receivers are a different breed as they usually aren't going to blow people up like a FB or Guard would. With that in mind I would suggest a Mirror drill where they simply put themselves between the ball carrier and the defender. As Coach Mountjoy suggests you are looking at their eyes as an indication of direction, with that, the receiver should get hands on the defender and mirror their movements. Its kind of like dancing (but dont tell them that). They have to learn to slide step with the defender wile keeping themselves between the ball carrier. Whats the difference? The biggest difference is that I need the lead blocker (FB, RB, OG, or OT) to block through the defender to spring the play to the second level. Once its downfield, I may only need a screen or interference to get me GONE.

One caveat here is that I notice A LOT of ball carriers dont "follow the butt" (Our term for using the block). If the blocker is executing as they should and the kid doesn't use the blocker its not the blockers fault. I cant tell you how many times I see a decent block sealing the inside edge and the bull headed ball carrier goes outside and gets tackled by a person who slips off the block.

I dont disagree with that at all. The key word is LAUNCHING the block. I find a lot of kids set up well to block or tackle they just don't take it through. iow They fail to LAUNCH. Hence my description of blocking through the man.

Thanks for the tips. I'll going to try them this week. I think our bigger problem is they don't have a lot of heart.