Board Drills

Not really a board drill, but I saw the offensive line coach up at Northwestern U make his linemen do all of their drills with a band tied around their wrists. The idea was to train the hogs to always keep their hands together.

The PVC pipe thing sounds interesting.

We also use the boards for a reach blocking drill. I feel this really works on getting the 2nd step down and in the proper location.

we will have a defender holding a shield standing on the right side of the board about 1/2 ways. The OL or TE will be aligned on the left with his right foot next to the board. The footwork for the reach block right would be stepping laterial with the right foot over the board, the left foot now would step over the board and now would be aligned in the defenders mid-section, and then the right foot would square up and we run the defender.

JD

Does anyone have any of the PVC pipe drills on tape?

Those bands around the wrists are great. In college we had a guy who had a heck of time keeping his hands inside on pass pro. Our line coach made the guy practice with these things during team period... and he did improve. IMHO it is a great way to keep the hands together - the only other key point I'd say with the punch phase is to keep the elbows/arms close to the body - you involve more of the chest muscles in your punch and it becomes more powerful. Have them visualize a few $100 bills in their armpits.

A cheaper alternative is to use bicycle tire tubes. Twist them like a Figure-8 and then wrap the middle with black electrical tape - works like a charm. There are different diameter tire sizes so you can adjust it for your players sizes.

Coach JD asked about a tape with PVC drills - I believe there is a section on the 2003 COOL Clinic Drill tape.

Fly, could you explain that hula hoop thing in some more detail? I am a little dense today.

along other lines, how many of you guys do hand fighting and punch drills in the offseason?

One I like is in the gym. The basketball coaches don't like it much, but it is fun.
Using the pads on the wall in the gym, I take the OL in there and we work wide to normal punches on the wall.

If you have trees near campus, they are good to jam on as well. Jam the tree, and pull bark off. Wide to normal from tree to tree and punch them in whatver order you want. The kids love doing that. I did this back in hs. Just thought I would practice my jam one day. Tree huggers might not like it.

Anyone do pass punches with weight? Not really as a technique thing, but more of a strength and explosion thing for offseason? At my last school the kids were using 55lb bumper plates pretty well for a couple of laps around the mat.

JD, I have toyed with the idea of tying my boards to drag behind the sled so I can kill two boards with one stone. But I have never tried it. I am not much of a sled fan (they don't fight back and move laterally) but I do want to get them running, se we use it early in the year. I might toy with that idea some more.

Ok, now to find a hula hoop big enough for me.

I will give it a try.

The boards tied onto the sled theory is very interesting. We run the sled 1 day a week for a conditioner for all the linemen. it would be an awesome way to keep a base when running the sled!

We ordered 6 of the wrist bands today!! Thanks for the website ebbster50!!!

JD

Ebbster;

I think BOTH the 2nd step and the punch need to be timed very closely. I totally agree with you that often the punch ends up de-emphasized, in favor of proper footwork. But there is a reason I think... if you get a great punch but you do not have both feet in the ground... you are off balance, and your own punch will put you more off balance if the DL has a solid base.

I think the key is to have the punch come just as the second step hits the ground. I try and teach it this way:

1st Step: Lock n' Load - elbows back and tight to body; hands open and wrists flexed back

2nd Step: Punch - hands tight; aim bottom of numbers; fork lift motion (ideally we want the bottom of the shoulder pads and drive them up into the DL's throat - throwing him back and up)

Thanks Bill - I've learned from great coaches, both on the field (as a player and coach) and on these boards.

This year looking at some practice film of a few drills I really saw the need for BOTH the 2nd step and punch to be in conjuction and have the movements in sync to avoid wasted movement.

You are 100% correct - if it is a pas the punch is in the chest (or centerline of the player). In a pass you need at some point to elevate your shoulder pads a bit and rotate your hips down and forward into the ideal pass pro set position (sit in the chair). I teach the hands up and relaxed at the chest - a short distance away from the chest. Then we'll make a short powerful punch into the defender.

I've alternated between the punch, hold, and lockout technique and the rapid punch (Tunch Ilkin style) style for pass pro. Still unsure which works. Our guys this year were taught the Ilkin method but ended up resorting to the lockout method many times.

Anybody care to share ideas or experiences?

What do you guys teach vs. a swim and rip move?

On the swim I teach my guys to punch the defender in the arm pit and get him off balance and on the rip we will attack and punch the near hip trying to control his center of gravity.

JD