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what do you think?
i coach little league football in florida, we run a very run base power football offense. last season i tryed to show the kids how to stay low and fire there hands and drive block, but they wouldnt stay low and they would get beat....what do you think about the old wing block? some say its still used in college and high school. winning is not my main goal, im trying to get the kids ready for high school and college. im just trying get get someone elses point of view because football starts in july.
thanks, coach kenny
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Peter Rodeno on -
The most important thing to me as a high school coach, is that young kids are taught basic fundamentals. I think the best thing that your youth league could do (something that our youth leagues does) is go to your local high school and see what they want. I can't tell you how many freshmen I get every year that have no clue how to play football. I would say not many teams anymore use the chicken wing, but then again it all depends on the offenses that are run, I cant think of a college that would use it now. We hold a clinic for the middle school and youth league coaches, but we teach them basic fundamentals because we are a two high school system and we can't be to specific without pissing the other high school off. If the kids are taught from 3rd grade all the way through middle school the basic fundamentals of offensive line play at some point it will sink in and click, its all about repetition. To many youth league coaches try and focus solely on dominating the other team and winning "super bowls" and it not being about the kids. Wins and losses at that point are second to teaching respect, teamwork, leadership principles, and fundamentals. Keep doing what your doing, eventually it will work; keep the main thing, the main thing. The fact that you are seeking advice tells me you care about the kids and are doing the right thing.
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Permalink Reply by LeCharles Bentley on -
Great point Peter. Kenny, the wing block is teaching kids wasted motion. An offensive lineman no matter what skill level cant afford to not have a "positive" effort with any movement. An idea: Go through the entire progression of a run block, from the first step to hand and hat placement. I realize these are kids you are teaching but instilling in them how to play the game properly is vital in preventing injuries. It will take time but the effort will be worth it. A technique I was taught was the "clap" method. Literally clapping your hands while exploding off the ball forces your hands to be tight and targets them inside the defender. This isnt a big church clap but a quick movement like a boxers jab. The kids will love it because it will be fun and crazy to them. Next thing you know they will all be doing it and controlling the line of scrimmage.
""""This is a drive block technique only.
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Permalink Reply by Peter Rodeno on
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Love the clap method! Patients is most certainly a virtue when working with linemen, especially the younger guys. I have some progression drills stuff around my place somewhere that I could copy for you, or send it to you via email (if I can find it!). LeCharles is your academy still on Jaycox? I would like to check it out some time.
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Permalink Reply by LeCharles Bentley on
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Yep. Shoot me an email and let me know when youre thinking.
Peter Rodeno said:Love the clap method! Patients is most certainly a virtue when working with linemen, especially the younger guys. I have some progression drills stuff around my place somewhere that I could copy for you, or send it to you via email (if I can find it!). LeCharles is your academy still on Jaycox? I would like to check it out some time.
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Permalink Reply by kenny kaufmann on -
thanks alot guys, yeah i love coaching the kids. its not all about winning. if i can take a troubled kid off the streets and give him a new hobby i did my job. im only 20yrs old and i have 2 learn 12yr and 13yr olds arent as quick as i am with picking stuff up lol. we run the single wing so its all inside down blocking. i had a guy the used to play for the fines and he said that the wing block would work but i needed another point of view. the "clap" sounds great, it sounds like its fun and the kids would like it. thats alot everyone
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Permalink Reply by o_line_coach on -
I used the clap method (got it from a cool clinic session a few years ago) and it works fine, especially for kids that have a tendancy to spread their elbows outside of their body frame. For the other part of your question - getting them to stay low - if find that telling kids this age to stay low almost never works.
A friend of mine uses a method i like a lot. He gives the kids a very low aiming point on their opponents (as they are always way too high this helps them be lower) and then tells them to bend their knees. I know bending your knee is the equivalent of staying low but for some reason this seems to make its way through the kids' minds better than the "stay low" neverending song.
Also another key phrase that i use for run blocking is i tell my players to make sure their belly buttons keep looking at the ground. That keeps them bent and therefore lower than their opponents prior to contact.
You can also use a very light pad that you have handy. Make them get out or their stances and just move the pad above their head and hit their helmet if the get up too much. One danger with that drill is they might just look downward to avoid the pad so make sure they keep their knees bent. I personnaly love the combo "pad and belly buttons trick phrase" ....
Good luck coach
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