The Best Football Drills For Kids: O-Line Part II
Feb 17, 2022
It all starts with the STANCE! This sounds like an easy thing to teach but in reality we all know it usually doesn't go well at first. There are kids who are naturally flexible and athletic enough to just get it right the first time. However this isn't the case for most.
Just like the Duck Walk prepares you for post snap movement. The Non-Weighted Snatch Squat can be used to prepare young players to get in a proper stance. This isn't your typical snatch squat though. Instead during the squat the feet should be wide and under the arm pits, the knees should be just slightly inside the feet (not outside), the stick should be just over the back of your head and it should stay there (this keeps their eyes and chest up at all times). Their feet should remain flat with their heals on the ground.
The second exercise we use to build the flexibility to get in a proper stance is the SNATCH SPEED LUNGE.
This exercise not only continues to work on keeping their eyes and chest up but it also puts them in and out of a position with their knees and ankles bent rapidly creating fast twitch explosion similar to firing out of a stance and remaining to keep good posture.
NOW FOR THE STANCE
A good football stance requires your butt to be below your shoulders, the inside of your feet should be under your arm pits, your feet should be staggered slightly (left or right handed stance), and your knees should be inside your feet.
Do not let them rest their off hand on their leg. In Part III of this series we will cover how to fire out of your stance. Again, incorporating all of these things into your practices seems like a lot of extra time consuming activity. However, if your offensive line can do all of these things then you won't have to spend as much time repping a bunch of plays because you will be able to run a few real well.
Your practices have to be structured. If you keep track of everything, time every drill, and stick to the script you will be able to get trough twice as many plays in practice and still have half the practice go towards individual position specific drills. We have been using the same practice plans, call scripts and game scripts for over a decade. Here is what we use. [Join iCoach.Football to Access]
Click Here to View Part III of this 3 Part Series on Offensive Line Drills. Take the time until then to script out your summer mini-camp days and or practices. You will see immediately why this needs to be a part of every practice. If you missed PART I of FOOTBALL DRILLS FOR KIDS: O-LINE CLICK HERE!
