5 Defensive Line Drills to Get More Sacks and Tackles

By Coach Martin | Football Drills

Defensive line is a very demanding position.

Not only must players have good speed, footwork, and strength, they also must take on shed blocks from big offensive linemen.

They also face constant contact from a variety of players that come from all angles, as they look to break free and get to a ball carrier or a quarterback.

So, here are 5 defensive line drills to help players pick up the skills that they need to play the position.

These drills will go a long way in teaching your defensive linemen the basics to consistently shed blocks and record more tackles and sacks.

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5 Offensive Line Drills to Keep the QB Safe and Protected

By Coach Martin | Football Drills

The big boys on the offensive line will often dictate how successful a football team’s offense is.

The quarterback and other skill position players get a lot of the credit, but none of what they do would be possible if the offensive line didn’t perform well.

The offensive line has the fairly straightforward responsibility of protecting the skill players on the team. This includes opening up holes for the running game and keeping the quarterback enough time to throw on passing plays.

And coaches play a crucial role in teaching them how to be outstanding football players.

So, here are 5 drills to help your offensive linemen build their strength, speed, and stamina, as well as teach them effective blocking methods and tricks for protecting skill players on their offense.

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5 Quarterback Drills to Develop Accuracy and Power

By Coach Martin | Football Drills

Throwing with accuracy and power is one of the most important skills a quarterback can learn. And teaching him to do so is a multi-step process.

As a coach, you should start by having a quarterback work on throwing with his upper body and hips.

Then, you can work in some footwork and receiver recognition before integrating quarterback drills to teach him how to avoid pressure.

Finally, you can combine all the teachable skills so quarterbacks can learn how to hit receivers running routes in stride.

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5 Running Back Drills to Increase Agility and Speed

By Coach Martin | Football Drills

When people think of the running back position, they often just think of taking hand-offs or pitches from the quarterback and running with the ball.

But a running back’s job is so much more complex than that.

And it’s actually pretty demanding. They have a lot of roles and responsibilities that take a lot of different skills to master.

As a coach, you can help your running backs work on two of the most important skills (agility and speed) by running these 5 drills.

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3-5-3 Defense (Coaching Guide With Images)

By Coach Martin | Football Defense

Most defensive coaches are familiar with the two most popular base defenses – the 3-4 and the 4-3.

But for coaches looking for something a little different to optimize to a specific group of players or looking to keep offenses off-balance, a 3-5-3 defense might be a great option.

The 3-5-3 defensive alignment isn’t a formation that you see every day in football.

That’s mainly because it employs five linebackers on the field at all times, and requires the two Hybrid linebackers, as they’re called, to be very versatile – solid against the pass and the run.

Because of this fact, though, most offenses don’t know how to handle the 3-5-3 formation.

In this article, you’ll read about the basics of the 3-5-3 defense, its strengths and weaknesses, and a 3-step guide on how it’s run.

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The Jet Sweep Play for Youth Football Teams (With Video)

By Coach Martin | Football Plays

The jet sweep is one of the best plays an offensive coach can teach his youth football team.

It helps younger players take advantage of the fact that they’re often undersized.

It gets the ball into your most talented players quickly, and it attacks the defense where it’s weakest — on the outside.

Most importantly, it’s a play that can result in big gains without being too difficult for players to understand.

Here’s an in-depth look into what the jet sweep is, the formations that it can be run out of, how to coach youth football players on it, and some example plays.

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12 Football Plays for Easy First Downs and Touchdowns

By Coach Martin | Football Plays

There are plenty of instances in football where the offense just needs to gain a few yards to get a first down or score a touchdown.

These crucial plays will often determine the outcome of the game.

That’s why coaches need to have some high-percentage plays in their playbook that they can call for these times.

The good news is that there are plenty of great plays that the offense can use to get this done.

In this article, you’ll read about some of the best short-yardage football plays for a few of the most common and popular offensive formations.

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Understanding the RPO in Football (Run-Pass Option)

By Coach Martin | Football Plays

The RPO is a play that gives the quarterback the option to either hand the ball off to a running back or make a quick pass to a receiver instead.

It’s a misdirection play that’s designed to keep defenders off balance, on their toes, and guessing on whether the play is a pass or a run.

So, here’s a closer look at what the RPO is, how it’s run, and three RPO plays with explanations on the quarteback’s reads.

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Defensive Line Techniques: 7 Moves You Must Know

By Coach Martin | Football Defense

Defensive line seems like one of the more straightforward positions on a football team.

They start the play at the line of scrimmage, and their job is to get into the backfield to disrupt the offense — in whatever way they can.

That’s their primary job.

But while their duties seem simple enough, how they’re successful in doing so is a little more complicated.

After all, they must constantly take on blocks with offensive linemen who have big bodies.

Defensive linemen have several techniques that they can use to combat the blocks from offensive linemen and still get into the backfield.

In this article, you’ll read about the different defensive line techniques, what types of players play each technique, and the 7 moves every defensive lineman should know.

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Football Training Equipment (11 Items Every Coach Needs)

By Coach Martin | Football Equipment

Football coaches have many responsibilities to their players, teaching them skills and mindsets to keep on improving as athletes.

It’s not an easy job to do.

But with the help of training equipment, coaching becomes significantly easier.

In this article, you’ll find a list of the necessary training equipment every football coach needs to have, broken down by category of where they’ll most be useful.

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