Request for Dum Coach

A 10 year old FB will come in at about 93-107 pounds, depending upon how tall he is. I once had an 82 pounder play the position fine, but he was also knee high to a bowling ball. So you need to look at him and decide his body shape - thick, thin, or average? This will tell you his susceptibility to injury, the ability of the other team to tackle him, and his ability to block. Then you'll have an idea of the areas to focus on. If he's a bowling ball you'll want to work on his dexterity and flexibility. The ability to change direction is a must - not necessarily for running the ball (My FB's go one direction -FORWARD) but for when he doesn't have the ball and he's blocking. A small, quick, shifty defender can cause a big tank of a FB to completely miss him on a block and - since all FB's block more than they run, this is actually his most important skill. If a FB, no matter how well he runs, misses his blocks enough, he'll be on the bench. Usually average or thin FB's have no problem getting to their defender. But the "bricks" have a hard time controlling their weight and once they commit to the hit, are susceptible to "duck and dodge". If you feel body control will be a factor, simply have him get in a 3 point stance and kneel down 5 yards in front of him with one hand up in front of your face, thumb up. On "Hit!" (Never say "Go!" in football) he comes out of his stance and runs straight at you, full speed. Flick your thumb left or right - whichever side you want him to pass by you on - and hope he doesn't run you over. To add to the drill, put a tire on each side of you. As he runs by, he must step a foot inside the tire. If he runs this very smoothly - so smoothly you feel he has it mastered right off and further practice is a waste of time, then he has natural talent. While natural talent is a good thing, it can also be bad in a FB. A kid who has moves wants to use them. A good FB does not "juke" or "stutter" step a defender. The "move" is simply used to find "open" field. If your boy wants to try and use a fake on a LBer, he will reduce speed in order to do so, and that temporary loss of speed makes him a sitting duck for 10 other defenders. It does no good to fake one defender if the other 10 can get you. Virtually every defender on the field can get to the middle in order to help stop the FB when he's carrying the ball. This is where you have to teach the FB his job. He has to get 5 yards before those other 10 guys get there. His job isn't to get touchdowns. My FB's, on average, score one TD a year. This, in spite of the fact that they carry the ball almost 40% of the time. Their priorities are 1)Get 5 yards 2)Don't fumble 3)Hurt somebody. When they don't have the ball and they're blocking their priority is, again, to hurt somebody. Physical domination is a desireable trait. My FB's may get very few TD's but they lead the team in first downs and "somebody" has to get them. We elected him.

So the first two stages of developing a good FB are 1) Body control and 2) Mental control. Body control is for blocking. Mental control is to achieve your three goals when running the ball (Get 5 yards. Don't fumble. Hurt somebody.). Mental control must be prsent on every handoff. Body control must be present on every non-handoff play.

The next stage of playing the FB position is in 1) acceleration 2) Hit and 3) Drive. Acceleration is achieved by not looking down for the handoff, exploding on snap, taking a short first step, and playing as CLOSE to the QB as possiible (Many FB's want to move back in order to get a "running start" or to be able to "pick a hole". Neither works.). See my "Speed drills" on Coach Wade's site and my "tennis ball" drill in the knowledge base of this site. Next, comes HIT. By using speed and aligning close to the QB, the FB hits the line so quick the defensive linemen miss him, leaving it up to the LBer to get him. The FB keeps his eyes on the LBer and reads him for the cut, either left or right (but no stutter step) that will put him in "open field". He never tries to run over the LBer. His cut route is generally towards one of the endzone corner flags. See my playbook for how to deliver the blow on the LBer. Finally, DRIVE: Once contact with the defender is made, the FB's feet keep moving until forward progress stops. He then falls forward for the extra foot. If he does not fall forward not only will he not get the extra foot but 10 guys will hit him one second later and they will be hurting him instead of the other way around. To provide strength for DRIVE, there are three muscle groups involved. They are 1) The calves - let him do one legged calf raises while balancing himself against a closed door. 2) Thighs - Against the same door put his back to it, his feet out in front of him, and slide his back up and down the door as he does deep knee bends (You can also have him drag a cement filled tire) 3)Buttocks- Have him climb stairs taking the steps 2-3 at a time. If you stairs in the house, tell him to climb them this way every day, every time. Good luck! I'll send you my playbook.