The seventh installment of the football speed training mini-camp from http://p01football.com addresses the turn and go drill for any defensive back. The twist on this drill is the back spies the quarterback and takes a 45 degree speed turn in the opposite direction to get the interception.

This drill is especially useful for making defensive backs on the field in game time situations. We want to focus on enhancing athletes performance by incorporating position specific drills. We always focus on activity that makes athletes better in gametime situations. If you do not train for game time movements and situations then you are wasting precious time on the practice field.

To your success

From http://p01football.com this is Part 6 of the Football Speed Training How to Get Interceptions series. We’ll be talking about football specific speed training and the enhancing the football athletes skill set. Anytime you have any type of athletic program it has to be focused on Athletic enhancement and you should incorporate drills that simulate game time movements and activity.

We want to put athletes in the best position to enhance their game and their athletic ability by expanding their skill set. As some point you must develop position play and enhance a players skill set and that’s what we emphasize at P01 Sports.

From http://p01football.com this is Part 5 of the Football Speed Training How to Get Interceptions series. We are developing defensive backs, your linebackers, and safeties, how to put them into position so they can create plays on the field, and how to get turnovers and get touchdowns on the defensive side of the ball.

In this season of college recruiting one of the biggest key phrases you’ll here is “what skill set does the player have” from college coaches. These are the types of drills that nfl scouts use, and coaches use to evaluate skill set.

This drill is called in and outs where the defensive back is constantly changing speeds. Some things to point out is how the football player keeps his eye on the quarterback, keeps his body height constant and steady.

Also, in this episode we focus on the type of mindset a football player should have on the football field.

From http://p01football.com this is the fourth installment of the Interceptions series. In this part we go over some training tips that are geared toward jumping the pass of the quarterback. For Defensive backs it is important to train on ball reaction, changing direction and accelerating toward the football.

It does take time for an athlete to develop that killer instinct and anticipating the ball release of the quarterback and at the same time not falling for the pump fake.

Stay tuned for the rest of this defensive back mini-camp and check out the rest of the series.

In this part is one of my favorite drills the basic “Turn and Go” football drill. There are a lot of coaching points in this drill that all tie back real time game activity. And I want to emphasize that any drill that is done should be simulating some type of game like or game time activity or you would be wasting a lot of effort on this that would not transfer to movements in the Football game. When this drill is done properly the defensive back will have the right mechanics to stay with the receiver on long routes an will be getting interceptions when the football comes their way.

The turn and go drill works on hip flexibility and hip mobility. You would use this drill at the end of a dynamic warm-up or in the individual training times of athletes after team drills. This drill is designed for any defensive player that is covering a receiver, so basically all defensive backs. I would include defensive ends in this drill, as they would cover players that might come out of the backfield in certain scenarios.

An important aspect of the drill is to ensure the athletes are in a comfortable starting stance, shoulders above feet, with the feet in a toe to heel relationship. The athlete should be barely scraping the feet on the top of the grass when backpedaling and always watching what the receiver is going to do. Remember as a defensive back you have to watch the receiver and not get duped into biting on a pump fake.

1. Keep your eyes on the receiver and be ready to make that turn and go.
2. While backpedaling ensure the arms are tight and not moving a whole lot.
3. The arm movement is important when coming to a point where the defensive back must make the turn to go.
4. The turn is the most important aspect of the drill.
• Make sure when the turn starts the arms don’t flare out but remain tight to make a quick turn, ensure the hips rotate properly, and the feet come out under the hips.
• When the turn is made don’t stand straight up but remain crouched and then go into the regular sprint mechanics. Ensure you stay with the receiver and watch the eyes of the receiver to know when they are expecting the ball.

If you do this correctly you will be right there with the receiver and anticipating the interception to happen from the Quarterback.

Coaching tip on getting the interception:

Be sure you are aggressive when going up for the ball, because at the end of the day, when competing for the football interception the most aggressive football player wins.

Watch the video to get all the details.

In this Football defensive back drill How to get Interceptions in Football Part 2 i’m going to break down the weave drill. This drill is a simple and low intensity drill yet very important in what it must do for the athlete. Use the drill at the end of a dynamic warm-up or at the beginning of individual periods during practice.

The drill is meant to teach defensive back how to obtain or maintain inside and outside body positioning while defending a receiver that is running into their route. The drill is made for a defensive back positions, linebackers, safety, and cornerbacks, anybody that is required to drop into coverage should practice this weaver drill.

The drill is great because it loosens up the hips, puts the defensive back into a gamelike movement when practicing the drill. Practicing in gametime movements and as if an athlete is in a gametime situation is important everytime you drill. To get the body comfortable with doing it full speed on the field. You don’t want any drill you do in practice to counteract something that is done in a real game situation, you want them to be in sync.

Wide receivers are taught at the beginning of their route to establish body position to get open and to do what is called stem the route. The receiver will make a move to gain separation, and continue on their route and run the pattern. What the weave drills accomplishes is the teaching of the defensive back to not allow the receiver to obtain positioning and not allow the receiver to get that space needed to appear open and catch the ball.

Some steps to remember while perfoming this drill:

• At the line of scrimmage have head and shoulders over your feet which should be in a toe to heel stance.
• Defensive back should be sitting down in a comfortable stance, always aware of whats going on the field.
• At the snap or command of the coach weave across the straight line but only go about 2-3 yards wide off of the straight line.
• Have the arms moving with the legs in a short hammerlike motion.
• The feet should only be scraping the top of the grass, to give the defensive back a chance to turn and go quickly.

To find more drills and tips go to our blog and to have a free peak at our entire Football Speed and agility training program follow go to P01 Football website and sign up for the free excerpts.

This is part 1 of the Football training mini-camp series for post season play. This part of the series focuses on Defensive backs and proper techniques it takes to lock down receivers, react quickly on the field and get the interceptions that the secondary should be getting all game.

The goal of any sport performance training program must place the overall development of the athlete first. Athletes must first learn all of the proper mechanics and the techniques of accelerating and learn how to position their body correctly before drills that are position specific are introduced.

Sport specific training means that you must develop the athlete to meet the energy system demands of the sport but at some point position specific drills must be introduced.
Contrary to what some may think, regardless of the time of year the Premier athletic training system can be used. A lot of time coaches, who are intensely engulfed in the X’s and O’s of Football during the season and towards the end, forget they still have an opportunity and a window to actually enhance football player’s athletic ability on the field. The ideal time or the primary time to do this type of training is during the first 15-20 minutes of the football practice.

Coming up is a multi-part training camp series for coaches and players in Post season looking for that extra edge to work on those critical moves to bring home that title.

Why Do You Train?         

This question may sound like a very asinine question, but is it really?  We here at Premier 1 add up to over 25 plus years of training, from personal training to working with world class athletes.  One of the biggest questions that we ask of our previous clients is why are they training?  Meaning what is the purpose of their training to get to where they want to go. 

This simple question can lead to a more clear and concise plan of action when it comes to devising your strength and conditioning program for your athletes.  For starters, are you working with a group of youth that need to build a more solid starting foundation of speed and agility?  Are you working with individual athletes that need to work on their force production in the sprint mechanics to get ready for combine training?

Your understanding of why you train will not only help you put together a the proper speed training program necessary for improved on-field performance, it will also help you understand the required strength training program that will correspond with the speed training program.  For example, if force production is an issue push up starts for your speed training program may be ideal and power cleans and snatches may be your best suite used in your strength program.  Or take it a step further, you have a baseball player that is trying to lead is team in stolen bases, in your field training, you work on power shuffle sprints, and in the gym you have your player perform lateral squats and lunges to develop lateral hip power for the push-off of the sprints. 

Once you figure out the WHY of your training program, the WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, and HOW become easy.

So WHY are you training?

Check out this clip and you will know why and how Premier 1 trains its athletes

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyGTBIsKU4w

By Charles Staley, B.Sc, MSS
Director, Staley Training Systems
http://www.staleytraining.com

Last article I differentiated between the “exerciser” mindset and the athletic paradigm. I equated exercisers with an amateur approach, and athletes with a professional attitude toward fitness. Most importantly, I demonstrated how the fundamental distinction between these two divergent perspectives is one of attitude: exercisers hate what they do, they do it begrudgingly, and they wouldn’t do it at all except for their certainty that they have to do it.

1) Process Orientation:

The athlete pursues goals, but the bulk of his day-to-day attention is focused on processes. A premise is first developed which states “If I do this process, it should lead me to this end.” Once the premise is established, the athlete trusts the premise (much like a pro golfer must trust his stroke under competitive conditions).

The athlete shifts his sights away from the long-term goal and devoted his entire energy toward the day-to-day practices and habits that will give him the best chance for success. These practices encompass everything from training tactics, to nutritional and recuperative strategies.

2) Delayed Gratification:

The desire for instant results is the hallmark of an exerciser. Athletes know that the big payoff is worth the wait. One telltale sign of maturity can be found in sound nutritional practices: many people can commit to an exercise program, because there are immediate benefits- endorphin production, muscle pumps, greater energy, etc. However, there are little to no short-term benefits to be gained from a sound nutritional program – the payoff takes time to accrue.

3) Systemization:

Athletes record, document, and analyze their training, and often, their food intake. In other words, they keep records. When you don’t have systems, you need to reinvent the wheel every time a unique situation presents itself. Athletes tend to know their maximum capacities in various exercises, they know how they react to various nutritional practices, and they’re also familiar with the psychological states that produce superior performances. All of this knowledge is gleaned through the process of record keeping. After all, the best way to predict future performance is to study the past.

4) Professionalism:

The previous three practices are all components of professionalism, but here, I’d like to discuss a “root” habit that gives birth to all of them: distancing. This practice is perhaps best personified in the old weightlifter’s credo “There is no joy in victory, no agony in defeat.” Athletes maintain a certain impassionate distance from their craft. They know that if they identify too closely with their role, they’ll be less likely to put themselves on the line, in the competitive arena.

Instead, they simply put in the work, do the right things, and resign themselves to whatever outcome might occur. Athletes know that commitment to the effort means more than the outcome produced by the effort. Exercisers on the other hand, are typically unwilling to put in the time, and instead resort to pills, powders, plastic surgery, and various other shortcuts that inevitably lead to failure.

5) Functionalism:

Exercisers are concerned exclusively with “form:” an improved appearance. Athletes are concerned exclusively with “function,” which results in better form than what exercisers typically achieve. Put simply: form follows function. When you train like an athlete, you’ll look like an athlete

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I hope you’ll notice the consistent parallels between these 5 practices. They all stress means over ends, practices over outcomes, long-term growth over immediate gratification. All of which are expressions of maturity. If you’re currently living an exerciser lifestyle, you’re ahead of the curve, but why not set your sights higher and join the athletic community? All it takes is making a decision- taking action, right now.