OFFENSIVE LINE PHILOSPHY AND FUNDAMENTALS

Chris Warbington Habersham Central HS cwarbington@habersham.k12.ga.us

Main Principles
1) Building Unity (year round job) 2) Instilling Pride in what they do 3) Creating mental/physical toughness 4) Developing basic fundamentals at a young age 5) Get repetitions (know your Identity-plan practice accordingly) 6) Keep terminology and schemes simple

Building Unity
Post season meeting -discuss previous season, expectations, and off season activities (voluntary workouts, weights, spring practice, camps, etc) to make sure everyone is on the same page-Be Honest Weight Classes and a plan for those who cant Off Season Speed, Power, Agility work Voluntary fundamental work (2 on 1) Make your weaknesses your strengths Spring practice- Who can play-Find the best 5 Camps- Best opportunity for kids to get to know each other and work together Eat together once a week in season

Instilling Pride
Young linemen typically have self esteem and athleticism issues Work their tails off and love them Tell them everyday that NO ONE out works them Hold them accountable for doing it right Grades T-Shirts for meeting off season goals

Grades
I use a Zero, One or Two grading system Zero-mental error or Effort issue Two- if it is exactly right One for everything else We will run for all zeros We will celebrate knockdowns (Pancakes, Dbl team KDs, Backside cuts, all finishes) We give sabers for all goals we attain

Group Goals
1) WIN!! 2) Average 4.5 + yards per Carry 3) No Sacks 4) 15 Busts (zeroes as a group) or fewer 5) Hog of the week (locally sponsored)

Saber Criteria (Individual)

1) 85% total grade 2) 4.5 yards per carry 3) Zero sacks 4) 1 or fewer bust 5) 10 or more KDs
Allow the seniors to set these so they are meaningful Must play in 10% of plays

Creating Mental/Physical Toughness

Not tough= Cant play Make practices much tougher than games Create stressful situations- make them think under pressure- work at a fast pace (requires planning) Pace of Practice If you have to coach effort with a player, you need to find another player (they need to understand your belief in this) I believe that it is very difficult to practice OL without going full speed- Dont practice bad habits

 -Chutes (fast paced high energy) work all step, punch and fit progression -Cage drill (OL vs. OL) set up 4yd X 4yd cage w/ cones. With proper technique drive the other man out. As they progress bring the LBs / DBs over -Burma Road- Effort Drill- Set up drill so that Every OL will have 3 sets Set 1 OL vs. DL (OL) go hard until quick whistle chip off to LB (OL) long whistle sends OL to set 2 only if effort is great from all three. Set 2 -repeat set 1 vs. 2 fresh players (same effort required) Set 3 Pass block a fresh DL (OL). -Finish Drill- give the lineman a feeling of finishing a block in a nasty manner focus on punch, explosiveness, feet, and attitude

 -Live vs LBers Drill- Give the Linebacker a landmark and put a ball there put the OL between the LB and the ball. On the whistle the LB will rip over the top or under to get to the ball. The OL will use proper technique to keep him from the ball. -Board Drill (vs. DL) old fashioned Board drill. We use this as the final part of Drive block progression. -Sled I try to do it early and often-in early camp at the end of practice as a toughness/conditioning tool. I stand behind to watch technique and effort. If either are lacking, we start over. We will break the huddle, where I will give a direction step call and count, and I will give our cadence. -One on one pass pro vs. DL- we line up our 5 and the DL coach points to the DL he wants to go. All 5 OL must pass set each time. -We then progress to Half Line (run and pass pro drills.)

Developing Fundamentals
Begin with the Middle School
Clinic the coaches (focus on the basics) Work with those kids at your summer camps Invite them to go to other camps Consistency with the 9th/JV coaches

Get Reps in WHAT YOU DO

Get repetitions on Fundamentals in off season, Spring, Summer, and Fall camp
Steps, Fit, Punch, Pass set (1000 times) Needs to be second nature (golf swing analogy) Continue to work in season, but scale back

Practice what it is you do

Power / Toss /Stretch / Iso /Counter Play action and Quick game DRILLS should break down the components of what you do Script all drills
Pre Practice (Steps Drill / Cone Drill) Individual (Chutes qk in season / Combos / Revcos / Competition w/DL(Dbl tm, reach, scoop) or LBs (pulls)or each other (Cage) / Boots, Screen, Draw period) Group (vs DL during Skel- Pass Pro/Boards/Halfline schemes) Inside Drill (Script what you will do 80% of the time and be great at it)

Pre practice set up (EVERYDAY)

TE TE RT RT RG RG x C C LT LT LG LG x

Work all steps full speed (reach, inside zone, outside zone, scoop Work all tight pulls (OGs- power pulls, OTsCounter pulls, Centers-flat reach pulls, TEsArc)

Rep what you do

During the season, break down the schemes vs the fronts you see
Ex. Power (35% of offense) We will work on it AT LEAST 35% of our time during the week. If we run it 20 times on Friday night, we will rep it 200 times that week in practice vs all scenarios During Indy we will work Double team combo(Revco), Gap track, back block, tight pull, backside b to c Inside Drill we will work it with the RBs and QB live vs all looks, main blitzes, and slants.

Rep what you do

Make certain that everything you do has a purpose: to give your kids the best chance to be successful. Break down things to work on from the week before and needs for the following week and rep them all week -Make your weaknesses your strengths

Keep Schemes and Terminology Simple

Vs Todays slanting attack defenses you need an answer (Gap or Zone) Avoid Paralysis through Analysis Maintain consistency in Scheme terminology
Run and Pass

Make sure it talks to OL first

More of them They have to think more than anyone, but QB If they arent successful, you wont be successful

OL Calls
I give them suggestions on calls, but allow them to call it whatever they want Communication is key regardless of what the calls are - MAKE THEM TALK By the end of the season I have no clue what the calls are.thats ok I want to hear them talking If they are confident in what to do they can do it harder

OFFENSIVE LINE FOUNDATIONS

We base all of our blocks off of the drive block (Reach, Zone, Scoop, Down/Back and Aggressive Pass Pro) We work on basic fundamentals of the drive block early and often (Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall Camp) The drive block consists of four components 1) A consistent stance 2) Positioning - 1st two steps (quick and power)
Quick step= 2-4 step straight ahead Arm sweep to rib cage Power step= 6 step -hands follow feet

 3) Fit - back flat, knees bent, heels close to the ground 4) Hip pop and feet- Punch from the hip and follow with your feet with a wide base
Drills include (in the chutes with boards) 1st step 2nd step (Break down the 1st two steps w/ a pause) 1st 2 steps together Perfect fit pound instep of feet in Slow mo to end of board - punch hips and lay out Fit and Drive wide base - great effort - sprint back 2nd step-punch and drive Put all together (can use sled)-great effort - sprint back
ZONE CAN BE DONE WITH FIRST STEP AS A LATERAL STEP - EVERYTHING ELSE IS SAME

Reach
1) Tight Reach (no inside help)
4-6in step aiming pt outside armpit 2nd step split the crotch (inside hand middle of the breast plate- outside hand play side #) 3rd step down quick an continue at 45 degree angle

2) Wide Reach ( inside help)

12-16in step aiming pt 1 foot past outside armpit 2nd step split the crotch (inside hand middle of the breast plate- outside hand play side #) 3rd step down quick an continue at 45 degree angle

Other fundamentals
Pulls, Combos, Dbl Teams (Revcos) will be discussed in detail in the next sessions dealing with specific schemes