Heart and desire is a huge aspect of Football. In a game where every inch is absolutely vital, teaching players to give it everything they
have out on the field, all the time, can make the difference between a deflection and a catch, a tackle for a loss and a big gain, and of course, a win or a loss.
That’s why I like to spend some time on competitive drills, with less of an emphasis on skill development, and moreso learning to give everything you have in an attempt to win.
Odd Man Out
This is a great drill that I love to run with my secondary, because they get to work on their defensive back footwork in a game like situation.
Have four players lineup in front of you, and set up 9 dummy bags (or cones). Put three off to the left, three off to the right, and another three behind the players. You want a good distance between the players and the bags, at the very least 10 yards, but I find this drill works better with the longer distances.
Now the coach will point in one of the three directions, and the players will all sprint off. With four players and only three dummy bags though, they are all fighting to make sure they aren’t the odd man out, which will result in an elimination from the drill.
Coaching Tips
- You can run this with more players, but the drill runs at its best with groups of three or four. If you want to get multiple players through quickly, I like to setup several heats, and eliminate the odd man out each heat, therein increasing the level of competition after each round of heats.
- Make sure you put players up against others of similar size and stature – you’re not going to learn anything about your players by pitting linemen against receivers here.
If you want to help teach your defensive backs all the proper transitions and technique, check out this post on defensive back fundamentals!
