Firing out to make blocks is important for offensive lineman to learn – especially at a young age. I got this drill from one of the [tag]youth football coaching clinics[/tag].
What you need – You can line up 5 offensive linemen at a time, or in smaller groups if you don’t have the numbers. You will need a pylon with a flag for each person.
How this drill works – One of the problems encountered by coaches that are coaching younger players is that they aren’t firing out of their offensive line spots in order to make a block. This [tag]football[/tag] [tag]drill[/tag] should help that.
Line up the line in their typical positions. Each player should be across from a pylon with a flag, as shown above. Using a standard cadence (down, set, hutt), when you get to ”˜hutt’, the lineman needs to burst forth and get to the flag and bat it with their hand (the flag should be about 2 to 3 yards away).
The player that gets out of their stance first and touches the flag gets to sit out the next tries. Then the next fastest gets to sit out”¦ and so on until you get to the last player. The last player should understand that they need to work on bursting out of their stance to get to the flag – similar to firing out at a block during a game.
If a false start occurs, the [tag]offensive lineman[/tag] that would be penalized will have to continue in the drill, even if they are the first person to get to the flag.
Result – This should reinforce to your offensive lineman that they need to fire out on the snap of the ball, and that it should be an instantaneous response.
