Posts Tagged high school football
High School Football – Learning Strengths
Secrets to a good hand off
Learning the basics in a hand-off is essential to a strong offense. We will explain this in a common scenario between a quarterback and a running back. A good hand off starts with the running back giving a target to the quarterback, this can be done in the running back keeping his arms flat against his body, one arm low and the other high creating an open square or target around the chest for the quarterback to slide the ball in. When the quarterback slides the ball into the arms, or the pocket as it is called, the running back closes his arms around the ball to protect it. As the running back leaves from the hand-off he needs to stay low to react quickly and again to protect the ball.
Strength and conditioning: Up Downs
The popular conditioning drill known as “up downs” is a very effective way to increase cardiovascular activity and endurance. This drill consists of having players run in place as fast and as hard as they can. From time to time the coach will signal to the players, by whistle or a command, to get down – meaning that they drop down do a push up and get back up as quickly as possible to run again. This drill is an excellent workout and should be worked in slowly at first and then increased in intensity and length over time.
The Proper Way to Catch a High Football
Because not all throws are perfect you will need to practice making catches that are high or low. Because of the variety of passes that you might receive here are some basics to high pass catching: The first and most important is that you extend your arms and keep your hands together in a diamond type shape to catch that football. When you try to catch the ball with your body there is a greater chance that it is going to bounce off and cause an incomplete pass. Once you have your hands around the ball, don’t take your eyes off the ball but follow it right into your tuck. Some receivers fear an oncoming tackle and want to check out the field as soon as possible, those receivers that follow the catch with their eyes are going to catch more and receive more playing time.
Conditioning: The Quick Jump
Reaction is as skill that players need to develop through conditioning and drills. This practice drill is intended to increase reaction speed and the ability to quickly change directions. It starts by placing players in a small four square box. Once a players positions themselves in one of the corners they will proceed to jump from one corner of the area to other in either a patterned function or randomly. Some of the variations can be on legged; either right or left, or changing the order those players will perform the drill.
Tags: football, high school, high school football, quarterback, workoutRelated posts
College Football Scholarships and How to Receive One
Most high school athletes dream of being offered college football scholarships.
The truth of the matter is that most will not, but don’t let that stop you from doing your share when trying to receive one. College football scholarships are not just for the best high school players. It’s just too few of those players out there and available to go around.
During college football recruiting, college scouts are also looking for players that are good, but has the potential to be great, once in their system. My brother and I were Blue Chip Athletes coming out of high school so we know what it takes to go through the college football recruiting process, and receive football scholarships. Believe me, it is a process.
Do you have what it takes to play college football? Consider the following…
- Passion. Do you eat, drink and live for football? You better, if you want to survive at a Division I school.
- Ability. If your ability level is pretty high, talent and skill drills will be force feed to you. You must have the ability to quickly learn offensive or defensive (depending on your position) schemes and more importantly, have the will to perform every day.
- Mindset. College for a student athlete is a grind, but your mindset will become your greatest competitive advantage if it’s well trained. You must be able to balance your social life, team mates, living arrangements, intense football schedule and your work. Thinking of work;
- Grades. Be sure you know the NCAA Eligibility requirements for freshman student athlete for the school you are looking to attend. You will be required to attend classes’ everyday and maintain at least a good enough GPA too remain eligible for the year, every year. Many schools have discipline rules in place just in case your grades become an issue.
- Exposure. When college football recruiting starts, will you be ready to market yourself? With thousands of high school seniors seeking college football scholarships, it’s not too rare that some athletes that have the ability to play Division I end up not receiving any Division I football scholarships.
Each college has a limited amount of football scholarships available and a limited amount of time to give them out. They can not possibly know about or recruit every athlete in the country.
Therefore, sometimes, you must make first contact. We tell high school football players all the time that, college coaches must know who you are before they can recruit you. We were fortunate enough coming out of high school to not have too worry about exposure. We played in a big time conference and against some of the best players in the state of Missouri.
But what really mattered was our commitment towards achieving our goals. How committed are you to playing college football on a full-ride football scholarship? These are just a few tips you need to consider but the most important thing is to set a goal and to do everything in your power to achieve it.
During college football recruiting, don’t expect scouts to come and knock on your door; (unless you are ‘blue chip’) be prepared to take some action. When talking with college scouts, be sure you have a list of questions that you would like to have answered.
Don’t allow the scout to ask all the questions. Remember, you want to be sure the schools you are seriously considering is a good fit for you.
Some questions you might consider asking are;
- How often during the week is tutoring available and is it mandatory for all student athletes?
- What is the graduation rate of your athletes?
- When is an athlete allowed to live off campus?
- How do I fit into your plans for the up coming season?
- How many players at my position are you currently recruiting?
- How many verbal commitments have you received from players at my positions?
- Are you planning to be the head coach for the next four years?
- How many college football scholarships do you have left to offer?
Questions like these give you great insight to the expectations on student athletes off the field, rules and regulations and the coaches’ plan. College football scholarships are easier to receive if you dominate on every single play.
Tags: coaches, college, college coaches, college football, college football recruit, college football recruiting, college football scholarship, college football scholarships, college scout, football, football player, football players, football recruit, football recruiting, football schedule, football scholarship, football scholarships, high school, high school football, high school football players, play college football, recruiting, scholarship, scholarshipsRelated posts
High School Football – The Basics and Some Do’s and Don’ts
Well first off – this is just my opinion but here are some of the basics that I try to follow as a high school football official:
Player safety – the one thing I consider THE most important. Always keep an eye out for player safety:
- Clipping
- Illegal blocks – chop blocks, block in the back, etc.
- Face masks/pulling of the helmet openings/or chin strap – with twisting of the helmet
- Unnecessary roughness – yeah it’s football – but an unnecessary hit to a player totally away from a play or a hit with intent to harm needs to be controlled
Slow down the game – make sure you see what you call. It’s better to get the call right than to rush it.
Position, position, position – coaches and fans hate when a call is made 30 yards away from a play; and you know what – so do good officials. Be in the correct position to make a call or to observe the play. This is easier said than done and takes practice and good field mechanics. KNOW WHERE YOU BELONG – AND BE THERE.
Communication – solid communication with your other officials is extremely important. This starts with a pre-game dialogue. Talk about key aspects of the game, kicking game – position duties during kickoff and scrimmage kicks, measurements,etc. just to name a few.
Whistle in Your Mouth? Do not officiate with a whistle in your mouth – chances are this is going to get you into trouble sooner or later by blowing an inadvertent whistle and if you do – own it, get over it, and learn from it. It happens at all levels!
Read and study the rules – just about every chance you get. It’s every official’s job to know the rules – not just the referee or umpire. Sooner or later when communicating a call with the other officials you may be asked for clarification. And sooner or later if you do this long enough your position is going to change – you may find yourself as the referee (white hat) one day. Know the rules and learn them. I will start covering some of the key rules in a future posting.
Lastly – have fun, an open mind, and always learn from what you did during the game. Keep a journal of what happened during each game, and set goals for yourself!
Tags: coaches, football, high school, high school footballRelated posts