Building Better Youth Football Running Backs Step-by-Step Basic and Advanced Another winningyouthfootball.com Coaching Tool 2 Copyright 2013 Cisar Management, all rights reserved. The reproduction, or utilization of this work in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying, and recording, digital transfer, and in any information storage and retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher. It may not be forwarded to another coach, downloaded more than once, or copied then given away or sold. Reproduction of this book is expressly forbidden by the above copyright notice. Author: Dave Cisar 3 Winning Youth Football Building Better Youth Football Running Backs Step-by-Step Basics and Advanced E-book By: Dave Cisar 4 Table of Contents Chapter 1- What Makes a Good Running Back What Good Backs Look Like: 7-8 Stances: 8-11 Get Offs: 11-13 Pole Drill: 13-14 Chapter 2- Getting Started Warm Ups 15-17 Choosing Backs for Positions: 17-18 Evaluation Drills Sumo: 18 Towel Game: 19 Dummy Relay Races: 20 Deer Hunter: 21 Hawaiian Rules Football: 21-22 Rabbit Races: 22-23 Slam Dunk: 23 Gauntlet: 23-24 Chapter 3- Protecting the Football Importance of Ball Protection: 25-26 Tug Drill: 26 Second Man In: 27 Safe Fumble Recovery: 28-29 Attitude Toward Loose Balls: 29 Ball Switching: 29-31 Chapter 4- Blocking Blocking Basics: 32-35 Splatter Blocking: 35-37 The Punch: 37 Mirror Drills: 37-38 Stalk Drills: 38-39 Oklahoma Drills: 39-40 Open Field Blocking: 40-41 Diamond Drill: 41 Keep Away Drill: 42-43 Pass Blocking: 43-44 Log Blocking Drills: 44-46 Chapter 5- Transferring and Seating the Football The Handoff- Handoff Drills: 47-50 Pitch and Pitch Drills: 50-53 Direct Snap and Drills: 54-55 Chapter 6- Making People Miss Running In Traffic 55 Chariot Drill: 55-56 Gauntlet Force Drill: 56 5 Squeeze Drills: 56-58 Pick a Shoulder Drill: 58 Forearm Drills: 58-59 Sideline Choice Drill: 59-60 Stiff Arming Drills: 60-62 Spin Move and Drills: 62-64 Evasion Moves: 65-71 Chapter 7 Coaching the Burst The Burst: 72-73 Chaser Drills: 73-74 Burst Race and Chase: 74-76 Chapter 8 Building Football Speed and Quickness Adding in Speed Development: 77-78 Ladders: 78 Bag Laterals; 79 Z Cones: 79-80 Bag 1 Steps: 81-82 Lateral Bag Hops: 82 Hops Various: 83-84 Chapter 9 Developing Field Vision and Reading Skills Field Vision Theory: 85 Discipline: 85-86 Mirror Run Slide: 86-87 Log Choice: 87-89 Decide Drills: 89-94 Chapter 10 Fakes Fake Theory and Commitment: 95 Decide Drills: 96 Chapter 11 Coaching Above the Shoulder Pads The Importance of Mental Training: 97-98 Coachability: 98-99 Attitude: 99-100 Others: 100-102 Screen Passes: 87-88 Chapter 12 Pass Catching Fundamentals Fundamental Pass Catching Approach and Drills: 103-107 Chapter 13 Accountability Accountability Training: 108-109 Using Hudl: 109-114 Chapter 14 Practice Plans Sample Practice Plans: 115-122 Author Page: 123 Additional Resources: 123-125 6 Dear Coach, Thank you very much for your interest in helping your team develop more effective running backs, it is sincerely appreciated. I congratulate you on taking the time to make yourself a better youth football coach. When your players look back on their football playing days, they are going to remember you and it’s up to you as to what kind of experience that’s going to be for him. You will find this is a very easy to read book and an excellent resource for not only the new coach trying to get his feet wet coaching running backs, but the experienced coach looking to get better. In the book you will gain access to our legendary practice plans, drills, approaches and techniques that will allow your running backs to excel. Our step- by-step approach will also allow you to successfully implement the skills and drills with ease. Don’t be afraid to print out the drills to take with you to practice as a quick cheat sheet reminder. When you coach running backs well and people see the improvement and unique way you are building them, people take notice. You get kids to come back to your team and many times word just gets around, youth athletes parents talk. That means that you can attract players who might have played for other teams or even get kids who may not have played at all. Our hope is that this will be a tool to help you be a better coach. This book is dedicated to the all players whose lives we touch by coaching. It is dedicated to all the coaches that coach for the right reasons, to train our youth in “the ways they should go.” Our prayer is that you will use this information to become a better coach and better leader. We hope that you use your leadership position to inspire your kids and help shape them into reaching their full potential not only as football players, but also as people. Dave Cisar 7 Chapter 1 What Makes a Good Youth Running Back How do you define if a running back is “good or not? And once we define “good” how do we get our kids to that point? Let’s first start with what good is when it comes to youth football running backs. They: protect the football well, attack at proper angles, seat the ball well, block consistently, burst to and through contact, play physical and aggressive, play fast, have good field vision and decision making skills, have good body control, get vertical quickly, are quick and can change direction well, can make people miss, break tackles, fake well, is dependable/durable and can receive (catch) the ball well. A good running back also has “it” between the ears, he is coachable, competitive, a team player and he is a leader. A lot of people think good running backs are born and not made. While there certainly is a bit of genetics work at play for the truly great college, NFL and even youth running backs, getting to the “good level” in youth football is attainable by most. Our job as running back coaches is to get our average kids to “good” and our good kids to great. This book is going to address each of the areas we’ve defined as necessary to define a running back as “good.” You are going to be exposed to some methods, coaching points and drills that you may have seen before as well as spins on some old ones and a few you probably haven’t seen at all. Approach this with an open mind to get the most out of it. Credentials Whenever taking direction from anyone, it’s good to know what their background is. You don’t want to take advice from someone that hasn’t proven his approach on the field. That’s fair enough, I’m the same way. I’ve coached youth football for 25 years in 5 different leagues in 3 different organizations in 3 different cities. I’ve coached in the suburbs, inner-city and rural areas, all three. I’ve started 2 different youth programs from scratch and had the privilege of coaching hundreds of youth football players, many of which have gone on to play at the high school and collegiate level. I’ve coached DI, DII and NAIA kids and kids who have gone on to lead the state in rushing in the states largest class. Since moving to the Single Wing offense about 17 seasons ago, my teams have led our respective very large and competitive leagues in scoring in 13 of those 17 seasons, averaging nearly 36 points per game from age 7-14. The net is, what we are teaching works, it has been proven on grass over a long period of time. We didn’t get lucky with a group or two of freak athletes, over the long haul we 8 have been successful in every age group and demographic imaginable. That’s all we are trying to get across to you, we aren’t trying to brag. We just want you to know, you aren’t wasting your valuable time. This isn’t highbrow fluff or conjecture by someone that hasn’t been in your shoes. I’ve been there and I’m there right now. It doesn’t matter what offense you are running or what area of the country you are in, you ARE going to be able to get a bunch of take aways from this book and DVD to make your running backs better and score more points next season. Once your parents see how you are breaking things down, your attention to detail and unique approach and the improvement they will see in their sons, you are going to have immediate credibility. That means your parents aren’t going to be shopping their kids around and you might even attract a few stellar running backs from your area. Parents follow where they think their kids are going to get the best coaching and if you roll that way, this approach may help you in your efforts to attract players. We aren’t saying what we do is the only way to do things or even the best way. What we can say with great confidence is that it has worked for us, our players and hundreds of programs that have copied what we are doing.