Coach

We go live with the Oline- 7 vs 7

Then we go live with the backs- 4 vs 4 or 4 vs a true skeleton- 4 vs or 7

If you have 19- that is doable- sure some kids out of position- but it does help

Dave,

I have 6 serviceable backs, period.

I have less than 7 serviceable lineman. I can use backs as defensive linemen to get the linemen work.

That said, when you say 4 on 4 with backs, what do you mean?

When I had little dudes I'd run 9 on 9.  No corners, no offensive ends.

And you can sort of half-line it by making one side of the field your top guys (on both O and D) and the other side your not-so-top guys.

Dave,

I have 6 serviceable backs, period.

I have less than 7 serviceable lineman. I can use backs as defensive linemen to get the linemen work.

That said, when you say 4 on 4 with backs, what do you mean?

I hear you- it is what it is
You get better in indys and small group

Of course half line works- but the kids always know the plays are coming their way etc

Skeleton- in DW I would have 2 lbs- 2 cbs- then coaches/dads with shields at DE or backups

Sure NONE of us has 14 good linemen
You go your starting 7 vs the best 7 remaining

With the little dudes we only went team maybe ten or fifteen minutes every two weeks, so it's not like it really mattered how we ran it.

Dave,

I have 6 serviceable backs, period.

I have less than 7 serviceable lineman. I can use backs as defensive linemen to get the linemen work.

That said, when you say 4 on 4 with backs, what do you mean?

In Reno the worst to first thing- we HIRED 4 High School kids- who stayed after football practice to help us out
Of course we didnt tackle or block them but they gave us some real nice looks on scout O running the spread

Coach Cisar - when you say go 4 on 4 with backs, what are you referring to?

When I rep the backs on air during group, I try to have them blocking their assignment using shields - with the 2 extra plus a HS kid we have helping who can hold a shield that gives us 4 on 2 or 4 on 3.  So at least we're doing something.

I posted this for the defensive side of the ball.  I figure I can run a stack group, Dog, CB and maybe R against most of an offense.  I won't be able to really show them misdirection, but I can sort of try. Doing it when they know it's coming still may give them a look so it's not completely foreign.

On the offensive side of the ball, I cannot get my starting O work live, period. I am literally better off repping vs. bags than live. I CAN get my second offense good reps, since I can fill in with my starters. Last night worked well - ran without a S and CB and was able to give them a DL, DE and LB to run against live. It got pretty damn physical, which is what we need. Quick whistle, not a lot of time spent doing it (maybe 10 minutes). But I got them live work, which is what I wanted. Lot of first time football players in that group.

My bet - we won't field a team anyway, we'll lose some to weight and someone to injury and drop below 16. But all I can do is prepare to play on Sept 12.

Coach Cisar - when you say go 4 on 4 with backs, what are you referring to?

When I rep the backs on air during group, I try to have them blocking their assignment using shields - with the 2 extra plus a HS kid we have helping who can hold a shield that gives us 4 on 2 or 4 on 3.  So at least we're doing something.

On Offense it could be 4 on 4 like I described above
On Defense for us it would be 5 on 4

LBs, CBs, S

Against coach at QB then 5 others- RBs, WRs etc
Running fit and freeze AND live plays- run and pass off cards

Okay guys, let me know what you got.  I have a short roster (19 kids), and I am THIN - I am already putting starters out there that shouldn't even play D, and my subs are not good.  So basically I can't do mush in the way of live team D as there will be no point - the kids not on D won't give them any kind of decent look.  It would be like ones against fours...

I'm going to play around a bit with half line stuff so I can try to get some ones to go against ones.

Anyone else have anything they do for drills?

we have the same number for VARSITY and have 47 overall (including frosh/jv) so we try to limit tackling our own guys to the ground.  we tackle real bodies into a crash mat, we tackle tubes to the ground and maybe once a week will get a couple of evaluation reps where we make a true tackle.

shedding blocks? give the lead blocker a shield. keep the hats out of everything.

Coach Calande, that's good advice.  But I worry about kids who have never played, will that get them prepared for their 12 plays in a game.

Can't get to the game if we hurt them in practice, but losing them in a game is just as bad...

Coach Calande, that's good advice.  But I worry about kids who have never played, will that get them prepared for their 12 plays in a game.

Can't get to the game if we hurt them in practice, but losing them in a game is just as bad...

They have to learn to trust their pads.

bags and boards/shuts
king of the boards
tackle into a crash mat
form and fit, but don't go to the ground
tackle a rolling tube
popsicle sled
and limit actual live tackling to be used more as evaluation than anything else.

John ... give me a call tonite or tomorrow

JJ - will do.  I was trying not to bother you, but I suppose it's been a while so it's okay.  🙂

What I did with mixed results last night - went with a quick whistle (essentially thud), and half-lined it 7 (O) on 6 (D). I used C through TE and three backs against a N, outside stacks, R, CB and Dog. It got me SOME of what I needed. 

I got a reasonably competitive situation for the O-line and stacks.

I got the CB and Dog a LITTLE bit of a look as far as seeing off tackle and sweep.

The challenge last night was that I was missing 3 of my 6 backs.  And those 6 backs are also my 4 CB's and 2 R's.  Missing 3 meant I could only have one "real" RB at a time playing on O, which impacted my ability to give the cover group a good look. When all 6 are there, I can have 3 on O and 3 on D and actually run real plays at them.