DB 101: Drill Work From Winter to Fall

Create a drill progression & master calendar to maximize your time & teaching.

Like in the classroom, it is vital to have a syllabus or “calendar” for when and how coaches will teach certain things. Most coaches are familiar with a fall install and usually follow that for their individual periods in the fall, but what do you do with the rest of the calendar year?

In Texas, we are lucky enough to have athletic periods that afford us the ability to work any sport year-round. I preface this by saying that just because we can work football year-round does not mean that we should or even do. Just like at the college level, there are “seasons” that your program should follow. If you don’t have athletic periods, you can create voluntary after-school sessions and have them planned out for your kids who aren’t in another sport.

Starting in January, most programs are going to focus on the weight room and general movement exercises. Think of this time as creating a base for strength and pre-track workouts for your athletes. Track in Texas is a big deal, and most football programs want their athletes competing in something in the Spring. The “base” period usually lasts about six to nine weeks and transitions into a pre-Spring “Football School.”

During Football School, programs focus on the fundamental techniques and schemes required to succeed within the program. Techniques are the building blocks (DNA) of your scheme. During this period, the focus is on building foundational tools so that all the different concepts are easily taught once groups start coming together.

Agility-based exercises focus on movement and position-specific drills. Running is usually done during Track practice, and those that are not on the track team will follow a sprint-based program according to their position (For example, O-linemen don’t need to run a bunch of 200-meter sprints. Short bursts are better).

Personally, my focus has always been on defensive back play. Starting after Spring Break, we begin to focus on agilities and quick-twitch exercises that translate to functional movements on the field. As we inch closer to Spring Ball, we begin to teach concepts and focus on specific techniques needed within the overall scheme. Once we have reached Spring Ball, we install our system and shift focus to team play and basic schematics required for the Fall. The goal is to have everything introduced before Summer Training.

We recycle the Spring semester timeline during the summer but condense it to fit within the time we are given during the off-period (usually six weeks or 24 days). At the beginning of June, in terms of football-specific skills, the focus is on circuits and universal techniques. Weights, agilities, and running are a given; this period is after the athletes have gone through their strength and conditioning training.

Ranging from tackling to blitzing, we build specific drills and circuits to maximize our time during June. When leaving for the July 4th holiday, every athlete in the program will know the specific techniques needed for the July pre-Fall install. The schedule enables us to train the athletes in a multidisciplinary way yet still cover critical aspects of our scheme.

Once we get the kids back from the 4th, we now shift focus to our pre-Fall install. Think of this as a pre-test. We are introducing and modeling the first weeks of Fall Camp in July, so there are no surprises, and we can maximize our time. Teaching at every level of the defense reflects this process. For this article, I will focus on the Secondary, but any position coach can mirror the philosophy for linebackers and D-line (or even offense).

---

Pre-Spring Agilities (Footwork)

Once we start shifting focus to functional movements on the field, I like to get out the hex rings. Most positions are familiar with line drills, and these are a great way to get multiple athletes going at once while giving them specific landmarks to make sure they are on the correct path. Hex rings are great because the players can keep their feet near the ground, and it constantly makes them cognizant of where their feet are in relation to their shoulders.

Below is an example of a drill that focuses on the plant-and-drive—the drill centers around the skills of body control and shin angles. As the players exit from the rings, they have to plant with their inside foot and drive down at a 45-degree angle to the next line. The key in the drill is keeping the feet near the ground and “hot” (fast feet!). Notice when I demonstrate the drill, I overemphasize the knee drive. I want the players to really focus on driving out of their break.

We are also working on our shuffle technique (lateral) from this small drill and working on closing to the near hip (coverage). We can combine multiple different movements and departure angles to get the players to focus on feet and hips. We start with simple movements and then add complexity as we get better.

Most skill trainers are using hex rings, but they are not working functional technique progression. Think of them as “fancy” later drills. My goal is to create game-like drills with the hex rings to kill two birds with one stone: footwork and technique (skill development). Below are three drills I use, along with the line drills.

1) Backpedal Ladder Drill: The drill focuses on keeping the shoulders low and feet together while we weave and backpedal. Pedaling is a real skill that needs to be constantly worked on. We use it as a transitional tool because most players at the High School level struggle with a backpedal (not everyone can do it!). The player will work laterally through the rings and then transition into a backpedal (creep speed). Start the DBs off slow and have them progressively get faster. In the end, have the DBs flip their hips towards the rings and finish with a “bail” run. On the bail tech., work the low shoulder down. The DB in the clip puts his hand out to focus on the pad level and keeping his eyes on the near hip.

2) Weave-Opposite: I like to start drills with some “in-out” footwork. I do this early on so that the DBs get a chance to focus on their feet (think of the ring as a Madden circle - Stay in it!). Once the DB has done an In-Out, he will transition into a Weave. Once his outside foot hits the ring, the DB will pivot opening at a 45-degree angle and transition into a liner break. You can easily add a ball or a partner for the DB to chase (set him at the top of the numbers and have him jog out when the DB pivots).

Coaches Note: You can do multiple things from this drill. For instance, you can have the DB break down towards the sideline to work a comeback, or have him open up and sprint out like it is a vertical route. Think about the top routes you see on your schedule and create ways to get the movements needed in your drills.

3) Break-Turn: Again, we start with In-Outs and transition to a pedal. Once the DB is even with the ring (working the eyes!), he will open and drive to the next ring. Once he hits the ring, he will pivot back outside and drive to the sideline. You could easily add a speed or centerfield turn instead of the pivot, but I like to work hip fluidity.

Related Content: Press-Bail Hex Ring Drill

Hex Ring drills are a great way to work agilities and footwork into your drill progression. We focus on this during the early parts of the Spring and Summer when we are not concerned about the scheme but rather the fundamental movements of DB play. Once the DBs learn the different drills, you can have them work these independently once we move to a more football-centric phase. Talking with coaches at the college level, many transition to player-specific agilities after the early parts of the off-season, making drills game-like and functional (no one runs a 10-5-10 in a football game…).

---

Football School/Spring Practice (Daily Musts/EDDs)

As we get closer to “real” football, I transition drill work into a concise Daily Must or Everday Drill (EDDs) progression. Once we come back from Spring Break, we are now more focused on pre-Spring installs, and once into Spring Ball, the actual installation. We are adding more fundamental skills like tackling, tracking, turnover creation, and other aspects needed to be successful on defense at this point in the year. There is a lesser focus on breaking down skills like break-and-drive.

Above is a demonstration of how I run my line drills. Safeties are in the middle, and the CBs are outside. I am the ball, so our initial alignment should reflect that. The players work to the far hash, and another coach or I will then send them back. The drill shown is what I call “Tight Weave” and works keeping their pad level down, feet hot, and staying in our tuck. The objective of these Daily Musts is to work every movement we will see and use during practice quickly.

—> For the full drill progression and explanation, check out this quick video:

Coaches Note: If you can’t find specific movements within your Daily Musts on film, then you are working the wrong drills. I constantly am saying, “Don’t we work this in our DMs?” If the kids can see it on film, it sticks better in their mind. Plus, it creates buy-in because they are seeing it translate to actual football. One of the main reasons we work DMs during install periods is because we can now focus on film work and these show up! Ladder drills don’t always translate to film.

—> Below is a look at my pre-Spring Install schedule (2-weeks):

---

In-Season/Scheme Work

Finally, in-season work should be built around your installs and opponent scouts, basically, “What do we need this week?” One major change I made this year was dropping the Daily Musts completely once we got into the actual season. I felt that the players could use the 5-7 minutes it took to complete other useful drills. One thing we focused on this year was the development of press techniques. I was blessed to have two D-1 CBs this year (and both were over 6”). We saw D-1 WRs every week, and we didn’t want them to just run by us. Aggressiveness is an attitude, and we wanted to rep that every day.

We also struggled with overall pattern match. Remember, this was a COVID shortened off-season, so when I got the kids in June, that was the first time they had done real football since the conclusion of last season! I needed a way to accelerate the learning curve and maximize my time. At previous stops, I needed the Daily Musts because we were so bad a footwork (the main reason I pulled out the hex rings!), but at Horn, we had kids that could do ladder drills in their sleep. Hell, some of them did it for fun! The goal was to get really good at our coverage matches and teach the coverages.

Below is an example of I rep our 2v2 working off coverage and then 2v2 working press. I take the top 10 routes we will see (some are beaters that I want to rep) and run through them quickly. I move the WRs around too to get the kids to understand leverage and how to “check” into our two base coverages Sky (Quarters) and Cloud (2-Read). Sometimes I will focus just on Cloud because that is where a lot of confusion comes in. I call that READ Drill. Since we play Sky similar to off-man, we work a drill I call Speed-n-the-face that works vertical stem routes. Put it all together, and you have your 2v2 drill. Think of it as half-line without the overhang.

2v2 (Sky/Cloud)

2v2 Press (Sky/Cloud)

Coaches Note: One bonus of running your drills without the overhangs is you can now quickly transition to man situations. As I explain to the kids, we have already done this in our 2v2, you just tighten up a bit.

—> Get the full drill progression and install by clicking the button below:

---

Attacking your calendar as though you are in a classroom is a great way to make sure you have a well-thought-out progression. Planning allows you to keep track of progress and always have a practice plan. The worst thing a coach can do is take the field unprepared. It is relatively easy to plan during the season because you will see what you will see that week. The off-season is when you can maximize your time and ensure your athletes are ready to go come fall. I am constantly tweaking my schedule, and it changes year to year. At the end of the day, have a plan and execute!

For more on how I teach the secondary, make sure to check out the full-length book on the topic - Match Quarters: A Modern Guidebook to Split-Field Coverage

If looking for a clinic on 2-Read (Palms/Cloud) checkout MQ’s CoachTube Clinic on the topic - Teaching Quarters: 2-Read/Palms

© 2021 MatchQuarters.com | Cody Alexander | All rights reserved.

---