Just got done with our first week of 2-a-days and things are looking really good for the Jeffcats!!!
It is this time of year when you are looking to see if you can get max reps for your players and get them ready for that first game. You want to see who is ready to play and who still needs more time to develop. Also, you want to see all the stuff you planned for during the off season can be implemented and used effectively, especially drills.
The "EDGE" drill is something I came up on the spur of the moment when we designed our practice schedule.
It was not planned...but it has been so effective and gets all guys reps on offense.
First, before I explain the drill, you have to understand the program I am with. Delphos Jefferson is a Wing-T offense with a High-Tempo Huddle. We break the huddle, align, and snap the ball with 3-5 seconds. It is FAST!!! We run most of what you would call a "traditional" Wing-T offense, but with a few different blocking assignments or wrinkles in the "traditional" plays.
I coach the Tackles and Tight Ends, so we work a lot of down blocks, reach blocks, and double teams. While planning practices, our OC wanted the Halfbacks to work with the Tackles and Tight Ends on blocking assignments, especially to the strong side of the formation with a TE and the HB playing the wing position. So I have 20+ minutes to work both my positions and the Halfbacks at the same time (which is 27 kids, a little less than half our team)...How am I going to do this?
This is where the "EDGE" drill comes in.
I set up 3 cones to represent the Center and 2 Guards, so our Tackles could align properly and have the right spacing. I have one set of cones on one line and I align another set of cones 10 yards away from the 1st set.
We orient most of our backs and line as either being on the left side or right side (so right HB, left tackles, etc...). So I had anyone who was on the left side, align on the left side of the cones, and anyone who was on the right side, align on the right side of the cones. The reason I had two sets of cones is that I had the older guys on one set and the younger guys on another set.
So in reality, I have 4 "edges" of a formation, with 2 left sides and 2 right sides. I have 4 groups who can go at one time.
I took the extra guys and made them defenders, aligning them into 1 of the 5 most common fronts we will see against our offense. I did not have enough guys to make a full defense, so I would only do half of the defense and only included a play side safety from the secondary.
So how can I get all four groups reps, but only half a defense for each set of cones?
I would alternate between the old guys and the young guys, with the defense switching to the other side as running a rep with the opposite group. I would start with the old guys on the right side, then turn around and run the young guys on the left side, then back to the old guys on the left side, and finally end up with the young guys on the right side. As I would move from old to young or young to old, the defense would just switch over to the over side and play the same position, just on the opposite side. So when I went from old guys on the right to the young guys on the left, the old guys defense would flip over to the left side and align.
It gives me such a flexibility to give many people reps and cover a large percentage of our plays with a simple drill that the guys can set up easily and rotate themselves in and out of, so everyone gets reps. I can run Trap, Sweep, Down, WB Counter for the strong side and even work the weak side with Dive, Belly, Toss with some modifications to the drill. I can take each play and isolate what each man is responsible for and rep it against base looks or variations like stunts or blitzes.
I have not timed how long it takes me to go through one rotation of the four groups, but I bet I can get through 2 rotations in a minute if I do not have to coach up anything and everyone is set right away.
So you are talking about getting every group 2 reps in 1 minute!!! That means, theoretically, that if I had no transitional breaks and didn't change the defensive alignment, I could get close to 40 reps for every group in that 20 minute period!!!
Now, in reality, I have to stop and coach up some things and there are some transitional breaks in there, but you are getting the picture on how this gets max reps for all our players and focuses on specific skills of the 3 positions. I can run any of plays out of this drill and show them any defensive front they may come across throughout the year.
The best part...the drill has translated into more effective blocking! Our guys are getting into better position and knowing what they are responsible for. That is the key...can the drill give your guys the tools and knowledge to block any defense or situation.
A very simple drill that works all 3 positions, works tempo, and gives everyone (including young guys) reps. It didn't take much to develop the drill, but just required me to think about how I could MAXIMIZE my players reps.
Next time I use this drill, I plan on timing how long it takes to make a rotation and how many reps I can get in for each player. I may even go as far as taping the drill so you can visually see how it works in action.
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