The Football Faq!((PLEASE READ BEFORE STARTING A THREAD ABOUT FOOTBALL Q's))
Okay im getting real tired of having to answer the same general questions about football. Here I will answer the usual questions that always seem to creep up.
Listed below is a link to each topic for quicker viewing/searching.
[url=http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?p=38987001#post38987001] Increasing Speed/40 Yard Dash[/url]
[url=http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?p=10015111#post10015111] Choosing a Position (Offense)[/url]
[url=http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?p=10028346#post10028346] Choosing a Position (Defense & Special Teams)[/url]
[url=http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?p=10064882#post10064882] Terminology (A-G)[/url]
[url=http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?p=10064889#post10064889] Terminology (H-Z)[/url]
[url=http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=7122761] Anyone that needs help with speed, stretching,strength,power,diets,etc.. Ask Away[/url]
[b][u][size=8]TACKLING:[/size][/u][/b]
First and foremost, it?€™s all about confidence. The only way to lay somebody out is to be absolutely fearless. You will not win the battle thinking "damn this guy is big. I hope he doesn?€™t run me over." if you play with confidence and balls--hell even arrogance--good things will happen and people will respect you.
[u]The Approach:[/u]
This, in my opinion, is the most important part of the tackle. Every single missed tackle/broken ankle is a result of a bad approach. The first part to the approach is speed, aggressiveness, and control. If you look at any highlight film, all of the big hits are from people running full out without fear. When playing, especially at linebacker, you need to be aggressive and come up to make the play, but still be under control. You cannot be passive when it comes to making a tackle. One thing that really helps to stay in control is what is known as "breaking down" which essentially involves dropping your hips and chopping your feet. One way to get into the habit of this is by ending every drill by breaking down. You run through the bags, run a couple extra yards, and break down. Go down the line hitting the sled, and break down.
Head-on:
When making the tackle head-on in a hole, it?€™s all about being low and (here it comes again) aggressive. Exact head position is not that important. I wear a butterfly collar and have a pretty strong neck so for me, its no biggy putting my facemask right into their chest. Most people put their head to the ball side.
Angles:
Tackling from an angle is basically the same thing as a face-to-face tackle with the exception that overall body position and form is VERY important. This is your most common tackle as it is pretty much all DB?€™s see and what you will see in the open field and taking pursuit. When coming up, you want to meet them at an angle (hence the name angle tackle), preferably at a point behind or at the line of scrimmage. When you read that they are trying to beat you to the sidelines, the key is to shuffle?€”not run. The second you turn your hips and run, the runner will cut back and make you look like a fool. When doing this (pursuit), you want to keep to the inside of them, typically between their shoulder and eye. If you do not do this, 2 things can and will happen. The first is you will over-persue and the runner will cutback. The other possibility is you are actually head up on them and that gives the runner tons of options on which way to go, instead of forcing their play. While shuffling, you want to get closer to the runner thus closing the gap between you and him. Then the last second before contact you bring your head across to the ballside (runner will carry the ball with the outside hand 90% of the time). The reason for doing this is and attacking with your inside shoulder forces the runner back into your teammates in the event of a missed tackle.
Something to keep in mind is that you always want to force their play. You cannot always predict what they will do when it comes to cutbacks and what not, but you can force them a certain direction by positioning yourself on either the left or right depending on the situation. If you run straight ahead, all it will do is allow them more places to run.
[u]The Tackle[/u]
As everybody will tell you, the most important thing to remember is to keep your head up and your butt and shoulder pads low. A good hitting position is basically a quarter eagle stance like what you would use during a power clean, a linebacker stance, ready position in tennis, or playing defense/boxing out in basketball. If you still have no idea what im talking about it is basically having your chest out, knees bent, butt low, and back straight. You don?€™t want to be hunched over as this will make your head drop and won?€™t give you the power you need to make the tackle.
The last instant before the tackle you want to have your inside foot forward (like hitting the sled) and have your head and body across their body on the ball side. From here, explode off of your inside leg and through the hips. You want to continue the explosion through their body keeping your feet moving?€”essentially running through the other person. You want your shoulder pads to be between their chest and thigh pads.
After initial contact is made is when you wrap up. The hands are supposed to shoot forward and up. You don?€™t want them to cock back, wind up, or get wide. Any of this will not only force your head and shoulders to point down, but it will use up that small amount of time that will decide whether or not they break the tackle. Once you get the physical wrap (either around the upper leg or lower back), you want to grab cloth. This will ensure the tackle, or at least keep them from going any further if for some reason they break the tackle. Finally you want to take their hips away from them. This is basically bear-hugging the **** out of their lower body. It brings their hips closer to yours. It basically throws them off balance and makes it easier to drive them into the ground. Remember to keep your feet going throughout the whole process. If you get the chance, try to swat/punch/rip the ball out?€”especially when going for a sack or tackling from behind.
More to come?€?
for the bump of the century...
[size=145][b]INCREASING SPEED/40 YD DASH[/b][/size]
the biggest thing to keep in mind when trying to increase speed is that no matter how much you train, you will eventually hit a genetic threshold in which no matter how many squats, powercleans, or plyometrics you do, you will not get any faster. as you get closer to this threashold, it will become harder and harder to see significant increases.
the most common area where people can work, and see some good improvement--especially when they are in their younger years--is in form. if you google or use the search button, there are various articles that are very informative and talk about proper running form.
another way to increase overall footspeed, both laterally and linearly, is through plyometrics. again, searching this forum, and using google, you can find some great plyometric workouts. plyometrics basically help increase flexibility and explosiveness in body movement. the way it achieves this is basically by repeating certain motions over and over again making them more natural to the body, eventually making them instinctive.
the third and final way to increase speed is through weight lifting and stretching. increasing overall strength can also help increase speed if the muscle is worked properly. this is important to keep in mind. just weight lifting alone will not make you faster. just plyometrics or form training alone will make you run a 4.3 40. if this were true, ronnie coleman would hold the world record for the fastest 100m. it is a combination of the three listed above that will increase speed. when weightlifting, you obviously want to focus on the legs (SQUATS, legpress, leg curl/extensions) but also on overall core strength. adding core strength (abs and back) helps increase balance and stability allowing you to stay on your feet at high speed, make those quick jukes, and take a hit and keep on moving. ways to increase core strength include crunches/situps, roman chairs, DEADLIFTS, various fly's, rows and raises, lat pulls, etc etc etc.
i'll also throw in ways to increase the 40 specifically, but not overall true speed. what i mean by this is ways to change things when running the 40, that you don't normally have the option when on the playing field. the start is huge on the 40. the faster somebody can get up to full speed and maintain that speed, the better their time will be. ideally speaking, you want to be going full speed within 2-4 steps, basically somewhere between 5-10 yards. this one is somewhat a grey area as accelleration and being able to change gears at speed is very important come game time, but in the 40 it is a little bit different. another important area to think about is your stance. in all reality you want to start in whatever is comfortable to you, however if you have the chance to work on your 40 times before a combine or school testing, its definately something to keep in mind. dont change your stance for the first time on the day of the combine. the best stance i have found is a true sprinters stance. starting from a 2pt/standing postition, or a 3/4pt stance seem to be somewhat slower as they dont allow the body to explode out as much and hold proper running form. in a 2pt/standing, there is too much weight on the feet, allowing for things like fall/false steps, but also just not having as much potential energy/momentum going forward. a 3/4pt stance allows for more forward lean preventing false steps and helps get you moving forward faster, however they still hinder somewhat in overall explosion. the reason you do not see sprinters stances in football is simply because they dont allow for as much power and stability as a 3 or 4 pt would.
footwear is also very important when it comes to the 40. just like with stance, go with whats most comfortable when on short notice, if you have the chance, train and get comfortable with the appropriate footwear. ideally if running on a track or grass, you'll want to be in track spikes. the provide just enough grip to let you stick your foot in and push off, but not much more. the dont allow for cutting and planting like a regular cleat (see shuttle run), but they are great for pure straight-line running on the proper surface. these are also very very light weight. if you'll be on true astro turf (basically outdoor carpet) or concrete, i'd probably run in turf shoes or some other sort of smooth-bottomed running shoe. for running on turf grass (probably the most common surface for new fields) which is the fake grass that looks and feels real, but isnt, id probably run in regular cleats. ive heard turf shoes and track spikes slip too much. for this i would just experiment on your own.
clothing can help aswell. remember a lot of this stuff is very very minimal, but when added together with the other parts, they can make a .05-.1 difference. if given the option, wearing compression shorts and an underarmor type of shirt can make a slight difference. the theory behind it is it will reduce overall drag/wind resistance that you can see with regular shorts and t shirt.
My list of informative and helpful Threads
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