Coach Tom Bass brings more than 30 years of coaching experience to USA Football. Along with answering youth coaching questions, he also receives emails from young players. You can email the coach at NFLAskTheCoach@aol.com.
Nick from Orlando sent the following question:
I am an outside linebacker going onto the JV team next season. I need help on beating fullback's blocks and tackling the running back. Also, what skills do you need to be a safety?
Hi Nick,
One of the first things that I used to tell my linebackers was that they had to focus on the blocker first. See how he is trying to block you, neutralize his block and then locate and tackle the ball carrier. If you look for the ball carrier first, a good fullback will block you on every play.
If the fullback is coming at you real low - to block at your legs - you may need to strike the top of his shoulder pads with the palms of both hands, direct him to the ground, lock out your arms and locate the ball carrier.
If he is up high, you can strike out with both palms into his inside chest area, lock out your arms, get separation and get in on the tackle.
If he is coming at waist level and you determine he is going to either try to kick you out or block you in, you want to lower your pad level and deliver a blow, with the forearm on the side of the block, to his pad level. Use your other hand to create separation and find the ball carrier.
When you do not have contain (there is another defensive player on your outside) you can switch up your play and bring your outside arm in a ripping motion hard to the inside, across the face of the blocker, forcing him back into the hole and allowing you to work to the inside to the path of the ball carrier.
In many defenses, playing safety is very similar to playing linebacker. Other times, you will be asked to play in a deep zone on the field and a great deal of your responsibility will involve pass defense. The more pass coverage you have as a safety, the more time you need to devote to learning coverage techniques that will help you be successful. Check with your coach and ask him what specific skills and techniques you will need to play safety in his defensive scheme.
Coach Tom Bass
Daniel from Landing sent the following question:
Coach, I'm 6-foot-5 and 250 pounds. I've never played organized football, but I am a really good quarterback going into my senior year in high school. Any tips on what I should be doing to impress the coaches and to be named starter at the beginning of next season?
Hi Daniel,
It is important for you to realize that you have a tremendous amount of catching up to do in order to be ready for football next fall. Setting up a time to meet with your coach should be your first order of business. Discuss with him what you want to do and see exactly what he feels you need to do in the next few months to prepare yourself to make the team, let alone become the starter.
There is so much more to being a quarterback than just being able to throw the ball. You have the responsibility of learning and being able to call all the plays in your team's offensive playbook and run the team at the line of scrimmage.
You need to practice the footwork you will need to use for all running and passing plays. You need to learn and understand the different defenses that you will face and where to throw the ball against different pass coverages.
You also need to gain the trust and confidence of your fellow teammates in order to successfully command and lead the offense.
Everything starts with the feedback you receive from the coach, so that is your first step and then everything else should fall into place. Good luck and I hope it works out for you.
Coach Tom Bass
Dave from Dublin, Ohio, sent the following question:
I have a high school onside kick question. If a kick goes 20 yards in the air, can the kicking team recover it?
Hi Dave,
The important rule to remember, as it pertains to your specific question, is that once a kickoff travels 10 yards, it is a free ball and can be recovered by either team.
In fact a kicking team player can even catch the ball in the air if there is no one from the opposing team or they can recover the kick once it hits the ground.
One other thing to know in a case like this is a member of the receiving team can signal for a fair catch (exactly like a player might do on a punt). All the rules are the same. Once the player signals for a fair catch (waving one hand back and forth over his head while the ball is in the air), the kicking team must allow him the opportunity to make the catch, and the player making the catch cannot advance the ball. I hope this clears it up for you.
Coach Tom Bass
Nate from Jackson, Miss., sent the following question:
How do I become a better running back?
Hi Nate,
Becoming a great running back requires lots of off-season training and mentally becoming a student of the game. You come from the cradle of the greatest running back of all time, the great Walter Payton.
Successful running backs study and learn not only where they are supposed to run on any given play, but they also know and understand how the play will be blocked and where they may be able to make one more cut to get extra yards. Go over the plays in your offense and learn how each play should correctly be run.
Running backs also take the time to learn and predict the different defensive fronts and schemes that they will face, understand the strengths and weaknesses of each one and how they can be exploited. Ask your coach to look at game video with you of your opponents to help you learn about the various defenses you will run against.
During the off-season, Payton always trained by running up and down steep hills to increase his leg strength, power and quickness. He built the power that you saw demonstrated every time he ran over a defender, or stopped and jumped laterally to the right or left and then accelerated forward to gain valuable yards. This is something you could start right now.
Try to set up time with your teammates when you can practice running pass routes and catching the ball. Your quarterback should be more than willing to work with you a couple times a week on this important part of your game.
Payton also became a devastating blocker when protecting the quarterback on any pass play, and he was usually successful when blocking any blitzing linebacker. You will need to work on this area in the fall when you have the pads on.
Try to set up a time each day where you are going to work on some phase of improving your total running back game, and then stick to the schedule the same way you allot time to do homework or study for your school work.
Work hard and have a good year next football season.
Coach Tom Bass
Jon from Charlotte sent the following question:
I have always played quarterback, and now that I'm entering high school this year, I wanted to know how to read coverage better. What are some things that I can do to become better at reading the defense?
Hi Jon,
One of the first things a quarterback needs to do as he brings the offense to the line of scrimmage is to determine if the defense is leaving the deep center of the field free or if it is occupied by a free safety. If it is occupied, then in your pre-snap read, check the location of the corners. Are they off, indicating a three-deep zone coverage? Or are they tight, indicating a man-to-man coverage?
If the deep center is free, with the free safety lined up deep on one half of the field, immediately check the other safety and see if he is back off the line in the same position on the other side of the field, indicating some form of two-deep zone coverage. If the two safeties are not deep, and the center of the field is free, you should anticipate some form of blitz defense.
If you are planning on throwing a quick three-step drop pass, seeing which receiver has the least tight coverage is the most important, so you can basically pre-determine where you are going to go with the ball prior to the snap.
The key to having good recognition during a game is to have studied your opponent on video if it is available during the off-season and the week prior to your game. Check the position and the alignment of the linebackers and see if you can tell when they are going to blitz.
The inclination when watching game video is to watch our position, then the offense and see what they are trying to do, but you need to set aside time when you look only at the defense and how they line up prior to the snap. It helps if you have a call sheet so you know the down and distance and see the adjustments they make on different downs that you can easily pick up to help you read a defense.
I had our quarterbacks look at the play before the ball was snapped and tell me what they thought the coverage was going to be, then we would run the play and see if they were right or not.
In practice and in a game, it is important to make sure that you allow your head and eyes to move from your left to your right every time you come to the line on every play. Do not help the defense by looking first at the area where the play is supposed to go.
I hope this helps you as you continue to develop as a successful quarterback.
Coach Tom Bass
Coach Tom Bass, the technical writer and advisor for USA Football, is a 30-year NFL coach who has also authored several books, including "Play Football the NFL Way" - the first "how to" book ever authorized and published by the NFL. Coach Bass is happy to personally autograph his books to you. Book ordering information can be found on http://www.coachbass.com/.
