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.
Byronn sent the following question:
This is my first year as a kick returner. Do you have any tips for playing the position right and avoiding leg injuries?
Hi Byronn,
Being a kick returner is one of the most exciting positions on the football team - and one of the most challenging. You will need to understand the difference between returning a punt and a kickoff. A kickoff is a live ball and can be recovered by either team, so you have to cover or catch every kickoff.
A punt does not have to be caught, you can let it roll dead and your team will still have possession of the ball. With a punt you have three options: catch and return the punt, fair catch the punt or let the ball hit the ground and roll dead.
With both types of kicks, it is important that you understand where the ball is to be returned and the type of blocking your team will use prior to the ball being kicked. Try to have a good feel for where the running lane will be and then concentrate on running to that area.
Try to always position yourself prior to the kick at a depth that is comparable to the strength of the kicker. You can check out the kickers prior to the game during pre-game warm-up.
Line up so that you have a good view of the kicker and the ball. Position yourself so that you are directly in front of the ball as it is in flight. Reach up with both hands, little fingers together, palms up, elbows into your sides, and see the front tip of the ball and both your hands at the moment of the catch.
Immediately secure the ball in your side and sprint to the return area. Expect the hole and blocking to be there. Do not start, stop and change direction because that will make any block twice as hard for your teammates. Run full speed and get as much as you can on every return.
I really enjoyed returning kicks in high school, and I hope you have as much fun and success as I had.
Coach Tom Bass
Pedro sent the following question:
Can you explain the responsibility for corners and safeties in Cover 2 and Cover 3? I play corner and just want to make sure I understand my responsibility when its time to play.
Hi Pedro,
Both Cover 2 and Cover 3 usually refer to a form of zone coverage rather then man-to-man style of coverage. In Cover 2, the strong and free safeties have the responsibility of covering half of the field deep on their side of the field. The two corners have the responsibility of covering the outside medium (up to 15 yards from the line of scrimmage) zone on their respective side of the field.
To assist the safety in Cover 2, the corner is often coached to hit the wide receiver as he comes off the line and to force him into the middle of the field to the safety. The corner is also expected to come up and force the ball carrier back to the inside on any wide running play to his side.
In Cover 3, the responsibility of the corner is often determined by the support call from the safety on his side. If the call is cloud (or any other designated call) it tells the corner to come up and to play just as he would in Cover 2. For any other call, the responsibility of the corner is to cover the deep 1/3 of the field on his side with a safety covering the center deep 1/3.
When the corner is playing deep in Cover 3, he must stay deep defending the pass until the ball carrier crosses the line of scrimmage. Once the ball carrier crosses the line, the corner can leave his deep zone and proceed to come up to aid in the tackle.
Make certain you know the coverage called on every down and that you know your responsibility on every play before the ball is snapped.
Coach Tom Bass
Kelly sent the following question:
I'm a freshman and play free safety. Can you tell me what a free safety does and how they should tackle?
Hello Kelly,
The responsibility of the free safety will depend on the defense that your team is using. You should be the last line of the defense, never let any receiver behind you on a pass and be ready to come up when the ball carrier crosses the line of scrimmage.
Often you will serve as the quarterback for the defense in that you are usually lined up directly in front of the ball and in the best position to view the entire offensive formation. You can help make sure that everyone is properly lined up and that everyone on the defense is certain of the defense being played.
As a free safety you may be free, deep in the middle of the field (Cover 1), play a deep zone in 1/2 of the field (Cover 2), play a deep zone in 1/3 of the field (Cover 3) or be asked to cover an offensive receiver man-to-man all over the field (Cover 0). Make certain that you hear the defense called in the huddle and that you are certain of your assignment for that defensive call.
Tackling requires good technique and desire. As you approach the ball carrier, you need to shorten your stride, widen your base, bend your knees, come under control and keep your back straight and head up. You want to explode off of the foot nearest the ball carrier and hit with your shoulder pad on that side. Try to think of driving your body up and through the ball carrier and as your shoulder pad hits, you should wrap both arms around the ball carrier and grab his jersey with both hands.
Being a good tackler is aided by knowing your defense and where your help is, understanding the offense, recognizing the play as it starts and knowing where the ball carrier will try to run the ball on each play. In this way, you can put yourself in position to come up and make the tackle before the ball carrier has gained many yards.
Next season try to really listen to your coaches not only when they are speaking to you but anytime they teach another player on defense. If you do not understand something, it is your responsibility to ask the coach. Stay positive and be ready to learn anytime you are on the practice field.
Coach Tom Bass
Joe from Kansas City sent the following question:
I'm a 6-feet tall, 175 pound 10th grader and I play running back. I run a 4.56 40-yard dash, and I rushed for more than 1000 yards and 11 touchdowns for my JV team. I have a 3.3 GPA, so what are my chances of receiving a scholarship?
Hello Joe,
You certainly have a good start to having a chance to earn a scholarship. The key will be your continued development and improvement on the football field and also in the classroom.
It is important for you to understand that when you move up to varsity, the competition will be greater and it will become more difficult for you to repeat your success. However, if you work hard it can happen. The key is for you to focus on improving every time you walk onto the football field.
There is a saying that in football you either get better or worse with each practice, you can not stay the same. Ask yourself after every practice, "Did I work as hard as I could today, and am I a better player coming off the field than going on?" You will know how hard you have worked.
If you can answer "yes," then you will be on the right track. If one day you answer "no," then you know that you need to increase your effort and concentration during the next practice session. You need to always be a self-motivator and a self-evaluator.
It is good for you to look ahead and continue to try to excel on the classroom side of your preparation. Many gifted players, who have the football ability to play in college, never get the chance because they neglected working hard in the classroom or did not take the core courses they need to be accepted in college. Make certain that you continue to take care of business in both areas and have fun.
Coach Tom Bass
Daniel sent the following question:
As an outside linebacker, how do you force the play inside when you have a receiver coming to "crack" you?
Hi Daniel,
Usually when you have a wide receiver blocking back on you, the defensive back on that side will take over the force responsibility from you the moment the wide receiver makes his block.
I always coached our corners or safeties to call out "crack" to the outside linebacker the minute the wide receiver started in to crack block. This allowed the linebacker to have time to turn and take on the wide receiver as he made his block or to turn his back to the outside forcing the wide receiver to block him illegally from behind.
If your defense gives you force responsibility even with a crack block, then you really need to have the defensive back make the call to you so you can have the time to turn out and work to the outside shoulder of the wide receiver. This will put you in a position to have a realistic chance to turn the ball carrier back to the inside. Communication and working together are essential to having defensive success.
The important thing is for the defensive backs to communicate with you, and then you need to establish with your defensive coach if the defensive back will be coming up when there is a crack block.
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/.
