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.
Joe sent the following question:
I really enjoyed reading your articles, they were very insightful, although many of the players are younger than I am. I am currently in my fifth semester of college. Straight out of high school, I attended a four-year school for four semesters and then transferred to a junior college this semester. I have taken a three-year hiatus from football due to various reasons, including invasive shoulder surgery resulting from a football injury, but mainly because I needed to re-center my life.
Football has always been my passion, and I consider myself a student of the game. Whatever I lack in physical ability, I make up for in mental fortitude and intelligence. I felt that football was stripped from me due to injuries that I could not help or foresee, and as such, I recently decided that I want to play again.
I have obviously missed this season, but I have no doubt that I will be physically and mentally ready to play next year. My question is this: how realistic do you think my goal of playing is? I will be in my fourth year of college (but only 20 years old). Do you think that coaches will be willing to let me play? How much of an uphill battle do you think I will face? Regardless, I am going to give it my best shot. Thank you for your time, and I look forward to hearing from you.
Hi Joe,
You already realize that you are going to face many challenges along the way, and ultimately, your drive and determination will be the deciding factors in making your dream materialize.
If your junior college has a football program that may be the place to start. Coaches at that level are used to having players go out for the team who have been away from the game for various reasons, and they will provide you with the opportunity to get back into the game and compete against players who are more your age.
A four-year Division I school may be reluctant to have you try out because of the limited number of players they are allowed to have on the squad. This would not preclude you from attending a Division II or III or NAIA college and still have eligibility left to play.
Because of your previous injury, make certain that you have your doctor give you a complete physical to determine that it is safe for you to resume your football career. Good luck and make it happen.
Coach Tom Bass
CJ sent the following question:
I want to know why I can't sack the quarterback;I get in the back field, andI am an arm length away from the quarterback, but I can't get to him. I normally run my route to prevent anyone from getting to the outside. I am the defensive end that rushes the quarterback. Iknow to stay low coming off the line of scrimmage.When do I use my rip, spin and swim moves? Are there any special hand moves?
Hi CJ,
Playing defensive end is a challenge in that you want to pressure the QB, sack him if possible, and yet you need to keep him in the pocket. In coaching this position, we always like to start by putting a towel or small cone in the spot where the QB would be when he sets up to pass.
Without an offensive blocker in the drill, we would have the DE line up in his stance, get off the movement of the ball and take a direct straight line path to the QB target area. We wanted him to train his muscle memory and to visualize just how fast and how tight he could make his pass rush.
Without this training, a DE may get off fast but widen out rather than taking a tight path and really helping the OT make his pass protection block. You can still keep everything to the inside, but now you are attacking the target area on your very first step.
You should think in terms of moving to the blocker so that any move you may want to use can be initiated on your second step up the field. You should think in terms of using your outside hand and arm to hit and direct the up field hand and arm of the blocker as you start your pass rush technique. Knock it up and in if you are going to rip, down and in if you are going to swim.
For a spin move, use your inside arm on the inside arm of the blocker, driving it across his chest as you start your spin. On a spin, it is very possible that the QB may escape to the outside so be very careful with this move.
Try to get as close to the blocker as fast as you can, and think in terms of always taking the straightest path possible to the QB.
Coach Tom Bass
Justin sent the following question:
I am a senior in high school, and I'm playing noseguard on defense. We run a 3-4. Do you have any advice for me on improving at this position? What do I need to do to becomefaster on getting through the line, and what are some tips I should use andconcentrate on?
Hi Justin,
There are two ways to play nose. The first way would be to fill up the space and to hold your ground in front of the center freeing up the linebackers. To play this style, you need bulk and strength.
The second method is to always be attacking one side of the center and penetrating through the guard/center gap. This is the style of nose play that I preferred for our 3-4 defense.
We taught our nose to either loop or slant into the gap. For the loop, he would take a short lateral step with the foot to the side of his gap responsibility and then charge straight ahead through the gap. This technique puts the nose in a balanced position and allows him to react to both his right and left or straight ahead with equal speed.
The other technique - the slant - starts with the nose taking a quick crossover step with the foot opposite his gap responsibility and ripping his arm on that side across the center's body as he takes the step. This is more of an explosive move and puts the nose into the offensive backfield on the second step. The one drawback is that the angle of your charge may make if difficult for you to quickly react to a play moving in the opposite direction.
The key, as you already realize, is moving the instant the ball moves and staying low with your charge. Practice taking that first step as quickly as you can.
Coach Tom Bass
The following question was sent:
I'm 14 years old, 5-foot-4, 120 pounds and in the ninth grade. I play QB, and I have a good arm. I have been working with a QB coachfor about a year now and things were looking pretty good. I startedpre-season practices with 9-12 graders, and the head coach for varsityasked me to practice with them. This also happened during the passingscrimmages.
The season began and I was not moved up to play withthe JV or varsity teams. I started practicing with the ninth grade team, and all three of the QBsrotated in. Eventually the kid who did not show up forthree-a-daysstarted. He and the other QB are both 6 feet tall. I have been workingreally hard during practice and show up for every game. What else do Ineed to do?
Hi,
It is great that you had the opportunity with the older players in the summer, but is unfortunate that you felt that this would carry over to fall practice.
The thing you have to guard against right now is being disappointed and having it show in a negative attitude out on the field with your present coaches and players.
Now is the time that you have to stay prepared, study the offense and be supportive of all of the players on the offensive team. This is not necessarily an easy thing to do, but if you perform in this way, you will become a much better teammate in the end.
Keep working hard, be ready for your chance to play and encourage everyone so that you become a leader on the team. Prepare yourself for next season when you will be with coaches who have seen your ability in practice sessions.
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/.
