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.
Julian sent the following question:
I am currently a sophomore in high school.This was my first year playing football and kicking.Currently I can kick 40 yards with a hangtime of about 3 seconds.Is this good?How do I improve over the off-season to get ready to be the starting varsity kicker?
Hi Julian,
This is a good start for you, and now that you have one year of football you can start to work on improving your distance and also your hang time.
The best way for a kicker to improve is by working with a coach every day who can observe and help you with your technique. The problem with working alone is often you will end up practicing bad technique and your muscles will become used to kicking incorrectly. You really need someone present to observe you kick and to check your steps, body position and kicking motion.
Videotaping your kicking motion can also help, especially if you have someone that can go over it with you and make suggestions and corrections.
It is very important that you spend time focused on the proper technique and not on how far the ball goes or how long it is in the air on every kick you make.
If possible, you may want to check and see if there are any kicking camps that are going to be held in your area this summer and try to attend one. The time at many of these camps is intense, focuses on kicking and can help you make a big stride in your kicking ability.
Make sure you develop a good stretching routine, include some running drills, and work hard on the classroom assignments.
Coach Tom Bass
Ross sent the following question:
I'm a freshman in high school, and I currently play offensive line. I'm 5-foot-9 and 210 pounds, and I don't think I'm going to get much bigger. Our varsity team ismostly seniors, so there's going to be a lot of open spots, includingsafety and both RBs. I want to get faster and strong enough to play atleast one of these. Do you have any suggestions for speed trainingand playing the positions?
Hi Ross,
You may be surprised at how much you grow in the next two years and making a drastic change of positions may not be necessary or advisable.
Improving your speed is much more difficult than improving your strength. You can improve your running action and work on speeding up your steps, but this will usually require you working with a speed coach and there may only be a marginal gain.
My advice would be to go out for track this spring and ask the track coach to help you with your start, running form and any speed drills that he may recommend. You may not be a sprinter, but you may be able to begin working out with one of the weight events (shot or discus) and this will also help you increase your strength.
You can also begin to start a supervised program of lifting weights where you keep a written record of your lifts and the amount of resistance you use and how you increase during the spring and summer.
Make sure you speak to your coaches about your concern about changing positions. Let them guide you and direct you to the best position on the team where you will have the greatest opportunity to have success.
Coach Tom Bass
Dan sent the following question:
I want to play D-I football more than anything. Last year as a freshman I played Z receiver. I grew 6 inches over the summer and put on some weight and am now playing outside linebacker. I'm 6-foot-1 and 180 pounds. I want to play RB because of my speed and cutting ability but don't know how to go about doing it. Should I ask my coach to go in during a scout team drill? If my ability is there, do you think my height could serve as a disadvantage for college recruiters?
Hi Dan,
There is a very good chance that you will continue to grow and you may find that you will outgrow a running back position. This is what happened to me. Ninth grade running back, 10th and 11th fullback, 12th grade tight end, and in college I became a guard and tackle. I just kept on growing.
I see nothing wrong with asking the coach for a chance to try out for running back. You may find that you are suited to play the position. Being tall as a running back is only a problem if you run straight up and down and never perfect the ability to lean at the waist, lower your pad level and offer a more compact target for a potential tackler.
You might also consider playing tight end on offense. You have the receiver skills, and you can run after the catch. This is a position that you can play even if you continue to get bigger and bigger and is one that is in demand by many colleges.
Coach Tom Bass
Evan sent the following question:
It's my first year playing football on a team, and I'm having problems with remembering where to line up. Do you have any suggestions for me on how to remember?
Hi Evan,
Learning to play football and especially learning the new terms and formations can be a real challenge for any first-year player. The greatest thing you can do is to start your own football notebook.
Have a section for formations. Write down every formation that your team is using. Next, design a special page for each formation. Highlight where you are supposed to line up on each formation. Make sure you draw the formation up to the right and the left. Show your notebook to your coaches to make sure that you have them correct.
Next, have someone test you on each formation. Have them call out the name and then you can draw it up and show where you should be. You need to spend some time away from the field doing this type of study.
As you begin to know where to line up and can draw up each formation, your mind will become trained to the formation name and you will start carrying your knowledge over to the field. Start right away with your notebook, and soon you will find that this is no longer a big challenge for you.
Coach Tom Bass
Ibrahim sent the following question:
My high school football team just qualified for the playoffs and now gets to play the league defending champions. Problem is, they have a 6-foot-5, 250 pound running back/linebacker. I play FS in s CFL rule league (12 men, three downs). I am 5-foot-6, 165 pounds. I am wondering how I should approach tackling this player. Also, my responsibility in our cover two scheme is to take care of the RB on the option to the offense's left side.
Hi Ibrahim,
Congratulations to you, your coaches and the rest of your team on a great year.
Now, on to the situation you are going to face in the next game. The first thing you can do is hope that they run to the other side. Just kidding!
When you are faced with this kind of a challenge it really helps if you can quickly get to the line of scrimmage so that you are in position to make the tackle before the big guy can catch the pitch and get his shoulders turned up field.
When he is running toward the sideline, you can easily go in and tackle him near his ankles on the lower part of his legs.
Once he turns up the field, you are better off aiming for his waist and driving your shoulder into his midsection. With this type of tackle, you should grab his jersey and hold on until your teammates can come and give you help.
Do not hesitate or wait for him to come to you. Move to make the tackle with as much speed as you can to offset his size and strength. Good luck in the game.
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/.
