Ball Security Refresher Course

It's all Ball Security these days!  Perhaps you need a refresher course!

Thanks to Chris at Smart Football for giving me a refresher course with this article link he provided.  After reading the article I realized, "I was wrong!  There is a better way to hold on to the football!"  Let me show you the old way that I learned from a national championship coach (who is wrong too, lol):

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I have two hands on the football in the picture above and this is not awful, but I have both an upward force and a downward force on the football.  Tyrone Willingham has a RB video that talks about the instability created by having your arms work against each other with the football in the middle.  Below is the way that LSU RB Coach Frank Wilson describes from the above article link that I believe is the best way to hold onto the football:

Besides the superior picture quality of my new laptop vs. my old laptop, the new method has some advantages over the old method.  First, both of my arms are working to press the ball upward against my chest.  This helps to keep the football tighter to my chest (Fundamental #3).  Second, and even more importantly, this method helps to keep my wrist above my elbow (Fundamental #2) unlike the previous picture where my top hand is pushing my wrist down to where it is almost below my elbow.  I re-did the video and added the corrections.

Fundamentals of Ball Security - Barry Hoover from Barry Hoover on Vimeo.

This link should allow you to download this video.  To download any Google Drive file from this website, go to the top left of the page, click on File then on Download.

Fundamentals of Ball Security:

1. Two Finger Claw
2. Wrist Above Elbow
3. Ball Tight to Chest
4. Tuck Elbow In
5. Opposite Hand Over Football on Contact
6. Keep Pads Low

Fumbles - I from Barry Hoover on Vimeo.

This Sports Science video with Rudi Johnson has MMA guys trying to knock out the football in an old-fashioned gauntlet drill.  To see how they do actually knock the ball out, go to the 7:00 mark.

RB High Knees Drill

The High Knees Drill is a great way to teach backs to drive their knees up while running to help them break tackles.  The best cut-up is at the end of the video of former 49er great, Roger Craig, as he demonstrates his high knee running style in ripping off one of the more memorable runs in NFL history.  As with any RB drill, proper Ball Security must always be emphasized. If I may critique, the RBs in the drill cut-ups have below average technique, because they should always have their wrists above their elbows while running the ball.

RB Quickness and Agility Drills

There are many different types of running styles, but all great backs have one trait in common: quick feet.  These quickness and agility drills should be a priority for the RB Coach.  A key coaching point for any agility drill is for the athlete to have a low center of gravity.  This allows the RB to be able to change direction quickly.  Good core strength and explosive calf strength also allows a RB to stick his foot in the ground and make a cut and accelerate quickly (see the cut on the run beginning at the 4:19 mark). 

Ball Security is priority number one for the RB Coach, and it is crucial to emphasize these fundamentals as the RBs do these drills.  It is a common mistake for younger RBs to forget Ball Security when they are doing footwork drills, so coaches must stay on top of them to help them to improve their awareness of securing the football properly at all times.

There are some other moves being executed by the RBs in this video (jukes and spins), but having quick feet allows a RB to effectively execute all of these moves.

Also, this Barry Sanders guy is worth taking a look at too:

Ball Security

It's all Ball Security these days!  Perhaps you need a refresher course!

I had originally posted these videos on Brophy's site but I am posting them again since Yahoo deleted the original videos. I believe Ball Security is one of the worst taught fundamentals in football and in my experience I have seen that Ball Security can win or lose 1-2 games a year. The most important thing is to not just stress it during pre-season—Ball Security must be drilled and emphasized year-round.  

We had excellent Ball Security in 2010 although we didn't get any RB Indo time for the last 2/3 of the season (except for 5 minutes during pre-game with half of my guys).  Then, we lost four fumbles in the 2nd Half of our last game.  These were our official 2nd Half stats with a possible playoff birth on the line and the game tied 7-7 at the half: 14 snaps, 5 fumbles, 4 fumbles lost (1 returned for a TD), 2 Ints, 1 penalty, 1 punt.  Yeah, the wheels kind of fell off at the end there.

I am destroying my credibility as a RB Coach in telling you those stats to make a point: Your resources, teaching ability, and knowledge of Ball Security (or of any fundamental) as a coach don't mean a thing unless your players actually get time to practice that skill throughout the year.  Fundamental skills will erode unless they are emphasized during the entire season, but unfortunately Indo time gets the shaft when coaches try to install too much offense.

4th Qtr Fumble in the Super Bowl with your team down by 4 points!  You better believe the Steelers will be emphasizing Ball Security at the end of this season.  Video link here.

You can explain, scream, yell, beg, plead, and up-down kids to death, but if you want to teach them the correct way to protect the football, you must use video to do it.  The first video explains and demonstrates the correct fundamentals of Ball Security and the second video reinforces these fundamentals by showing slow-motion video of fumbles and explaining exactly what the ball carrier did wrong.

Ball Security from Barry Hoover on Vimeo.

Fundamentals of Ball Security:

1. Two Finger Claw
2. Wrist above Elbow
3. Ball Tight to Chest
4. Tuck Elbow In
5. Opposite Hand Over Football on Contact
6. Keep Pads Low

Fumbles - I from Barry Hoover on Vimeo.

Also, this Sports Science video with Rudi Johnson has MMA guys trying to knock out the football in an old-fashioned gauntlet drill.  To see how they do actually knock the ball out, go to the 7:00 mark.



Good fundamentals and Ball Security to everyone this season.   

Links

Chris at Smart Football talks here about Triangles in the passing game, Mike Leach, and the Dennis Erickson One-Back Spread.

Hemlock explains Noel Mazzone's offense and Slide protection here.

Dacoachmo with Sprint-Out - Part 2 and the Crack Screen.

Deuce breaks down the Flexbone Counter Iso here.

Dubber gives a lesson about Tiger Ellison's version of the Run and Shoot here.

Coach W talks about principles of coaching and leadership here and here.

5 Wide Offense with post on 4 Verts.

Brophy illustrates Slot Coverage Variations here.

Coach's Corner Radio Show

I was recently allowed the opportunity and privilege to be a guest on the Coach's Corner radio show hosted by John Anderson and talked about Curl-Flat, Spacing, and Ball Security.  There are podcasts of great NFL, college, and high school coaches that are definitely worth checking out: http://compusportsradio.podomatic.com/

Articles from Cripes! Let's Get Back to Fundamentals...

You can check out the articles I wrote for Brophy's blog here.  If you hate my new blog format and prefer the old website, you can blame him, lol.