Coach ,

Though we are in the last weeks of the regular season doesn’t mean that teaching stops. Teaching players to handle situations to keep your unit in a position for success as well as training them to deal with both the situations that occur all of the time as well as rare situations will pay off for your team.

Here’s three tips to keep the third phase developing.

#1) Plus One Call

The simplest way for a punt block team to cause problems is to load a side. Ross Jenkins, Special Teams Coordinator at Southeast Louisiana expects this to happen and has a simple call and adjustment to their blocking to handle it.  He explains his plus-one call here (click on image for video):

Video: Plus One Call

#2) Simple Drill for Returner

Returners do not always need to get their reps in a full-field drill. The key is to teach them what to do when they get the ball. Iowa Special Teams Coordinator Levar Woods teaches his returners to do one of two things - suck them up and bounce outside or widen and split. He shows his simple drill here (click on image for video):

Video: The Returner Drill

#3) The Ball is King

The returners are the most important guys on the field. He can’t afford to mess up the play! Illinois Special Teams Coordinator Ben Miller gives them definitive coaching points on returns. He explains those and illustrates with game film in this video (click on image for video):

Video: The Ball is King

Late in the season, special teams may start to feel monotonous for your players. The key is to keep teaching them new details, use new variations of drills, and teaching the rare situations can keep them engaged and have them sharp to make big plays on game day.

Always be growing!

Coach Grabowski