I once started a season with a pretty young team of high
schoolers. They didn't have a lot of experience and several of
them had never worn pads before. My goal was for us to have a
great defense so I knew we were going to have to get tough, fast.
Enter the "Machine Gun" drill.
The drill is really quite simple. You take a group
of players, between 10 and 15 is probably ideal, and you line them up
single file. You walk the first guy in line out 10 yards and turn
him around to face the line. He's the defender (We'd give him a
tough name like "Samurai" or "Monster" or "Assassin") Put cones on
either side of him maybe 5 yards apart. Give the last guy in the
line a football.
On your command the first guy in the line runs at the
"Samurai" and hits him; Samurai's job is to hit and shed. The
attacker can hit him but he's instructed that after Samurai sheds him he
has to peel off and get out of the drill. As soon as the attacker
makes contact with the Samurai, the next attacker in line charges at
him. Again Samurai hits and sheds. And again and again, each
in turn; hit and shed.
The last guy in line has the football and he has to run
between the cones. After Samurai has hit and shed the last
attacker he form tackles the guy with the football.
Repetition over, give them a moment to collect
themselves and then rotate. Samurai becomes the ball-carrier and
the next in line steps up to be the Samurai. Give everybody a
chance; this is a tempo drill and a contact drill but not necessarily a
drill with guys going to the ground. If Samurai gets knocked down
encourage him to pop up and keep going. Good form and an
aggressive initial pop are the focus.
The very first day in pads with my young team we ran
this drill to start the defensive portion of practice. They guys
were nervous but they hit and shed with increasing vigor. Their
form tackles weren't always perfect but they stuck in there and did
their best.
When the drill was over I gathered my bruised and tired
troops around me and asked them "Is anybody here injured?" They
counted their fingers and toes, looked at each other, then looked back
at me and shook their heads. "Anybody seriously hurt?"
Again, they shook their heads. "You each just took on FOURTEEN
guys and then tackled a guy, and you're o.k.!" You should have
seen the lights come on. Slowly smiles and nods came over them as
they looked at each other in amazement. "In a game you'll never
have to take on more than 2 or 3 guys at the most before making a
tackle, usually just ONE." Boy were they excited. Every one
of them felt like tough guys.
We repeated the drill the next day and I tell you we had
16 warriors on the field that afternoon. They couldn't wait to hit
and shed and tackle. We did it again the day after that and almost
every day for the next two weeks. By the end of those two weeks
the Samurai was absolutely wrecking people. One kid, a sophomore
linebacker who had never played tackle football before, actually got so
excited that by the time he had shed the second attacker was actually
attacking the line. I had to stop the drill because he knocked the
last attacker back into the ball-carrier before the ball-carrier could
even take a step.
During season we only did the drill on Tuesdays and the
defensive players loved it so much they wanted to do it more often than
that. It really pumped them up.
Our defense that year was terrific - we were a very
physical football team and I've never had a group of guys that hit, shed
and pursued to the ball with as much enthusiasm and vigor as that group.
In fact we won our first game of the season 2-0.
A few last points:
1. Coach up the proper form and technique before
you ever get the pads on. Hit, shed, tackle, use the forearms and
hands, keep the feet moving, head up, eyes open, use your pads,
accelerate into the hit, deliver a blow.
You can even do this drill at 3/4s speed with no pads on
if you use forearm pads and shields.
Once you get the pads on, however, don't over-coach it.
Encourage, yes. Cheer them on. But this drill is very up
tempo and it's designed to help vanquish any fear of contact the players
might have. This drill shows them that they can take on an entire
team of players and still be standing. This is not the place to
correct small technique issues unless you feel there is a safety issue.
Coach small technique issues in another drill or off to the side
afterwards. This drill is about finding out that you can be tough.
2. Safety is always priority #1. Like any
other contact drill make sure at least one coach, preferably more, give
this drill their undivided attention. Make sure and do this drill
where there is plenty of grass and no hazards. Don't be afraid to
stop the drill immediately if you sense that a player is in danger.
3. This drill can get more involved as you go. The
first time I'm happy just to have them hit and shed and show good
footwork and form on the tackle. They don't even have to tackle to
the ground if they just form up and wrap. As we get better and
better at the drill I'll add to it by making the Samurai alternate arms
as he sheds each attacker or making the line he's standing on the goal
line and he has to stop the ball-carrier from scoring.
Being tough and physical is mostly a matter of mindset.
This drill helps your players to realize that if they use good technique
and deliver a blow that they can be tough and physical and when the
whistle blows and dust clears they'll be o.k. They may be afraid
of it at first but they'll take pride in it once they've accomplished
it.