DC--So your players can t block?

You should open practice with "12 perfect blocks". They came to hit. This provides it. Do not hold the pole yourself. Get someone else to. Stand behind the blockers and police proper foot and stance. Get on the slackers. Once the 12 blocks have been achieved, give a water break while laying out your ropes for sumo. With 20 kids, you need ten 21 foot ropes but feel free to use only 9. The two players "out" will "tennis ball" drill each other. If you have an odd number of players, a coach "tennis ball" drills the odd man out. Hype the kids up. I've had coaches play a boom box. I let the winning offensive lineman be team captain for the following game. Next, go to "stalk blocking" a downfield defender. I have now added a running back to this drill. It looks like this:

          XXXX    D   XXXX
                     B
          
                     R

The 2 point defender is standing between two tackling dummies (xxx). The blocker is in a 3 point 3-4 yards off him. The runner is 5 yards behind the blocker (I use real running backs at R.). On "Hit!" the blocker charges out and engages the defender (a LBer). The runner follows, reads the defender, and must pass between the bags. If the defender makes the tackle it's because 1) you've set the tackling bags too close or 2) the blocker lost contact with the defender or 3) the runner cut the wrong way. Fix the problem (I was surprised at how many times the runner cut the wrong way.). I have found it to be an excellent teaching tool for my backs on "toss". Again, I match up kids sizewise between the B and the D. Set them up for success and not failure.

As for my own kids failure, it was coached into them last year. I have to coach it out. All the kids who played for me last year are doing the drill perfect and snot knocking the new boys who "stand up". But last week one of the new boys won sumo. So they can be broken of this bad habit. I'm just wondering how old I'll be when it happens.