drills

Own the paint: 12 games of 1-on-1 to improve post players
Own the paint. Don't just take up space or clog the lane, but rather, have your players dominate this area of the floor. The better your team is on the interior, the more high-percentage shots you create and, consequently, it opens up your squad for ...

Football: Iowa’s 6-minute tackling circuit
The University of Iowa football team prides itself on a hard-hitting defense that typically ranks in the Top 10 nationally in points allowed. Head coach Kirk Ferentz uses this six-minute tackle circuit to improve the tackling skills of all his defend...

The six-minute tackle circuit
Editor’s Note: See video of Kirk Ferentz speaking to a group of high schoolers about goal-setting at the end of this article. The University of Iowa football team prides itself on a hard-hitting defense that typically ranks in the Top 10 nationa...

Soccer: Drilling transition movements into players
One of the beautiful things about the game of soccer is its free-flowing nature with the constant transitioning of teams from attack, to defense, and back to attack. [caption id="attachment_13260" align="alignright" width="266"] Photo: Sarah Jones...

Football: Secondary drills for man coverage
Man-to-man coverage begins with the proper alignment of the defensive backs to the receivers at the line of scrimmage (LOS). This normally places the cornerbacks 5-7 yards off of the LOS, with an inside shade on the receivers. At the snap of the b...

Volleyball: Using your middle blocker
Next to the libero, the middle blocker is the most important defensive player on the floor, said Mike Hebert, the successful former head women's volleyball coach at the University of Minnesota. An awful lot of what goes on defensively is determ...

Football: Teaching the combo block
Techniques for making the combo block an effective part of your running game The combination (combo) block is an easy way to get a body on one defender while picking off another to give your running game a distinct advantage. In the combo block, ...

Soccer: 1-on-1 drills to break down defenders
Using 1-on-1 drills in your soccer practices helps build the skills and confidence your players need to break down an individual defender, which is a situation they constantly are facing during game play. And while soccer is a team sport, it is a ...