Stay home drill
Why it works
Reverses and fake reverses beat young flag defences because every defender runs to the first movement of the ball. Showing the same pitch again and again, with the reverse only some of the time, rewards the defenders who stay home and makes chasing the first thing look as foolish as it is.
Run it
10 MINTwelve reps, mixing pitch, reverse and fake reverse at random, about one reverse in three. Ten minutes. Rotate defenders through every zone.
Say this
“Stay home until it crosses.”
The zone you leave is the zone the reverse comes back to.
“Watch the ball, not the runner.”
Where the ball goes, the play goes. A runner without the ball is a decoy.
“Holding your spot is a good play.”
On a play that goes away from you, staying home is the right answer.
Good looks like
- The backside defender is still in his zone when the reverse comes back.
- Defenders call out who has the ball.
- Nobody crosses the field before the ball crosses the line.
- Once the ball crosses, the pull comes from the defender in that zone.
The mistakes
The far side defender running toward the pitch on the first step. Run the reverse three times in a row until he stops leaving.
Say: “Stay home until it crosses.”
Chasing the back who just handed off. Make defenders call out who has the ball before they move.
Say: “Watch the ball, not the runner.”
Players treating standing still as doing nothing. Praise the defender who held, out loud, every time, even when the play goes the other way.
Say: “Holding your spot is a good play.”
Tell the defence which play is coming for the first round, then run it without telling them. The lesson is the hold, so start where they can succeed.
Add a throw back to the quarterback after the reverse, so the defender who holds his zone also has to cover a receiver.