FOOTBALL TRAINING PHILOSOPHY
Maximum’s philosophy on training football players stems from the sport-specific actions each position needs to build, and the skills that college coaches and professional scouts use to judge their ability and potential.
These are:
LINEMAN (skills for both offensive and defensive)
- Size and strength
- Quickness of hands and feet
- Mental toughness and aggressiveness
- Ability to drive block, reach block, trap block, and pass block (offensive)
- Ability to pass rush, shed the block, key & read, and pursue (defensive)
- Ability to tackle (defensive)
- Lateral movement and body control
LINEBACKERS
- Foot quickness
- Ability to change directions quickly
- Aggressiveness
- Ability to read & react
- Lateral movement
- Ability to tackle
- Ability to react to run, react to pass
RUNNING BACKS
- Ability to elude tacklers, break tackles
- Ability to run inside, outside
- Ability to receive
- Ability to accelerate
- Ability to run block, pass block
TIGHT ENDS
- Ability to receive
- Ability to drive block, reach block
- Ability to run sharp routes
- Ability to run after the catch
- Toughness & aggressiveness
- Ability to catch in a crowd
WIDE RECEIVERS
- Ability to receive short, long
- Overall speed
- Ability to run sharp, quick routes
- Ability to run after the catch
- Ability to fake and elude tacklers
- Ability to block
DEFENSIVE BACKS
- Overall speed
- Ability to defend against the run
- Ability to key & read
- Ability to tackle
- Ability to change directions quickly
- Ability to accelerate
- Ability to pursue
QUARTERBACKS
- Accuracy
- Arm Strength
- Ability to deliver & release
- Ability to scramble
- Poise, leadership and toughness
- Decision making
KICKERS
- Leg strength
- Body control and accuracy
Based on these skills, football players must develop stability and connective tissue strength through the shoulder, knee, back (cervical, thoracic and lumbar), and ankle (to stabilize areas most at risk for injury), posterior chain strength and power (to develop strength through glutes, hips, and legs), push strength (to develop strength through upper torso), reactive ability, straight ahead speed and quickness (for acceleration and the ability to change directions quickly), neck and trap strength and stability (to support and stabilize the collisions that occur with blocking and tackling), and recovery ability (to develop the ability to maximize work output each play and each day).
Although each position has its unique demands, all football players must improve these essential basic motor abilities. A football player’s speed is most often judged by his times in the 40 yd dash, 20 yd shuttle, and the ‘3 cone drill’. Although the application of a 40 yd dash to football specific speed is questionable, it is important because coaches and scouts use it as a solid measurement of overall speed.
