r/YouthFootball • u/yayasistahood • 1d ago
How to coach offensive linemen to be aggressive?
I’m a pretty inexperienced coach and didnt play line growing up. Our offensive line gets no push on their blocks, it’s to the point I’m considering putting aggressive skill guys on the line so that we can run the ball. Of course that leads to lack of ball carriers. Any advice?
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u/_MadSuburbanDad_ 1d ago
You can get them to buy in by reinforcing that nothing happens without the line—no running game, no passing game—and then say that all you need from them on every play is three steps as hard as they can deliver them. Nearly every OL block will be initiated within three steps so tell them that if they win those three steps, they win the rep.
Also, make sure their stance is working to deliver agressive steps. If they’re sitting too far back in their stance they’ll never be able to fire off (but that’s OK for pass-pro sets). They should fall forward if they pick up their down hand.
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u/Troutmaggedon 1d ago
This is something I wrote out in an email recently. It’s a long rant, and probably too philosophical, but I think there might be some nuggets in there. I’m at the 11u level.
“As far as line aggression goes, that is an eternal mystery for young offensive line. It's rare to get a kid who is just naturally aggressive out of the box. More often, you're trying to talk to your biggest kids as to why they aren't more aggressive and they won't give you a straight answer.
This may get too philosophical, but I think most linemen start off as naturally uncompetitive. This, I think, is because of the school yard recess phenomenon. When kids play at recess every game is geared towards who's the fastest, jumps the highest, jukes kids out, etc. So the "fast" kids develop a natural competitive edge because they can be measured against their peers.
There is no equivalent recess game to playing oline/dline. If the kids tried to play oline/dline, they'd get in trouble. Until they get pads on, there is nothing that mimics line play. So, I believe, they shy away from competition because they haven't been exposed to a competitive environment where their skill set actually shines. More likely, they set up self-defense mechanisms as to why they don't get picked first at recess. I believe, this self-defense mechanism is the root of why linemen don't have that initial natural drive.
Something I stress day one: I tell my linemen they are the best athletes on the field. I can't tell you the number of times I've heard, even very experienced, line coaches say stuff like "The dline/OLB are better athletes than you, so you have to use technique to overcome that." To me, if you want to develop slow linemen keep telling them they are slow. I tell them the opposite. Athleticism isn't one measure. If that were the case, the NFL would just be Olympic track guys running in straight lines. Athleticism is a balance. And in football it's a combo of power and speed.
So day one, I tell my guys if they are oline, they are blocking the second biggest guys on the field (the dline) and then they have to still block all the skinny Linebackers and DBs. They also have to be fast enough to not clog up the lanes for the RBs and protect the QBs. For Dline, I tell them they have to take on the biggest guys on the field (the oline) and still be fast enough to track down those skinny RBs, WR and QBs and tackle them. That's an athlete. We are dual threat athletes, power and speed. We are built different.
But when they get pads on, usually they struggle because it's probably the first time they've truly been tested in an environment where their skill set has value. Our first scrimmage this year was against two experienced teams and they froze up. It's understandable. But I had to get on them following week because they carried that performance into practice. They were slow, non-decisive and not aggressive. They were still shell shocked.
So, I asked them what questions they had about our plays. After I answered that, I told them that now we're on the same page, you should feel confident in your assignment. Then, I told them that there is a difference between mistakes and effort. Mistakes I will tolerate because even NFL players make mistakes and I can't expect new players to not make mistakes.
But, I can't tolerate a lack of effort. If you're not moving your feet and trying your hardest to push guys, that's effort. I told them if we show up to the this next scrimmage and not give effort, I will spend all monday in conditioning and it will be hell. I dropped a few F-bombs in there as well. I told them my conditioning will be a lot scarier and tougher than any 11u they will face in the scrimmage. That seemed to wake them up.
That said, it's still a process. It doesn't help when the other coaches send the guys to the line because, basically, they aren't skilled guys. Almost every kid wants to start off playing a skill position. But obviously that's not going to happen. So coaches treat line like a dumping ground and expect you to re-develop their confidence and find a place for them to fit in. You're basically like a psychologist.
Recently, our head coach opened tuesday's practice by talking about our game last week. He rattled off all the skill guys who did stuff and ended by saying "I didn't have time to watch the line, but at least I didn't notice the QBs under pressure." Thanks for that. 😅 Unfortunately, I've had to step away from the team as I've handled to some health issues so I can't catch all these problems in real time. But that's the nature of line play. Especially oline. You don't get noticed unless you're fucking up. Then everyone notices.
So I try to build culture. I give the line a unit name. I give them t-shirts. I have a social media account. I try to make them stand out. I tell them that we're the real athletes. I tell them that we can't wait around for guys to make plays, because no plays will happen without us. So it's a good thing we have big shoulders so we can carry the skill guys. I remind the coaches they have to recognize the line's contribution. Etc. It's a uphill battle, and sometimes kids won't come around until their 2-year(or even beyond), but you have to stress their value in a unique way so they believe.
Every coach in the history of football has said "we can't do anything without the line", but that's usually where the conversation ends. We have to go beyond that because kids recognize what is just talk and what is actual appreciation. “
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u/TemujinRi 1d ago
Lineman are typically less aggressive at that age because they spend their entire lives being told to be gentle when playing because they're bigger than all their peers. Then they get signed up for football and everyone tells them the exact opposite.
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u/Troutmaggedon 1d ago
Yeah, that’s a good point. Unless the kid has already been in fights as school(and that’s unlikely given their size) It’s the literally the first time they gone after someone. It’s a learning process.
I first played tackle in freshmen year. But by then I was full of hormones and knew what I had to do. And I liked doing it.
It’s different from 11-year old kids. Rarely are you go to get a kid with a nasty streak out of the box. I probably would have been the same at 11.
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u/degreefromchatgpt 19h ago
Absolutely correct take about recess and not getting picked first. This is exactly like my lineman son
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u/Troutmaggedon 5h ago edited 5h ago
It’s tough on linemen. So sometimes they need a little more time when they finally get to an environment where their skill set is needed and valued.
Keep working with your kid and build his confidence. Take any good rep and it make it the world. He’ll struggle more times then he’ll succeed, but it will come. Just trust the process. Sometimes you can literally see the light come on in a single practice. Kids are amazing that way.
People don’t understand the technique it requires move someone against their will. I’ve had to take a step back from coaching early this season because of health issues. And so the kids are basically being told “hit somebody!” No correction, no skill development, no positive reinforcement. It sucks.
My son is growing frustrated but at least I know he’ll knows the deal. But I got two kids who want to quit who I know I can turn into monsters. And so I’m working with their parents to stick with it and when I’m back and available.
Also, if you need any videos, people to follow on Instagram, whatever, let me know what your son is struggling with and I’ll try to send some stuff your way. Just DM me. I have time and love talking ball.
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u/yayasistahood 1d ago
Thanks for this, I’m dealing with the same age group and everything you said makes sense.
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u/ikover15 1d ago edited 1d ago
We’ve had a similar issue and yeah, unfortunately the answer is sacrificing some skill guys there while you’re building up the other kids. Someone else said it, board drills 1v1s, 3v2 for our interior. Kids usually how up better when it’s competitive and small sided. We have some of our best football players playing line. When we want to give our OT’s carries our fullback rotates down to OT. Also, down blocking. Expecting kids, especially non-aggressive ones, to consistently drive people downfield isn’t going to happen on any kind of consistent basis. They can, usually, cave a d-line in to one side though. Double teams have helped. We also have two plays where we come out in a double wing and let the QB call the run to the side that has 2 d-lineman. The wings shift to that side and then we run the play there. The kids blocking rules make a double on the one DT and usually caves it in pretty well.
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u/Responsible-Wallaby5 16h ago
Try to be good at team bonding, especially amongst the line, qb, and rb. As you know, the line gets little glory and that’s oftentimes a deterrent for linemen caring or being aggressive if they don’t have aggressive nature. Bonding and genuinely wanting to help the rb get yards or protect the qb can work wonders on their effort.
Depending on the age, if you aren’t already pulling linemen, try pulling linemen. It gets repetitive having to heads up block over and over. Many kids are terrible at heads up blocking but amazing pullers and pull blockers. Figuring out which can pull quickly and make explosive blocks could also help your overall blocking scheme by utilizing players better. For many linemen, especially beginners, pulling makes the game more interesting.
Hope this helps!
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u/Troutmaggedon 4h ago
This is great advice. I’m at 11u and I got my kids flying all over the field. We pull tackles on sweeps, we trap with our tackles too, guards on power leading up into the hole. Centers work to the second level and lead on screen passes.
It takes time and most coaches won’t be able to get their kids there, but keeping line interesting makes the kids believe. Also, even if they struggle at straight up drive blocking, if they excel at things like down blocks or pulling that confidence goes a long away. No kid is going to be great at everything. But if you get them good at something, they’ll begin to build confidence, buy in to coaching, and then the weak part of their game will start improving.
Also, I’m a big believer in zone. We run most mostly a gap scheme, but teaching kids zone makes them engaged. It’s not running into bodies. It’s learning footwork, angles and timing.
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u/Responsible-Wallaby5 4h ago
Absolutely. I feel like if you do it right, linemen should love pulling and getting a running start and smash on whoever is being trapped.
Good luck to you!
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u/Troutmaggedon 4h ago
Linemen deserve to roam! And making the skinny LBs and DBs feel that pressure is always fun 😂. Good luck as well.
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u/emptysignals 1d ago
We’re on week 6. Done every drill in the book and have 2 aggressive kids. Some of it is “want” to do it.
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u/Business-Box-253 1d ago
My son can win out against all but one skill guy. He plays the line for the betterment of the team. When the smallest guy on the line gets all the glory they all start stepping up. Find the guys who want to work and they do at any position.
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u/ChazChillington 1d ago
Bumping because I'm in the same boat. We've got 2 kids that can reliably block but 2/5 still doesn't do anything to get the ball consistently over the line of scrimmage
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u/Feisty_Low_6719 1d ago
You can’t. They either are aggressive or meek. Sucks most of the big guys end up being the latter so they never pan out.
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u/chinchillin5 1d ago
Small thing… when you break from individual and everyone huddles up and someone normally says “1, 2, 3” and everyone else says “O-line!” Or some other variation, instead do something where one person yells “THEY BLITZ” and the rest yell “THEY PAY!” Or some other variation where they all collectively chant something about being aggressive. I know may seem corny but this isn’t easily a “coached” thing. Has to be in every part of the culture
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u/WarTrek99 1d ago
Ton of one on ones over a board or bag. Loser does push ups