Purpose:
To teach and emphasize the importance of starting every play in a good defensive back stance.
Setup:
Players will spread out with a few yards between them.
Player getting in stance as coach evaluates.
Instructions:
- One at a time, the coach will call each player forward and have them get into stance.
- The player should have their feet shoulder width or less apart, knees bent and hips flexed with their nose over their toes and their hands up and in the ready position.
- After evaluating their stance, have them step back and move on to evaluating the next player, until every player has established a good defensive back stance.
Coaching Tips:
- Their lower body should be in the ‘Z’ position – this is a good way of helping the players visualize the angles they want to have in their ankles, knees, and hips.
- The defensive back needs to be able to move in any direction as soon as the ball is snapped, which is why they have a more compact stance in comparison to linebackers.
- Safeties and hybrid players can be slightly more upright in their stance, and in general players will all have slightly different stances depending on their size and body shape – focus on the fundamentals and the rest will work its way out.