Cornerbacks are the most athletic in football. The defensive back in football is pretty straightforward, to hold down the end in the line and not let anyone get outside scrimmage. If you want to succeed at higher levels, you must be able to push the linemen back.
Similarly, if the defensive position in football does its job well, it makes the work of other positions easier.
The football team’s defense is made of the most significant and most vital people. While you prepare for cornerback drills, you should have a certain mentality as you practice the routine. And whenever you see players performing outstanding on Youth football matches, you see how well they performed, but you never see the endless hours of Hustle and Practice they give to refine the techniques they have thrived on. And that’s where coaching defensive lines come into existence.
One of the Important Skills of the Cornerback is the need for quickness and acceleration. Most of the breakaways in Youth Football rely on bursts of speed that is gained, which happens in a sudden snap of moment, and for that few seconds of acceleration gained, you have to give hours of practice.
Cornerback Training always appears to be tedious, isn’t. The Greatest of all, Football Athletes who have trained and given time to practice developing defensive line Techniques, know the importance of these drills in the game, for which we get to see the results while they play on the Field.
Here are some training and workout tips that would help you become the best version of whether you’re playing Cornerback for years or just starting.
Making of Right Cornerback.
The Cornerback works with the linebackers to control the line of scrimmage. They are big, healthy, and quick in their sport. They have to react in a snap and have to be very agile to jam up the offense.
A good Cornerback will try to tackle with a sack or attempt to disrupt the throw in a pass play. If the linemen can disrupt the throw and make him hesitate to throw the ball, the defensive line has succeeded.
They are indeed the first line of defense, although they don’t get credit most of the time. The Cornerback is the reason behind holding the line and tiring up the players; it is always the linebacker who gets the acclaim; meanwhile, it is the defense doing all the work.
- Active feet.
When Cornerback stops their feet, they will give up all the leverage and ground and get washed down or get pancaked. In most cases, when the Cornerback has stopped their feet, they are already defeated. For Cornerback, they must bring their feet while executing the rip move, which means the rip move should be quick, violent, and performed with active feet. No excuse; move your feet and get there.
- Play Smart.
You can continuously try guessing where the ball carrier is going before he does it. But when you fail to think correctly, you put your linebackers out to dry with lots of green space and attacking back. You can play smarter to limit your guessing attempts, make hard first contact with the players, and extend your arms.
Distancing yourself from the offensive line will help you see the ball carrier, but by not jumping a gap, you force the running back to pick the lineman’s side to run.
Once he is done, you can put yourself in that position to slow them back down for the linebackers to make the play.
Cornerback Workout and Drills.
Hill Sprints.
One exercise that can give you equivalent results even if you cannot work out at gyms is Hill sprints; linear sprints are common among most athletes, but you can make hill sprints if you want to do something different.
Here is the secret for running faster and getting more robust with hill sprints. Using short sprinting sessions, you can strengthen your leg, season your muscles, and connecting tissues.
There are many advantages of hills sprints.
As exercises like squats and lunges build strength in your lower legs, Hill sprints do the same with body movements. Your body weight is enough to reap the advantage of hill sprints, so you don’t need any weights and equipment. No doubt, running hills require many challenges and mental toughness, but many reasons could still be betterment after such workouts.
- Lower risk of injury.
Yes, you heard that right; while we are talking about exercises before warm-up games or practices, running hills can help you achieve that; while you hill sprint, there is less distance between your foot and the ground, resulting in fewer chances of sprains and pains in your body.
- Endurance booster.
Like any speed work, hills sprints can help in endurance and improve your body’s conditioning.
Medicine Ball Toss.
The medicine ball toss helps your lower body strength and helps reduce injuries. It trains all necessary triple extensions. Your knees, hips, and ankles will extend to propel you upward, which is essential for many strength and speed-related sports.
This is not just for pros but can be done for anyone even if you are not related to sports, and it pumps your whole body.
The part it hits is Quads, glutes, shoulders, and triceps.
This exercise can be performed anywhere in a room or outdoors, but it is preferred to be done out.
It would be best if you had a wall that can sustain the ball’s power thrown at about 10 to 15 pounds and be a flat surface. Hold 10 to 15 pounds of the ball with your hands and extend your arm towards your waists. Squat down slightly, allowing your trunk to lean forward, then explode the ball with you at most power by extending your knees, hips, and ankles towards the wall, and throw as high as possible.
Make sure the room is open and spacious.
And repeat the same process for 4 to 5 sets.
Benefits of medical ball toss.
There are many advantages of a medical ball toss, but here are a few.
- Strengthen buts and thighs
- Strengthen chest and arms
- Cardio strength combo
Six Point Explosion Drill.
A six-point explosive drill helps Cornerback stretch its body and attack the offensive linemen in a snap of time; the more attentive you become in this coaching defense, the better you perform in the game.
- Motive Behind the Drill: The purpose of the Six-point explosion drill is to teach Cornerback and defense to explosively open their hips on the ball’s snap while simultaneously throwing their hands to gain separation from a blocker drill.
- Set up: Players are positioned in a way where their hands’ knees and toes touch the ground, and they face a dummy wall to attack.
- Procedure to do the Drill: On the whistle of the coach, or the ball’s movement, players are to explode towards the dummy wall by rolling their hips and firing arms to attack the offensive linemen. The player should stretch its body to the limit where it should land in its stomach or chest.
Club Rip Drill
- Motive Behind the Drill: Club rip drill is a swift move drill where you rip the Offensive Block while flipping your hip and leveraging your body and club the player like a boxer.
- Set up: Two players stand facing each other, or you can use a dummy wall in the place of offensive linemen by keeping 2 to 3 yards of distance in between.
- Procedure to do the Drill: While defensive and offensive players face each other, the Defensive player tries to flip around the other player; on the ball’s snap, the defender fires up and uses the club move to rip and tackle the blocker like a boxer.
Club rip teaches a player a companion rush moves for push-pull Rip discussed above; it makes the player quick and tackles the blocker making his feet move and turns his body to get off quickly.
A well-performed Club rip will break down the blocker’s body angle to allow the Cornerback to rush to the Quarterback.
Stick Drill
- Motive Behind the Drill: Stick drill teaches defensive linemen to stunt one gap to the inside.
- Set up: Cornerback facing a dummy wall or another player blocking.
- Procedure to do the Drill: Place to step over the bag one yard apart, to represent two adjacent offensive linemen have a coach with a hand shield stand over top of the first bag defensive linemen, align in an outside shade of a coach in the first bag.
Using a flat step, the Cornerback crosses the blocker’s face, keeps pad level low, and uses the rip technique to beat the blocker into the adjacent gap, get vertical and attack the opening to create a new line scrimmage.