IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN MY THINKING DEFENSIVELY, THAT THE FURTHER YOU ARE ALIGNED FROM THE FOOTBALL THE MORE MENTAL THE GAME BECOMES FOR A PARTICULAR PLAYER. WHILE COACHING THE DEFENSIVE SECONDARY FOR SEVEN YEARS AT GILES HIGH SCHOOL IN VIRGINIA, AND NOW INTO MY FOURTH YEAR AS SECONDARY AND LINEBACKERS COACH AT NARROWS HIGH SCHOOL, I AM ALWAYS SEARCHING FOR WAYS TO REDUCE THE MENTAL THINKING OF OUR PLAYERS TO IMPROVE THEIR OVERALL PHYSICAL PLAY. AS A SECONDARY COACH, I DO NOT WANT PLAYERS TO BE THINKING AND PLAYING WITH THE BREAKS ON. I WANT THEM TO TURN LOOSE, TAKE THE BREAKS OFF, AND FLY AROUND THE FOOTBALL. WE WANT TO ELIMINATE AS MANY STEPS TO THE BALL AS POSSIBLE, SO PLAYERS MAY GET TO IT QUICKLY. IF PLAYERS ARE THINKING DURING THE PLAY, THE REACTING PROCESS OF GETTING TO THE FOOTBALL WILL BE DELAYED.

TO ELIMINATE THE MENTAL THINKING DURING EVERY PLAY, I WILL TEACH OUR SECONDARY TO FOLLOW AND PERFORM A PRE-SNAP PROCEDURE WHICH WILL ALLOW THEM TO BE READY, ALERT, AND TO PLAY INSTEAD OF THINK ONCE THE BALL IS SNAPPED. I WILL TEACH OUR PLAYERS TO LEARN AND FOLLOW THIS PROCESS JUST LIKE CLOCKWORK. THE PROCESS IS A STEP-BY-STEP PROCEDURE IN WHICH PLAYERS WILL FOLLOW BEFORE THE BALL IS SNAPPED.

THE FIRST STEP OF THE PROCESS IS KNOWING THE SITUATION. THIS STEP BEGINS IN THE HUDDLE. AS A SECONDARY PLAYER, YOU MUST KNOW THE SITUATION. WHAT IS THE DOWN AND DISTANCE? KNOWING THE SITUATION WILL WORK TOWARD THE DEFENSIVEíS ADVANTAGE. FOR EXAMPLE, AS A SECONDARY DEFENDER, IT IS AN ADVANTAGE TO KNOW TO GIVE UP THE FIVE YARD OUT ON A THIRD AND TWELVE SITUATION, AND TO BE A SURE AGGRESSIVE TACKLER AND ONLY ALLOWING A FIVE YARD GAIN, INSTEAD OF GOING FOR THE INTERCEPTION AND ALLOWING THE OFFENSE TO HAVE A BIG PLAY.

THE SECOND STEP OF THE PROCESS IS TO GET THE DEFENSIVE CALL IN THE HUDDLE. PLAYERS WILL GET THE WRONG CALL AND SOMETIMES EVEN FORGET THE CALL ONCE THE BALL IS SNAPPED. ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS, I HAVE SEEN PART OF THE SECONDARY PLAYING ZONE WHILE OTHERS WERE PLAYING MAN TO MAN. WE ALL MUST BE ON THE SAME PAGE IN ORDER TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN THE SECONDARY. TEACH YOUR PLAYERS TO REPEAT THE DEFENSIVE CALL TO THEMSELVES SEVERAL TIMES AS THE COME OUT OF THE HUDDLE. THIS WILL HELP THEM TO KNOW WHAT TO DO AND WHAT THEIR RESPONSIBILITIES ARE. THE SECONDARY MUST ALWAYS FUNCTION AS AN ERRORLESS-FREE UNIT.

THE NEXT STEP OF THE PROCESS INVOLVES RECOGNIZING THE OFFENSIVE FORMATION. I WILL TEACH OUR SECONDARY NEVER TO TURN THEIR BACKS TOWARD THE OFFENSE AS THEY BREAK OUT OF THE HUDDLE. WE TELL OUR SECONDARY PLAYERS TO BACK PEDDLE OR WALK BACKWARDS OUT OF THE HUDDLE TOWARD THEIR ALIGNMENT AREA, AND TO BE ALERT. THIS ALLOWS THEM TO ALIGN QUICKLY AND START COMMUNICATING TO EACH OTHER WHICH IS VERY IMPORTANT IN SECONDARY PLAY. WE WANT OUR PLAYERS TO UNDERSTAND AND RECOGNIZE THE OFFENSEíS FORMATION, AND TO COMMUNICATE WHAT THEY SEE TO EACH OTHER. IS IT SPLIT RIGHT,TWINS LEFT, QUADS RIGHT, ETC. WE WANT OUR PLAYERS TO RECOGNIZE OFFENSIVE FORMATIONS BASED ON OUR OWN TERMINOLOGY. THIS WILL ALLOW US TO ALIGN QUICKLY AND BE EXTREMELY ALERT.

THE NEXT STEP OF THE PRE-SNAP READY PROCESS IS STANCE. WE BEGIN TEACHING STANCE FROM DAY ONE, AND WE CONTINUE TO WORK AND IMPROVE ON IT THROUGHOUT THE SEASON. WE EMPHASIZE THAT IN ORDER TO BE A GREAT DEFENSIVE PLAYER YOU MUST PLAY WITH THE PADS OVER THE TOES. DEFENSIVE FOOTBALL PLAYERS MUST BE KNEE BENDERS. THEY MUST PLAY WITH THEIR HIPS DOWN AND THEIR KNEES BENT. WHEN REVIEWING TAPE WE CAN TELL IF A PLAYER IS READY TO MOVE AND REACT BASED ON HIS STANCE. IF THE HIPS ARE DOWN AND THE KNEES ARE BENT, A PLAYER IS READY TO MOVE. HAVING A GREAT STANCE WILL ALLOW THE DEFENSIVE PLAYER TO GET TO THE BALL QUICKLY, AND GET TO THE BALL IN THE LEAST AMOUNT OF STEPS. LOSING ONE STEP CAN COST YOU A GAME. YOUíVE SEEN IT ON TAPE, AND HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU COMMENTED , ìIF WE WERE ONLY ONE STEP QUICKER.î FOOTBALL PLAYERS MUST UNDERSTAND THAT THE GAME OF FOOTBALL IS A GAME OF INDCHES, AND IF WE DO THE LITTLE THINGS THE BIG THINGS WILL USUALLY TAKE CARE OF THEMSELVES. EMPHASIZE THE IMPORTANCE OF HAVING A GREAT STANCE AND BEING READY TO GO AT THE SNAP OF THE BALL. THIS WILL ALLOW YOUR PLAYERS TO BE FOCUSED, ALERT, AND READY TO REACT.

THE LAST AND FINAL STEP OF THE PRE-SNAP PROCESS IS THE MOST CRUCIAL STEP. THIS STEP INVOLVES READING AND FOCUSING IN ON A PLAYERíS DEFENSIVE KEYS. IF PLAYERS CAN LEARN TO USE AND COMPREHEND THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS STEP, IT REALLY CAN BECOME AN ADVANTAGE IN ALLOWING THEM TO GET TO THE FOOTBALL. READING ASSIGNED KEYS ALLOWS OUR PLAYERS TO QUICKLY DIGNOSE EITHER PASS OR RUN. IT SIMPLY GETS PLAYERS TO THE FOOTBALL. ON SUNDAYS I HAVE SEEN NFL DEFENSIVE BACKS LET TIGHT ENDS SLIP RIGHT IN BEHIND THEM FOR SIX POINTS, SIMPLY BECAUSE THE DEFENSIVE BACK WAS NOT FOCUSING IN ON HIS ASSIGNED KEY. THIS STEP OF THE PROCESS MUST BE CONSTANTLY OVER EMPHASIZED. EVERY PLAY, PLAYERS SHOULD BE REMINDED TO READ AND FOCUS IN ON THEIR KEYS. FAILURE TO EXECUTE THIS STEP OF THE PROCESS CAN COST YOU DEARLY AND RESULT IN BIG PLAY POTENTION FOR THE OFFENSE.

TEACHING PLAYERS TO LEARN AND USE THIS PRE-SNAP PROCESS CAN REALLY IMPROVE YOUR TEAMíS PHYSICAL PLAY. WE WANT OUR PLAYERS TO DEVELOP THIS PROCESS LIKE CLOCKWORK. WE FEEL THAT APPLYING THIS PROCESS GIVES US TWO ADVANTAGES. FIRST, IT CUTS OUT OUR SECONDARIES MENTAL ERRORS, AND SECOND, IT SIMPLY ALLOWS OUR PLAYERS TO TAKE THE BREAKS OFF, FLY AROUND THE FOOTBALL, AND REALLY PLAY MORE PHYSICAL FOOTBALL WHEN THE BALL IS SNAPPED.