52-Week Football Training: Part 8

By Ben Cook

Thanks to an agreement with Human Kinetics Publishing, NFLHS.com is proud to present 52-Week Football Training, a book that provides the conditioning plan you need to maximize football-specific physical development and motivation. Players can gain the perfect balance of power, speed, and agility by implementing this proven in-season and off-season training plan.

Conditioning coach Ben Cook, who has worked with 27 players that went on to the NFL, includes more than 160 photos showing correct technique and nearly 200 exercises and drills.

Your body is unique in the way that it performs sports-related movements. For this reason you should explore various methods that can teach your body how to perform a movement. Effortless movements result from time invested in a workout program. Gifted athletes may not have to invest as much time to be good, but they would undoubtedly be better if they demonstrate the desire to improve and make the effort to keep practicing.

Sports-related movements are complex combinations of smaller, simpler movements. The reason some athletes are better at performing certain movement skills is that they more easily bring together all the smaller movements and coordinate them. Some athletes seem to be born with the gift of coordination. That might be true, but anyone can improve if he learns the correct methods and is willing to evaluate himself constructively.

These drills work the smaller or individual skills necessary for you to play your position better. They allow you to concentrate on individual movement patterns that the position might require, while not having to worry about the entire position's movement responsibilities. Now that we have an understanding of the importance of the smaller component parts of movement patterns, let's investigate one of these smaller parts of movement - balance. Then we'll coordinate these smaller movements to explore combination movements and reaction and quickness drills (Ed. note: the book also covers foot speed and agility in this section).

Balance is critical to being able to move gracefully and quickly. The human body depends on the senses of sight and touch and the faculties of the inner ear to achieve balance. Balance is a fundamental ability, and sadly, often overlooked.

You can improve and develop your balance, as you can any physical ability. The following drills are designed to improve your balance during movement and while standing still. You perform most of the drills on one foot. If you can improve your balance on one foot, you can more easily balance yourself on two feet. If your body is orthopedically sound, perform the drills barefoot. By performing the drills with your shoes off, you will force the small stabilizing muscles of the ankle and knee to work harder to maintain balance. Working with your shoes off can also strengthen weak muscles in the ankles and knees, thus preventing further injury. If your knees and ankles are injured, then perform the movements with your shoes on. The shoe acts as a stabilizer that provides additional balance and support to your already balanced body.

You perform some balance exercises with your eyes closed. Without sight you must depend more on feedback from muscles and joints. You can develop a higher level of kinesthetic sensory information (motor feedback) by relying more on how your body feels and less on your other senses. The sense of sight helps balance the body, so if you can develop balance proficiency while performing a movement with your eyes closed, then you will be even more balanced when you perform the movement with your eyes open.

Perform each of these drills barefoot on the left foot and then the right.

Find more information about the book 52-Week Football Training by clicking here.

From 1990 to 1994, author Ben Cook was the assistant strength and conditioning coach for the University of North Carolina (UNC) football team, where his assistance helped 27 players reach the NFL. He is currently the strength coach for the Tar Heel basketball team, one of the nation's top programs.