As a coach or educator, it is essential to teach students about every position on the football field to foster well-rounded players and enhance overall gameplay. One crucial role that often gets overlooked is the tight end position. The tight end is a versatile player, acting as both a receiver and blocker throughout a game. By teaching students about tight ends, you can help them understand the strategic significance of this role and how it impacts a football team’s performance.
Understanding the Role of Tight Ends
To teach students about tight ends, it is important to first establish what makes this position unique in the game. Tight ends are typically larger and stronger than wide receivers, allowing them to excel in both receiving and blocking. They line up at the line of scrimmage next to the offensive tackles, putting them in prime position to catch passes and block defenders.
Receiving Skills:
Teaching receiving skills can help students understand how tight ends contribute to their team’s passing game. To work on these skills, focus on the following areas:
1. Route running: Teach students how to run specific pass routes used by tight ends, such as the drag route, hitch route, out route, corner route, seam route, or post route.
2. Catching technique: Emphasize proper hand placement and body positioning when catching a football. Encourage students to look the ball into their hands and secure it with both hands before turning upfield.
3. Ball security: Reinforce ball security fundamentals by teaching students to tuck the ball into their arms securely upon catching it and protect it from defenders attempting to strip it away.
Blocking Skills:
A tight end’s blocking abilities are equally important to their receiving skills in contributing effectively on the field. To teach these skills, consider covering:
1. Footwork: Teach proper foot placement throughout a block by demonstrating stance techniques for different types of blocks, such as drive, zone, and reach blocks.
2. Hand placement: Teach students where to place their hands when engaging with a defender, ensuring they are grabbing onto the defender’s shoulder pads to avoid penalties.
3. Leverage: Emphasize the importance of leverage and maintaining a low pad level for the student to drive through and move their defender.
Understanding Defensive Schemes:
Tight ends must also have an understanding of defensive schemes and how they impact game strategy. Teaching students about these schemes—from various coverages to blitzes—will give tight ends the edge in countering defensive moves.
1. Pass coverage: Discuss the different coverages—such as man-to-man, zone, and hybrid—that can be used against a tight end, as well as ways to identify and exploit these defenses.
2. Run defense: Teach students about run-defending tactics often employed against tight ends, like edge-setting and aggressive linebacker play. Understanding these techniques will enable students to better assess their blocks when involved in running plays.
Developing Effective Tight End Playmakers
By focusing on receiving, and blocking skills, and understanding defensive schemes, you can develop effective tight-end playmakers who provide value to the team. Emphasizing teamwork and communication with fellow offensive players will also contribute to a cohesive unit on the field. With proper instruction, practice, and dedication, students learning about the tight end position can quickly become vital assets on any football team.
