CHANGE OF DIRECTION

BEING ABLE TO CHANGE DIRECTIONS ON THE FOOTBALL FIELD IS A VITAL SKILL NEED BY ALL PLAYERS, ESPECIALLY OFFENSIVE AND DEFENSIVE SKILLED POSITIONS.

FOR CHANGE OF DIRECTION TO BE EFFECTIVE IN GETTING TO A DEFENDER, OR GETTING AWAY FROM A DEFENDER YOU NEED TO BE ABLE TO PRODUCE GENERAL FORCE. THIS FORCE IS DEVELOPED IN THE WEIGHT ROOM.

THERE ISN’T ONE SOLE EXERCISE ALONE THAT WILL INCREASE YOUR ABILITY TO CHANGE DIRECTION. BUT RATHER, ITS IMPORTANT TO FOCUS ON THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF WEIGHT AND AMOUNT OF REPS.

SINCE CHANGE OF DIRECTION IS FAST AND EXPLOSIVE, IT IS BEST TO DO WEIGHTS THAT ARE HEAVY, BUT THAT YOU CAN MOVE FAST. IF THE WEIGHT IS TOO LIGHT, YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO DEVELOP YOUR ABILITY TO CHANGE DIRECTION AS EFFICIENTLY. VICE VERSA, IF THE WEIGHT IS TOO HEAVY AND YOU MOVE IT SLOWLY, YOU ARE NOW WORKING ON STRENGTH INSTEAD OF POWER WHICH IS VITAL FOR CHANGE OF DIRECTION.

A HUGE COMPONENT OF CHANGE OF DIRECTION IS YOUR RELATIVE BODY WEIGHT TO STRENGTH. MEANING, LIGHTER WEIGHTED PLAYERS WITH HIGH STRENGTH CAN DEVELOP GOOD CHANGE OF DIRECTION. SO IF YOUR A SMALLER GUY, YOU SHOULDN’T NECESSARILY JUST FOCUS ON BEING FAST. PRODUCING STRENGTH IN THE WEIGHT ROOM TO ALLOW YOU TO CHANGE DIRECTIONS IS JUST AS IMPORTANT

THERE ARE ALSO ADDITIONAL BASIC RULES OF CHANGE OF DIRECTION THAT WILL HELP YOU DEVELOP THIS SKILL:

• HAVING GOOD BODY CONTROL

• GENERAL ATHLETICISM AND COORDINATION

WORKING ON COORDINATION EARLIER IN YOUR ATHLETIC CAREER IS SIGNIFICANTLY BETTER THAN LATER ON.

CHECK OUT THIS VIDEO ON WORKING ON FOOTWORK AND COORDINATION FOR SKILLED POSITIONS.

ROUTE RUNNING

AMARI COOPER IS A GREAT RECEIVER TO LEARN FROM ABOUT RUNNING ROUTES

CHECK OUT THIS INTERVIEW ON HIM ABOUT RUNNING ROUTES

HE TALKS ABOUT RUNNING GO ROUTES AGAINST PRESSED DBS IN THE REDZONE, BEING THE FIRST READ ON PLAYS (WHICH IS IMPORTANT TO KNOW AS A WR), BEING PATIENT IN THE ROUTE, AND MUCH MORE

NORMATEC BOOTS

NORMATEC BOOTS CAN BE A VIABLE DEVICE FOR MUSCLE RECOVERY. THIS BASICALLY APPLIES COMPRESSION TO YOUR LEGS (OR ARMS DEPENDING ON WHICH YOU USE) TO HELP MOVE FLUID OUT OF THE LIMBS WHICH CAN HELP REDUCE SORENESS. THERE WAS ACTUALLY A STUDY THAT SHOWED NORMATEC BOOTS ARE A BETTER RECOVERY THAN JUST SITTING AND RESTING.

HOWEVER, ACTIVE RECOVERY WAS FOUND TO BE THE TOP DOG OVERALL. ACTIVE RECOVERY IS A LOW ENERGY REQUIREMENT ACTIVITY THAT YOU CAN DO TO CLEAR THE FLUID AND REDUCE SORENESS. THIS TYPICALLY IS MUCH CHEAPER THAN USING NORMATEC BOOTS AS WELL. THIS WOULD BE A LIGHT JOG, STRETCH AND LOW WEIGHTED LOW REP WORKOUT AFTER A GAME.

 THAT DOESN’T MEAN YOU SHOULDN’T USE THE NORMATEC BOOTS. MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE WITH THESE BOOTS HAVE BEEN GREAT. I WOULD USE THEM INITIALLY AFTER A WORKOUT OR GAME WHEN I AM SORE, THEN DO ACTIVE RECOVERY TO FLUSH OUT THE FLUID FOR THE BEST POSSIBLE RECOVERY.

THE NORMATEC BOOTS UNITS CAN BE EXPENSIVE, BUT THERE ARE MANY RECOVERY PLACES YOU CAN GO FOR A SESSION THAT ISN’T TOO EXPENSIVE.

AGAIN, A BIG COMPONENT OF RECOVERY IS TO REDUCE SORENESS. THE REASON WE WANT TO REDUCE SORENESS TO ZERO IS BECAUSE ANY SLIGHT AMOUNT OF PAIN WILL CAUSE WEAKER MUSCLE CONTRACTIONS MEANING MOVING SLOWER AND PRODUCING LESS POWER ON HITS. LASTLY REMEMBER, RECOVERY IS JUST AS IMPORTANT IF NOT MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE ACTUAL WORKOUT.