Put your thrust in blocking. (football)

ONE OF THE OLDEST AND MOST simplistic precepts in football is that all offense comes down to blocking. From Alonzo Stagg to Vince Lombardi, a thousand coaches have said it: "Football is blocking and tackling."

Of course, offense involves a lot more than blocking. but the blocking pattern is indigenous to every run, pass, kick, and gadget play. And every coach has to teach it: stance, balance, leverage, contact, follow through, etc.

Some blocks are predicated primarily on balance. A guard in a one-on-one stance in front of an I-back had better keep leverage with his feet, stay balanced, and work on maintaining contact.

A tackle in front of a runner who can break to daylight over a broad front had better do the same.built primarily

Other blocks are built primarily on thrust--a major element of force. It is what the defender sees coming right at him: the blocker's mass multiplied by acceleration. It can be a very unpleasant and intimidating vision.

A hidden coordination problem is involved. Think of a bulldozer maintaining power vs a tree stump that doesn't move. Now think of a blocker. It's one thing to hit into a defender who moves; it's quite another to hit into the defender, get stopped, and then have to continue maintaining power by digging.

The coordinated effort can be mastered by repetitions: hitting thousands of times into a pad that does not move. That is the way to develop the coordination that goes into thrust.