Run defense for cornerbacks

Question
My 11 year old son is playing his first year of organized football.  He is very fast and athletic though not very big and is playing both quarterback and cornerback.  The team we played last night had success running sweeps to his side and I was wondering how a cornerback best defends against a sweep.

Answer
Jim,

Good question. Your son's problem is not uncommon with players who are new to the cornerback position. Obviously, he is a pretty good athlete if he is playing Qb and Corner so he needs to concentrate on technique.

Corners need to maintain what is called outside leverage when defending a perimeter run like a sweep or option pitch. Basically that means that he needs to make sure he does not allow the runner to get between him and his sidline. The way I teach my corners is to fight through the outside shoulder of the blocker while keeping his eyes on the runner. Think of it this way, if a runner gets outside your son on the corner and he does not get over the top help from a safety the band is going to play. If he maintains outside leverage and turns the runner inside then he has 10 other guys on his defense who can help make a play. Simple concept but it does take some work in practice to perfect technique. Dont let your son get discouraged. This same problem happens with ALL corners in youth football. Once he masters the outside leverage concept he will have a great deal of success.

Good luck and thank you for the question.

Mark