Help me, I need to be great !

Question
QUESTION:
 Dear Coach Louis,
I have plenty of things to ask you, but these are my main goals that I want to accomplish. I'm 5'7'' 1/2 , and about 158 LBS. I have about 2 years of high school left and I want to play a number of positions (Both safety positions,mostly free safety, cornerback, Running back , and Wide receiver positions), and have great acceleration and be able to change gears easily.

 I'm in summer conditioning, but that on its own will only get me into shape, not prepared for a stronger group of guys on a varsity level. I have dreams to go to the university of Texas for my college education and for my college of chose. I'm very conditioned so I pretty much grow stronger as the game goes on. need to know how train myslef to be ready for all the positions, Both safeties, cornerback, running back, and wide receiver. Can you help me please?

ANSWER: Dear Aye D:
Your question is how can I play safeties, corner back, running back, and wide receiver at the University of Texas? The answer is you cannot. You need to pick one position and stick with it. I am not telling you to give up your dream, what I am saying is that it is better to be great at one position than to be good at four. There are too many techniques for you to learn all four positions.

Please pick one position and get back to me and I will see what I can do to make you an impact player.

Your friend, Coach Louis

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION:
okay, The position I'm most good at is running back/ wide out since i've been on those two positions since middle school, and on the defense i've been a free and strong sfaety ( but I want to be a corner ), can you help me get better to become a corner, since im picking up really well on the offensive side of the ball.

Answer
Dear Jaye.d:
First, I would like to say that I am sorry about the name mistake. I think the other coach is on vacation and I am being flooded with question. Twice as many as normal. Anyway, let's get to you question. If I were you I would work on your landmark drops and pattern reading.

LANDMARK DROPS
Landmark dropping is the simplest but least effective way to play zone coverage. Teams that defend an areas or spots on the field with little regard for other factors will find themselves giving up substantial yardage to their opponents with even the simplest of passing offense. The only strong point for the use of this defense is, that the 3 deep zone keeps your opponents from beating you deep.


If I were you I would work on my pattern reading.
Pattern reading is used mostly on the college and professional level. Only the top programs on the high school level use pattern reading. That is why some coaches stay away from pattern reading. They feel that pattern reading is for college football programs and up, therefore, too complex for the high school level.

Here is a simple system you can use to add pattern reading to your defense.

1. Spend some time looking at the game film of your next opponent and learn his play book.

2. Make a list of your opponents pass plays, and place the pass plays into three sets, short passes, medium passes, long passes, inside patterns, and outside patterns.

3. Now make these groups even smaller by dividing them into sub-groups that include passes by formation, downs, tendencies, inside patterns, outside patterns, and distance. This will give you an idea what to look for in every situation.

Here is a simple tip if you don't want to work that hard to read the defense. The biggest tip I can give you comes from the receiver himself. Watch the receiver carefully on the game films. A lot of the receivers make the same mistakes. When a receiver is running an inside pattern he will release inside shoulder of the corner back. When a receiver is running an outside pattern he will release outside shoulder of the corner back.

Here is where knowing your opponents play book comes in handy. Let抯 say that it is third and 10. And let抯 say that the receiver takes an outside release. You know that your opponent has three pass patterns they like to run to the outside. They like to run a 3-yard hitch, a 5-yard out, and 12-yard flag pattern. Can you guess which pattern they are going to run? The hitch and the short out pattern will not give them a first down but the 12-yard out pattern will.

Now that you know all this you can play the percentage game. The odds are now in your favor to make the big play. Here is where the pattern reading comes in.

Pattern reading is nothing more than a combination of landmark dropping and reading the receivers routes. In fact, defensive backs must know their landmark drops before they can move up to the pattern reading level.

A pattern reading is a simple read of the second receiver from the sidelines. For example, many teams, on the high school level, usually have their tight end run a short pattern while the slot-back will run a deeper route. By reading the tight end's pattern, you will have a good idea of what the slot-back is going to do. The same goes for the two receiver set. One receiver will usually run a short pattern while the other will go deep. If you know what combination patterns the two receivers run, by doing your homework, you will be waiting for the ball when it is thrown.

The information I gave you is gold and I hope you guard it well. I presume this answers your question. If not please let me know and I will do my best to help you.

Your friend, Coach Louis