Alright guys, today I wanna share how my training session went down at Republic High School. Honestly, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it turned out pretty intense. Got there right after school let out, around 3 pm. Sun was blazing, field looked dry.
Kicking Things Off (Literally)
First thing coach made us do? Warm up laps. Sounds easy, right? Nope. Coach Simmons doesn’t mess around. We ran four full laps around the field track. Felt my legs burning halfway through the second lap. Thought my lungs were gonna give out.
After that, we got into groups and started some basic stretch drills. Coach kept yelling at us to “get low” and “hold it”. My hamstrings were screaming at me. Good old dynamic warm-up stuff – leg swings, high knees, butt kicks. Sounds simple until you gotta do it right.
Diving Into The Tough Stuff
Now came the real work. Coach split us up into O-line and D-line groups. Since I play tackle, I went with the D-line first. He had us set up cones for an agility drill. Started slow – shuffle right, shuffle left, backpedal. Then he cranked it up. Had us sprinting sideways around those cones like crazy people.
- The Chute: This was next level brutal. They set up this narrow chute thing, maybe shoulder-width apart? Had to explode through it low and fast, arms pumping. Did it maybe ten times? Felt like my knees were grinding into the turf by the last rep. Coach was shouting “Get low! Stay low!” the whole time.
- Tackle Sled: You wanna talk about feeling weak? Hitting the sled. First time I slammed into it, I swear the dang thing barely moved. Felt embarrassed. Coach showed me how to drive with my legs more, keep my head up. Tried again. It budged that time. Kept at it, focusing on leg drive. By rep six, I was getting it moving okay.
- Angle Pursuit Drill: Coach put a receiver downfield with a QB. We had to start backpedaling, then break off at an angle once the QB threw the ball. Goal? Cut him off before he reached the cone. Messed this up big time at first. Either took a bad angle or slipped trying to change direction. Took me probably five tries to finally chase the dude down properly. Grass stains everywhere.
Wrapping It Up & What Stuck
Finished with conditioning. Of course. Gassers. Hate gassers. Sideline to sideline sprints. Coach blew the whistle, we sprinted. Touch the line, sprint back. Repeat. Four times. Pure torture by the fourth one. Legs felt like concrete, breathing like a freight train.
Whole session probably lasted about two hours. Drenched in sweat, covered in dirt, totally wiped out. Learned some things the hard way today:
- Explode, Don’t Run: That chute drill hammered home driving low and hard right outta the gate.
- Legs Win the Sled Fight: Using pure upper body on the sled gets you nowhere. Legs gotta do the heavy work.
- Angles Matter: Chasing that receiver showed me how important it is to pick the right path instantly.
- Conditioning is King: Getting winded just makes everything else feel impossible. Gotta keep building that endurance.
Coach Simmons slapped me on the helmet afterward. Said I was looking better at the end. Honestly? My head hurt, my knees hurt, my everything hurt. But kinda felt good about pushing through it. Gonna need some serious ice tonight. Gotta recover for tomorrow.