Changing Times

My daughter Kristin (Westberg) sent me this old photo a couple days ago with a note:  "I remember you running this drill"   This iconic drill was brutal. This head to head tackling drill quickly sorted out who wanted to hit, and who did not. Usually the coach would set up cones, or bags, or players or something to form a chute no wider than five yards.  The two participating players would get on their backs with helmets facing each other.  Usually, the players were separated by five or six yards (helmet to helmet)  One player would be the runner, and the other player would be the tackler.  The coach would give the ball to one player.  The object of the drill would be: When the coach hits the whistle, both players get off the ground quickly, and the runner would try to run through the tackler.  The chutes kept the runner from running around the tackler....had to be head to head.  Nasty drill that worked. YES, I used to run the drill...back in the day, but its been years since I have seen it.  In today's world, we cannot run this type of drill too much.  You may see a few youth league teams running it though.  Today I believe we all would be fired for running this stuff.  

The Meat Grinder:  

My dad was a coach in Kentucky.  His teams were known to be very physical and very tough.  He had a version of the old Oklahoma drills he called the MEAT GRINDER.  One on one, two on ones, three against two and so forth.  We would run this drill at the end of every practice....BEFORE wind sprints.  Dad will yell: "MEAT GRINDER" and we would come running and gather in a group.  Whatever drill he set up we all would participate.  No one was spared.  If you did not jump in the drill, he would single you out and make sure you participated.  Every player on our team quickly learned what it took to excel and survive to be member of our team.  This single drill is still talked about among my teammates today back in Kentucky.  The MEAT GRINDER made players out of us all.