Regardless of where a team is in the season and how good a defensive unit may be playing, things change quickly at the youth level.

According to research at XandO Labs, we’ve found these problems typically fall into the following categories: misalignments, not running to ball, lack of physicality on tackles and not producing takeaways.

Here are some drills and suggestions to help alleviate these issues.

Not getting aligned properly. New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick once said that 90 percent of all defensive breakdowns occur because of misalignment. This mental aspect must be addressed daily.

Solutions

• No-huddle recognition drill. This is a good non-contact drill for practices that fall right before game days. It’s a 10-minute, scripted period that works two offenses against a defensive unit. If you don’t have enough players for two full offenses, use skeletons. One of the offenses aligns on the ball and is shown an offensive formation card that the defense cannot see. The defensive unit gets a defensive call – for example, base cover 4. Once the formation is digested, the offense lines up quickly on the ball, and the quarterback starts a base cadence. While this is happening, the second offensive unit is already getting its formation card. The defensive unit must get aligned and make its support calls before the quarterback snaps the ball – forcing defenders to make the proper adjustments in real time.
• On-field alignment quizzes. This is a terrific drill that that simulates the mental stress that can lead to misalignment. The offensive scout team lines up in a formation while the defensive unit gets the call. Once the defense lines up, a coach targets a specific player and asks him a question. For example, asking the free safety:  “If number 2 goes vertical here, who carries him?” or the nose tackle: “What gap are you responsible for if we call a pirate stunt here?” Players have five seconds to answer the question. Every question answered incorrectly can result in a team up-down.

Not running to the ball. Coaches must continue to teach in-season, and the best coaches find innovative ways to do so. Adages such as “get to the ball” or “you’re dogging it” are clichés don’t offer players any constructive feedback. So, why not give players the reasoning behind why they are not giving maximum effort?

Solutions

• On-the-clock pursuit drills. Regardless of what pursuit drill you incorporate in your program, we’ve found it effective to put players on the clock by timing them. For example, set a time frame in which all players must get to the cone, touch the rabbit, etc. Modify the time window appropriately, but timing players provides accountability.
• Two-whistle drills. During team or group drills, the first whistle signifies the play being dead while the second whistle signifies all players must run and meet around the ball-carrier. This will enforce the habit of running to the ball.

Lack of physicality in tackling. Fear of contact is real, especially for young athletes. Even players who are enthusiastic about tackling can become less so as the season moves on, bumps and bruises begin to mount and the excitement of playing football wears down for some players.

Solutions

• Shorter tackle periods. The most effective tackle periods in practice should be in five to 10 minutes, and not all periods should involve live tackling. USA Football’s National Practice Guidelines for Youth Tackle Football sets a 30-minute maximum on full-contact drills.
• Back to the basics. Tackling skills can be taught without taking players to the ground. One of these methods includes wrapping up on air or using leverage points – the inside hip or outside hip – to two-hand touch on ball-carriers. Defenders are still working on getting to the right spot and all the steps of a strong tackle but without the contact.

Lower levels of contact. One of the methods that we’ve found helpful is to substitute shields or bags into contact drills. Players reluctant to hit each other tend to go stronger when making contact with a soft surface. Use this opportunity coach technique.

Not producing takeaways. Many defensive coaches struggle with this issue. Most teams that win the takeaway battle win the game, but how should youth coaches teach takeaways?

Solutions

• Takeaway days. Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll started this while at Southern Cal. He would designate a certain day of the week to enforce takeaways. He would reward any defensive player who made and interception or jumped on a fumble during team and group periods. A reward could be leading conditioning drills.
• Takeaway competitions. Teams using circuits to teach takeaways can find it effective to break the team up into groups and hold an interception competition or scoop-and-score competition. This also injects some fun into practice.

These four issues can be problem areas within any defense. The good news is that they have proven to be correctable.

Try each of these methods to see which works best for your program.

Mike Kuchar is co-founder and senior research manager at XandOLabs.com, a private research company specializing in coaching concepts and trends. Reach him at mike@xandolabs.com or follow him on Twitter @mikekkuchar.