Building a Championship Defense

with Steve Fex,
McKinney-Boyd High School (TX) Assistant Coach;
former Coppell (TX) HS Assistant Coach;
member of 2001 University of Washington coaching staff (2001 Rose Bowl Champions)

With the multitude of offensive schemes in today's game of football, preparing week to week can be difficult. In this video, Coach Steve Fex shares his plan that will help you build a dominant defense that can match up against any scheme you might see on your schedule. Fex shows you how to build a fundamental and physical defense.

Factors for Developing a Dominating Defense

Coach Fex explains what he believes are the most important factors in building a championship caliber defense. He emphasizes that scheme is secondary to teaching fundamentals, including block destruction and tackling. Also, practice pace and competition in practice are demonstrated and explained. You'll learn:

• How to structure practices so you emphasize fundamentals that show up on game tape.
• Several drills that build fundamental defensive skills.
• The specific game situations that should be emphasized in practice.

Drills to Teach Block Defeat and Tackling

Fex continues by giving an in-depth description of how block destruction is taught. Multiple drills are shown that teach the footwork, posture, hand placement, and release that Coach Fex teaches to his players. You'll also discover how he teaches tackling to his team. The emphasis is on striking the ball carrier with the near leg and near shoulder, and clubbing with the arms. Several drills are shown that teach tackling in a variety of situations, including the "Cowboy Drill" which can be modified to fit each position group.

This is a great addition to any defensive coach's video library. Coach Fex shows how he and his staff build a championship caliber defense through emphasizing fundamentals and practicing in an efficient manner.

108 minutes. 2019.