Learning to Read Blocks

By John Groll, Defensive Line Coach Bedford High School (MI) Football has been a part of my life for the last thirty years. In those thirty years, I have played or coached every position except quarterback and defensive line.  Last year, our high school hired a new football coach and he hired me as the new defensive line coach in our 4-3 defense. I would like to share how I teach our D-linemen to read various blocks.             I started by asking the questions, “What do I want our players to do and, then, how am I going to teach it?” I learned as both a coach and teacher, the better I teach, the better the students will perform. I have become a firm believer in coaching game situations. The drills taught should be the skills used.           To start coaching the D-line,