Title: The Gamebreakers: It's All in the Hands (Gamebreakers Media)
What is it? A how-to-train-for-football instructional video, not a workout.
Target audience: Amateur football coaches and would-be wide receivers from 8 years old to adult (keeping in mind that upper level coaches have experience and resources and won't need this video guide to structure workouts for their receivers).
Format: 55-minute DVD with a basic navigation menu so you can select continuous play or highlight chapters.
The entire program was shot outdoors on a football field as a simulated workout for wide receivers. We see coaches take a small group of talented young men through drills to be used for warming up, sharpening agility and hand control (key to deceiving your opponent's defenders), teaching classic routes a receiver might follow to end up on the exact spot his quarterback is trying to hit when he tosses the ball, and to help receivers understand the "coverages" their opponents might use to prevent them from making the catch.
Highlights: The "routes" chapter is especially fun, because the instructors begin by explaining patterns simple enough for Pop Warner players and then build up to more complicated combinations. We see how, over time, a receiver learns to be a competent partner for the quarterback. A little animation adds to the clarity, although a blessedly brief "helmet cam" view detracts from it.
I especially liked the coaches' clear cues about hand and head motions. As each boy runs the drills, coaches point out what he's doing well and what
he's missing. In the process, field jargon is explained. (For instance, "landing gear" happen when a receiver prepares to make a rapid change of direction that requires him to plant one foot and "explode" off to the side. The natural instinct is to open your arms for balance, but that posture tells an observant defender where you're headed and also that you're the quarterback's intended receiver.)
And the boys have fun, even when they flub a drill and a coach makes them do pushups.
Distractions: One of the players chews gum with his mouth open, but the video's main flaw is videography. It was shot in bright sun, and although the sound is very good, the cameraman did not manage exposure well. Faces, and sometimes whole bodies, vanish into blurry shadows. Viewers used to high-definition video will notice muddy resolution.
But the video editor has tried to compensate using a range of effects, and the deliberately paced, enjoyably techno instrumental music helps out, too.
Who are the stars? Jake Reed was a wide receiver for 12 seasons for the Minnesota Vikings and the New Orleans Saints. Hall of Famer Cris Carter was Reed's teammate on the Vikings and also played wide receiver for the Philadelphia Eagles and the Miami Dolphins. He's an analyst for ESPN and the NFL Network (whatever that is).
Price: $19.99
ActiveStyle on 09/22/2014