Sachem HS North Coach Runs Offensive Line Drills At NY Jets Event

LAKE RONKONKOMA, NY — As Sachem High School North football players hit the weight room and condition in preparation for the upcoming season, they can expect to see a couple new drills this summer thanks to the team's offensive coordinator, who plans to take back some things he learned while coaching at the New York Jets practice facility.

Greg Lauri, the team's assistant head coach and offensive coordinator who just finished his second year at Sachem, spent Friday and Saturday doing drills with hundreds of high school linemen at the Jets' practice facility in Florham. Each summer, the Jets host a regional high school football tournament, comprised of a seven-on-seven tournament and a linemen challenge. Forty-six teams in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut participated in the event this year, 16 of which advanced to Sunday. The winners were invited to see the Jets play the New Orleans Saints in the team's third preseason game.

Lauri, 53, who grew up in East Islip and currently lives in Sayville, got an invitation because he's a master trainer with USA Football, an organization that aims to help make the sport safer and grow it through standards and best practices. As part of that work, he and other trainers travel around the country conducting clinics that teach coaches and players about concussions, drills and proper techniques.

"This is something I've been doing since my youngest son started playing football and I wanted to try to help give back and make the game better than it has been in the past. Eliminate some of the fears people have about playing football," he told Patch on Monday.

The Jets reached out to Lauri this year because they wanted to get linemen involved in the competition, he said. Lauri brought fellow Sachem coach Vincent Juliano with him to the competition, as well as junior varsity volunteer Harry Brame and one more friend from Pennsylvania.

While they didn't get to meet anyone famous, the coaches got to work with some of the region's most talented athletes — many of whom have committed to play collegiate football — and the kids got to play on the professional team's turf practice field as well as the indoor facility. They also got to eat and hang out in certain areas of the building.

Among the drills the young offensive linemen were asked to complete: An agility course, sled-push, tire flip and farmer's walk. Lauri also helped integrate a medicine ball toss drill for the competition and plans to bring that back with him to Sachem.

"We worked with the kids and discussed how it benefited certain things," he said. "We got a lot of good feedback. That's something we're going to now add to our every day drills. It really focuses on the timing of your hip explosion, your arm push. It all has to come together when blocking a defensive lineman."

Another change he plans to integrate into practice: painting ladders on the practice field, rather than using physical equipment. Lauri said this allows coaches to avoid resetting physical ladders each time someone knocks into it.

"It made things move so much quicker," said Lauri. "We got so much more done with our kids. Even if their footwork wasn't perfect, they weren't kicking the ladder."

Lauri wasted no time implementing the changes. On Monday morning, the team began conducting its summer program. That same day, one of the coaches went out to buy paint and the lines were expected to be painted Tuesday. As for the medicine ball drill, Lauri expected that will be installed next week.

Great weekend coaching the NY Jets OL Challenge! Thank you to the @nyjets and @USAFootball for the opportunity to coach this great game! pic.twitter.com/p5IPAMQdvk
— Greg Lauri (@CoachLauri) June 30, 2019