A Day at Football Training Camp with Former NFL Cornerback James Dockery
Michelle Khare
What does it take to play football at the top level, and how much of it can a first-timer absorb in one day? For an episode of Challenge Accepted, Michelle Khare spent a day with James Dockery, a former NFL cornerback who now coaches high school football, and several of his assistant coaches. Dockery's plan was a compressed version of NFL training camp. Khare would throw like a quarterback, learn to tackle from linebacker coaches, and then run routes and catch passes as a receiver. Along the way Dockery explained what the game had meant to him and why certain techniques matter.
The Coach and the Plan
Dockery introduced himself as "Coach Dockery." He played for the Cleveland Browns and the Carolina Panthers and had what he called "a cup of tea" with the Oakland Raiders, meaning a brief stint. He then returned to his hometown in California, where he has coached for the past five seasons.
He described NFL training camp as similar to Hell Week for the Navy SEALs. In his words, it is "there to break you down physically and mentally and then build you back up." For the day, he promised quarterback instruction, a tackling specialist, and lessons in defending yourself. He said it is very important to be able to block, get off a block, and take somebody to the ground. When Khare asked whether she would be tackled, Dockery said he thought she wanted to be, and that they would try to make it happen.
Throwing Mechanics with the Quarterback Coach
The first session was led by Coach Karls, Dockery's quarterback coach and offensive coordinator. Dockery said Karls had set records that season. Karls began with the grip. The thrower needs a dominant hold on the ball, with the last three fingers gripping it. For the follow-through he offered an image: it should feel like reaching across and taking a dollar bill out of your opposite pocket.
Khare got to call the snap herself ("down, set, hut"), which the coaches called the best part. When she asked whether she needed a deep voice, they told her to say it however she wanted, as long as she meant it. Her early throws drew praise, and she joked that she was "available for the draft."
"The Ball Is Worth Millions of Dollars"
On one snap the ball came loose. The coaches immediately yelled at Khare to get on it. Dockery used the fumble to explain what he called the most important thing in football: the ball. Coaches like to say, especially in the NFL, that the ball is worth millions of dollars, because a player who gets it can change their life forever.
He connected this to his own life. Football paid for his two degrees in education and helped him buy his first house. He said the game let him improve his situation "from a socio-economic standpoint."
The Goal Post Competition
Next came a game. Everyone, coaches included, would try to throw a ball off the goal post. Whoever hit it first won, and the losers owed 10 push-ups. The linebacker coach hit it on his first try. The other coaches protested that a linebacker and defensive coordinator had won the throwing game.
For the longer attempts, the coaches adjusted Khare's mechanics. In the quarterback drills they had told her to keep her shoulders square. For distance, they told her to aim her front shoulder higher to get more elevation on the ball. She eventually got one to connect, although it took a moment to confirm it had hit. She also said she was doing far too many push-ups that day. Dockery then threw from the 25-yard line.
Linebacker Stance and Open-Field Tackling
Two linebacker and defensive coaches, including Coach Rover, took over to teach the skill Dockery had called one of the biggest in football: getting someone on the ground. They started with the stance. Weight goes on the balls of the feet with a comfortable forward lean. Feet are set slightly wider than shoulder width, and the butt stays down. On hand placement, one coach said some linebackers do it differently but he preferred to stay relaxed, "with a little swag." The coaches added that this is the moment on the line when you mess with your opponent.
The first drill was a five-cone drill, which the coaches said simulates open-field tackling. They described that situation, one defender alone against one ball carrier, as one of the hardest tackles in the game. On "go," Khare sprinted to a cone and broke down, chopping her feet and "keeping them alive." Ryan, the ball carrier, then picked a direction. When Khare tried to scoop him up, the coach agreed that is what you would want to do, but said it usually doesn't happen that way. Her cues were to push her feet, get her head across the ball carrier, finish the tackle, and extend up.
Then Khare put on her helmet and did the same drill through a live body. A coach described defense as "a desired collision in your heart." You have to run through the other player, and it isn't something you can do timidly. Khare summed it up as "mass times acceleration equals winning," and the coaches agreed.
Bag Drills and the Heavy Sled
The coaches said defenders are always moving and must stay on top of their feet. Mistakes start when a player takes long steps or lets their legs get out in front of them. That is why the team runs bag drills every day as a baseline. Khare stepped over bags, staying low and keeping a point of contact with the ground. She then shuffled to "find the running back in the gap" and drove downhill into Richard, who was holding a pad. The coaches said this mirrors what linebackers do in games: shuffle, find the gap, and go downhill quickly to stop the runner.
The next object was heavier. Khare started about two yards away. She had to strike the bag, wrap her arms around it, bring her hips, and drive her feet. The coaches warned that it was heavy enough to send her backward if she stopped running. Khare compared it to a training montage from Remember the Titans. On a second rep they asked for speed and told her not to let up just before contact. Afterward the coaches joked that Richard was "JV" while "Big Rich" was the pro.
Tackling, and Being Tackled
Khare had asked to be tackled, and the crew said her fiancé had given permission. Before it happened, Dockery admitted he was a little nervous. The coach he had chosen weighed around 200 pounds. He said he wouldn't ask Khare her weight, but he was pretty sure there would be a discrepancy. The coach in question had been a competitive collegiate linebacker.
The drill opened up the field. The ball carrier would try to juke, and Khare would try to bring him down using what she had been taught. The coach also showed her how to tackle safely: get low on one side and roll to that same side. He told her to commit fully, assuring her she wouldn't hurt him. She completed the tackle from her linebacker stance and called it "such a rush." One of the coaches remarked that she was going to inspire some little girl who would think, "I can do this now."
Running Out of the Tunnel
Between drills, Dockery talked about crowds. High school games don't draw much of one, he noted, but NFL games draw around 60,000 people, and college home games can reach 100,000. He said he knew from a very young age that he wanted to be a pro athlete. Finally running through the tunnel and seeing the crowd go crazy was surreal. He described seeing Aaron Rodgers run out from the other side of the stadium and realizing he was no longer playing him in Madden, watching him on TV, or trading his card. He had to go stop him. He called it a moment he will remember forever.
Receiver Footwork: The Box Drill
The day moved from quarterback to receiver. The first exercise was a box drill, where the receiver works around a set of cones. Dockery told Khare to pump her arms as if she were "beating the drums." His reason was deception. The arm action gives the defender the illusion that the receiver is running at full speed, so the receiver can break down around the cone. "There's a lot of acting," he said, calling the relationship between a defensive back and a receiver a cat-and-mouse game.
For catching, he taught her to form a diamond with her hands so the narrow point of the ball fits into it. He also told her to receive the ball softly, "like a baby," and to give with it, because tension in the hands makes the ball harder to hold. Over repeated reps the coaches kept calling "get around that cone" and "find it," and they praised several catches as great reps.
Three Routes Near the End Zone
Next came three routes, run toward the end zone.
The slant. Dockery called it one of the most popular routes in that part of the field and one of the most basic routes, learned by everyone from kids to pros. The footwork is two steps, slant in, and get upfield into the end zone. On an early attempt the coaches told her not to stop and to keep running. Once she scored, they insisted on a touchdown dance. She did a spin, which the coaches called "a little ballerina twirl." The next step was to put it all together: a crisp route, a clean catch, and a "10 out of 10" dance. After one catch she spiked the ball, though the coaches noted it was a soft spike.
The out route. Dockery called this one "bang bang." The receiver takes three hard steps for enough depth, then breaks toward the "G" painted on the field while Karls places the ball anywhere in that area. On one rep, Dockery stepped in front of the throw for an interception. He explained that the break needs to be sharp, not rounded. Greedy defenders like him, he said, will jump in front of a rounded route. On the next attempt Khare went downhill to the G and made the catch.
The fade. Dockery played defender. He explained that if the receiver stays on a straight line, the ball becomes very hard to catch. Instead, the receiver runs straight at the defender's toes and then fades. After an early miss, he told her to add vertical lift. If you wait for the ball to come down, he said, the defender will just punch it out of your hands, so you go up and get it at its highest point. Khare caught several fades. One coach said he didn't know how many girls could do that on their first time ever in pads. Khare cheered herself on between reps ("positive affirmations"), and the coaches called out "tall hands" on one catch.
The 40-Yard Catch
The final challenge was catching a pass thrown from 40 yards. Khare said she had seen many YouTube videos of people trying this with collegiate or professional players, and most fail because the ball arrives so fast. She worried it would "mow her over." The coaches told her she would be fine because the ball would drop in. She made the catch, and the coaches immediately asked for the touchdown dance.
Wrapping Up: Feedback and Sportsmanship
Afterward, Dockery asked whether she preferred playing quarterback or receiver. She joked that she preferred watching him on TV. He told her she had done well for someone on their first day and had learned quickly, adding, "we're not just saying that for the video."
The group broke with a "Challenge Accepted on three" chant. The coaches then showed Khare the postgame handshake line, where the two teams walk past each other saying "good game." They pointed out that poor sports sometimes go through the line half-heartedly after a loss. They ended the day on positive sportsmanship.
On this episode of Challenge Accepted, I am going to NFL training camp. Challenge accepted.
James, it's so nice to meet you. Let's get it. Let's do it. Let's do it.
My name is James Dockery, or Coach Dockery. I played for the Cleveland Browns, the Carolina Panthers, and a cup of tea for the Oakland Raiders. After that, I came back to my hometown of Palm Desert, California, where I've been the coach for the last five seasons. And today I'm going to give Michelle a taste of what the NFL training camp experience is like.
We're going to teach you how to throw a football, right? Quarterback. We'll teach you how to tackle. We have a tackling specialist out here. And then we'll teach you how to defend yourself. It's very important to be able to block, get off a block, and be able to take somebody to the ground. It's kind of similar to a Hell Week for the Navy SEALs. It's really there to break you down physically and mentally and then build you back up.
Am I going to be tackled today too? I think you want to be tackled. I think you do, so we're going to try to make that happen. All right, I think it's time to get you suited up. Okay, let's do this. Let's get this gear.
The first thing we're going to work on today is our throwing mechanics. Okay, so I brought one of my coaches, Coach Karls. He's my quarterback coach and offensive coordinator. Set records this year. It was big time.
Biggest thing when throwing the football, you want to have a dominant grip on the football. So you want to have these last three fingers gripping it. When you follow through, it's like you're taking money out of your opposite pocket. So I'm going to follow through, and then I'm going to act like I'm taking that dollar bill out.
Okay, so down, set, hut. This is so cool. She gets to say that. Yeah, that's awesome, right? It's the best part. Okay, do I have to say it in a deep voice? However you say it, say it like you mean it.
Okay, here we go. Down, set, hut. Okay, go back, forward, right back, throw. Good. Good job. Excellent. Good job. Back. Back. That was excellent. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. I'll just go ahead and score that one. I'm available for the draft. We'll take that.
Down, set, hut. Oh, fumble! Get on the ball! Get on the ball! Get it! Get on it! Get on it! Get on it! Hey, that happens. The most important thing is the ball. The ball. We like to say in football, especially in the NFL, the ball is worth millions of dollars, right? If they can get that ball, change their lives forever.
I was able to get two degrees in education, and football paid for both of those. I was able to buy my first house. I was able to do a lot of things in my life from a socioeconomic standpoint, to be able to improve my situation in life through the game.
So now we're going to play a little game. The goal of this game is real simple. You're going to take this ball, and you're going to try to hit the goalpost. All the coaches are going to be in this. All right, it's a competition, so whoever hits it first clearly wins. We'll do 10 push-ups for the losers. All right, here we go. Yep.
Yeah, right, the linebacker coach. The linebacker coach. Get out of here! Nailed it. I love that. First try. That was the game already. This guy doesn't run through. He's a linebacker coach. Linebacker coach, D coordinator, he beats us at the throwing game. I don't like this game.
This is the luckiest day of his life. So now this one, like how in the quarterback drills we're saying keep your shoulders square, this one gets where you're going to aim that front shoulder a little higher up so you can get some more elevation on the ball here. Okay, yep.
Oh, there it is! Oh, I thought I heard it. I don't know if I heard it. We got it. I don't know. We're going to need some replay. There it is! There it is! You just lost. Good job, Michelle.
I'm doing way too many push-ups today. I won't even be able to live this down. It probably lives forever, so I got to get one from the 25. Come on, James. Let it rip. Oh my God! Oh my God! I see it. All you guys get buffed. All you guys get buffed.
So for now we got Coach Exalus and Coach Rover. They're going to be your linebackers slash defensive coaches. They're going to help you learn how to take down people, right? That's one of the biggest things of football, being able to get somebody on the ground.
Let me teach you how to get into a proper linebacker stance. All right, so here, here, balls of our feet, a nice comfortable forward lean. That's pretty good. Almost a little bit further than shoulder width. Yep, butt down. That's good right there, right? That's pretty good. And your hands, I mean, some linebackers do that. I like to be relaxed, a little swag too. Yeah, they have a relaxed bag on their head. This is the part where you're messing with them on the line. That's perfect. Yep.
And then the next one here, I like to start you out with the five-cone drill. And this simulates open-field tackling. Basically, with just you and him, it's one of the hardest tackles. So you start in this stance right here. As I say go, you're going to sprint. As you get to this cone, break down, chop your feet, keep your feet alive. And once I do that, Ryan's going to wait. He'll pick a direction. I step this way, and say you're picking him up. I mean, that's what you want to do, but it doesn't usually happen like that. You're right.
Okay, nice stance. Let's see. Good. Okay, good. There you go. There you go. That's good. On the balls of our feet, right? Nice, coming in, forward lean. Set, go. Chop your feet. Get your head across and finish the tackle. Good, and extend up. Okay.
Good. Good job. Good job. Good job. She got it. All right, you might want to put your helmet on, Michelle. Okay, what you're going to do, the same thing that these guys just taught you, but you're going to go through him now. Defense is kind of like a—we always say it's a desired collision in your heart, because you got to run through the guy, and it's not something that is timid, right? Mass times acceleration equals winning. Exactly. Exactly. Knock them out. Oh my God. Don't know what's coming. Freaky. Go.
Okay. Let's go. I'll take that. There we go. All you wanted to do the video for, you, right? Through, right here.
So let's punish this bag. He watched the video but didn't subscribe. What the hell, man? You got it.
So now we're going to do some linebacker agility drills. On defense, we're always moving. We've always got to stay on top of our feet. When we start taking long steps or we start getting our legs out in front of us, that's when we start making mistakes. So something that we go through every single day, very, very baseline, is what we call our bag drills.
We're going to do two in each. Stay low. Next time you stay down, say donuts. Boom, boom, boom. And then you're going to go, and you're going right at Richard. Am I taking him to the ground? Take him out of the game. Yeah, you're knocking him out. All right, take Richard out of the game. Shoulders square, one over. There's always got to be a point of contact to the floor. So boom, boom.
That's just like what linebackers do all game. Shuffle, shuffle, find the running back in the gap, and we go downhill real quick to stop him. I'm more scared of that thing than I should be, I think. Bring the pain, Michelle. Bring the pain. Back to you. Good. Stay low. That's a big job. Stay low. Good.
Good job. That's a good rep. All right, Michelle, we got a little bit of a heavier object for you. And now this right here, you're going to really have to pump your legs. About two yards away. Yard two. That close? Yep, that close. Strike the bag, put our arms around, bring the hips, and drive our feet. Drive our legs. How heavy is this? It's not light. Oh, it's not light. Enough to send you backwards if you don't keep running.
Oh my God, this is like what happens in movies, like in the montage of Remember the Titans. Okay. So go. Good job. Good job. Good job. Good job. Okay, now full speed. Don't let up when you're about to make contact. Go through him. Set, go. Do it. Good. Good.
Dude, Richard was JV over there. Yeah, this is Big Rich. He's pro over here.
All right, Michelle, you were asking for this one. Come on over here. We have permission from your fiancé to tackle you. We're going to open it up a little bit. We're going to juke this guy. All right, where's the ball at? Let me go grab that ball. Look out. Oh my God. You're so scary. I'm not. Let's go. Oh, you guys definitely got to add that Western music on this part.
I'm a little nervous that Michelle wants to get tackled, and she wants to tackle someone. The coach that I have for her is around 200 pounds. I'm not going to ask Michelle how much she weighs, but I'm pretty sure it's going to be a little discrepancy there, so we'll see.
So you were a collegiate-level competitive linebacker? Yes. Is that scary of them? You got it. Okay, let's go. You're going to inspire some little girl somewhere. She's going to be like, hey, I can do this now. Okay, you're right.
Down, set, go. The cone's in here. The cone's in here. He's got the rest. He's got the rest. Down, set, go.
All right, you want to try to get him down? You want to do what we taught you and take Coach down? Oh, I get to take you down? There, go ahead. So when you get low, yep, on that side, and roll. Roll the same side, and then roll. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. I'll go down. Good, got it. Good. Just commit. You're not going to hurt me. All right, here we go. Get your linebacker stance like he taught you, right? He taught you a good linebacker stance. You got it.
That's good. Good job. It's such a rush. You guys are crazy. Obviously. And then imagine the stadium is nice and packed, right? In high school, not as much, but NFL, 60,000 people, 100,000 people in college. At home. Exactly.
I knew I wanted to be a pro athlete at a very young age, so finally running through that tunnel and seeing the crowd and everybody go crazy, there's Aaron Rodgers running out from the other side of the stadium. I can't just play with him in Madden. I'm not watching him on TV. I'm not trading his trading card. I have to go stop him. And so that was a surreal moment, and it was one that I'll remember forever.
We'll transition from quarterback to receiver. So the first one I'm going to do for you, this is called a box drill. We want to get around these cones, right? I'm going to come around, getting around here, getting around here. Then you're going to have a ball. And what I like to tell people is pretend that you're beating the drums, right? Perfect.
And why are we pumping the arms like this? Because we're giving the defender an illusion that I'm running fast. I'm running, I'm running, and then I can break down around the cone. So there's some acting. There's a lot of acting. Okay. There's a lot of acting. It's a cat-and-mouse game between the DB and the receiver. All right, down, set, go. Good. Stay low. Get around that cone. Good. Now sprint.
We got to catch that football, but that's not bad. You want to try to catch the small part of that ball. We want to make a diamond like that. Okay, yep. Because that little point of the ball is going to fit right in there. Set, go. That's a good stance. Get around the cone. Good. Good. Good. Get around that one. Good job. Catch. Oh, good. There you go. Working hard. Get around that cone. Good. It is. Oh.
Think about this as a baby. You give with it, right? You don't want to be so tense, because if you are, okay, there's more tension there. Good. Get around. Get around. Get around. Find it. Find it. Find it. Yeah, you're not touched there. There you go. You're all there. Perfect. Good little farm. Great rep. Great rep. Great rep. Great rep.
All right, so now we're going to teach you a couple of routes. So obviously this is the end zone. Okay. All right, one of the most popular routes that people like to run in this part of the field is a slant route. Slant route is one of the most basic routes that you learn from a kid all the way up to the pros. One, two, slant it in. Get upfield, right? You want to fall right there in the end zone. Okay, this is a touchdown score.
Set, go. One, two. Oh, almost, almost, almost. Just don't stop. Yeah, don't stop. Just keep running. It's good. Get in there. Oh, it's so scary. Good. Oh, you almost got it. You almost got it. Yeah, there it is. There it is.
And touchdown dance. Touchdown dance. You have to touchdown dance. Touchdown dance. Yeah, touchdown celebration. You catch it, spin it. Oh, cool. Oh, yeah, that works. Hey, yeah. Hey. Oh, and a little ballerina twirl there. Yeah, yeah, we'll take that.
All right, so now you got to put this all together. We got to have a crisp route, a clean catch, and then a little 10 out of 10 dance. Set, go. Oh, let's get some speed now. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, in there, in there. You can spike it. Gronk spike. Oh, whoa. Oh, yeah. A light spike. I thought she was going to come down with the—then she did the beautiful soft one.
Okay, now we're going to do an out route. This one's kind of a bang-bang. So we're going to go one, two, and then you're going to start running towards that G, and Karls is going to put that ball anywhere over here. Three nice hard steps is going to get you enough depth to make sure we catch a touchdown right here. Go. There you go. Speed, speed, speed. Beat the drums. Oh, interception. Interception.
I stopped it because when we get here, we want to try to be sharp. We don't want to round it. Okay, then there's going to be guys like me that are greedy. We're going to jump in front of that. Yeah, downhill to the G. Downhill. Find it. Find it. Find it. Hey, good job. That's what I'm talking about.
All right, now the last one, we just got a fade route. Let's say I'm guarding you, right? So you're going forward, right? If we stay on this straight line, it's going to be very hard for you to catch the ball. So you're going to run straight at my toes. Right, right, right, right. And then you're going to fade. Yep.
Oh my God. Okay, okay. Oh, dang it. Hey, that was a good spot. Let's try to add some vertical to it. Okay, because look, if you wait for the ball to come down, the defender's just going to punch it out of your hand. So try to go up there and get it at its highest point. Perfect ball. Oh, not bad. Good. Oh, yeah. Perfect, perfect. Go get it. Go get it. Oh, good. Good run. Good run. Oh, that's perfect. You got it. Oh.
I don't know how many girls, their first time ever putting the pads on, can do this, though. I want to get it. I want to get it. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, another one. Keep running. Keep going. Hey, positive affirmations. I got this next one. Go get it. Go get it. Go get it. Yes! Tall hands, my hands. That's what I'm talking about. Yes, that's good.
So I'm about to try and catch a pass from 40 yards. I've seen a lot of YouTube videos of people trying to do this with collegiate or professional players, and most people fail because it's coming at you so fast. I feel like it's just going to mow me over.
You guys ready? Oh, yeah. Okay, all right. Go that way. Go that way. That way. That way. More that way. How hard is this going to be coming at me? You'll be all right. It's going to drop in. Are you sure? Yeah. Ready? She's going to catch it.
Come on, let's get some more. Let's do some more. Oh.
Where's the dance? There's the dance. Hey, good, good, good. Oh my God. Good job. Good job. Thank you so much. That was awesome. You did a great job today.
So what do you like better, being a quarterback or being the receiver? I think watching it. You like watching me on TV on the 80s? Okay. You did good for somebody that's just out there on their first day. You learned really quick. So we're not just saying that for the video, but you did an excellent job.
Challenge Accepted on me. Challenge Accepted on three. One, two, three. Good job. Good job.
So this is the end-of-the-game line. So we're on this team, and they're on this way, so come on this side. Okay. All right, so you just walk through the line. Good game. Good game. But if you lose, sometimes people are poor sports, and so if they lose, then they kind of do this. Great.
But we're not poor sports. No, we're not. Positive sportsmanship.
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