Dynamic warm-up
Hips, ankles, hamstrings. You are about to open your hips and change direction at full speed, so get them ready.
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Linebacker training
Read · react · pursue
Read, react, close. The play is usually won or lost in your first half second, and that half second is trainable.
5.0 from 11 Google reviewsFirst session $0From $30 a month
[ 01 ] Read and go
What is linebacker training?
Elite Speed runs linebacker training in Granite City, Illinois as part of its DB/LB program, coached by Pierre Tucker. You work read and react, closing speed, pursuit angles and gap fill. It costs $45 to $240 a month, and the first session is free and already includes position-specific football work.
According to the IHSA, Week 1 of the 2026 Illinois high school football season falls on August 20 to 22, and the regular season runs nine weeks before the playoffs open on October 23. The work on this page belongs to the months before that.
Nobody times a linebacker’s first step, but that is the step that decides the play. You read a guard, you read a back’s track, and you go. Guess wrong and your speed does not matter. Guess right and take a bad angle, and it still does not matter.
So the work here is a read plus the footwork that comes off it, at full speed, over and over.
Underneath all of it is the same foundation everybody in this building trains: footwork, running form and the first three steps.
[ 02 ] The five
What a linebacker actually works on
Underneath all five is the same foundation everybody in this building trains: footwork, running form and the first three steps.
- 01Read and react
Eyes on your key, feet ready, no false step. Trigger downhill the moment the read is confirmed.
- 02Closing speed
Getting from your read to the ball carrier. This is straight acceleration and it is the part most linebackers never train.
- 03Pursuit angles
Meeting the ball instead of chasing it. Picking the intercept point and turning your hips to it without rounding off.
- 04Gap fill
Taking on a block downhill, staying square, and filling with your outside arm free.
- 05Change of direction
Shuffle, redirect, and running the alley when the play cuts back.
[ 03 ] Football and track
Coached by an All-Conference football and track athlete
Pierre Tucker runs the DB and LB group. He is an East St. Louis native who played at Belleville West High School from 2009 to 2013, and he earned All-Conference honors in both football and track and field.
That combination is the point. Football taught him the read. Track taught him what happens after it. A linebacker needs both, because a perfect read with slow feet is still a missed tackle.
Linebackers and defensive backs train in the same program here, since both jobs come down to reading a key, opening your hips, and running to a spot the ball has not reached yet.
[ 04 ] Read to pursuit
The cue comes late on purpose
Warm-up, first step, read and react, pursuit angles. You never get the key early.
Stance and first step
Feet under you, weight balanced, no false step. Trigger downhill on a cue, reset, do it again until the first step is automatic.
Read and react
Shuffle and mirror work off a key. The coach gives the cue late so you have to actually read it instead of anticipating the whistle.
Pursuit angles
Chase a moving target across the turf. Pick the intercept point, keep your shoulders square to it, and do not round the path off.
Closing speed
Straight acceleration work. Arm action, knee drive, ground contact, because the last five yards to the ball carrier are still a sprint.
[ 05 ] Questions
Linebackers ask these
What does linebacker training at Elite Speed work on?
Read and react, closing speed, pursuit angles and gap fill. A linebacker loses most plays in the first half second, either by guessing wrong or by taking a step in the wrong direction. Elite Speed trains the read and the footwork that follows it, so your first move goes where the ball is going.
Why do linebackers and defensive backs train together?
Because they share a job description. Both positions read a key, open their hips, and run to a spot the ball has not reached yet. Elite Speed runs one DB/LB program for that reason, and it costs $45 to $240 a month. The drills split where the positions actually differ.
Who coaches the linebackers?
Pierre Tucker coaches the DB and LB program at Elite Speed. He is an East St. Louis native who played at Belleville West High School from 2009 to 2013 and earned All-Conference honors in both football and track and field, so he has competed at a high level in the sport and in pure speed.
What is a pursuit angle and can you train it?
A pursuit angle is the path you take to meet the ball carrier instead of chasing him. It is trainable, and it is mostly a decision plus a first step. You practice reading depth and speed, picking the intercept point, and turning your hips to it without rounding off and giving up the sideline.
Can I try linebacker training before signing up?
Yes. Your first session at Elite Speed is free with no commitment, and the free trial already includes position-specific football work. You go through the dynamic warm-up, the speed and agility drills, and then linebacker work. Decide after you have actually done it.
[ 06 ] Start here
First session is free, and you will do linebacker work in it
Warm up, read a key, trigger downhill, run an angle. One session and you will know whether the coaching here is real.
5.0 from 11 Google reviewsFirst session $0From $30 a month