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An Elite Speed offensive lineman set in a two-point stance over agility rings on an outdoor turf field

Home / Football Training / Offensive Line

Offensive line training

First step · pass set · hands

You are an athlete. Nobody trains you like one. That is what this program fixes, and it is coached by a guy who ran an O-line room in college.

5.0 from 11 Google reviewsFirst session $0From $30 a month

[ 01 ]   The least-trained position

What is offensive line training?

Elite Speed runs offensive line training in Granite City, Illinois, coached by Eric Bergman, a former McKendree University offensive coordinator and offensive line coach with Division 1 playing experience. You work first-step quickness, pass-set footwork, lateral agility and hand placement. The program serves St. Clair and Clinton County. It runs $180 to $360 a month.

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.

Here is the plain version. Skill players get camps, combines, 7v7 and private trainers. Linemen get told to lift. So you show up on Friday with a bench number and no answer for a defensive end who beats you with his second step.

Linemen are athletes. You change direction more times in one drive than a receiver does. You move backwards, sideways and downhill, sometimes inside the same play, and you do it in a space about two yards wide. All of that is footwork. All of it is trainable.

What you work on

  • First-step quickness. Out of your stance, on the snap, without a false step. This is the whole ballgame in the run game.
  • Pass-set footwork. Kick-slide, vertical set, depth without drifting. Your feet get you to the spot so your hands do not have to save you.
  • Lateral agility. Mirror work, shuffle, redirect. When the rusher counters, you want to already be there.
  • Hand placement. Inside hands, thumbs up, on target. Hands are timing, and timing is footwork.

None of that happens by running gassers at the end of practice. It happens with a coach watching one rep at a time and telling you the one thing to change.

[ 02 ]   A college O-line coach

Coached by a college O-line coach

Eric Bergman is a former McKendree University offensive coordinator and offensive line coach. He has Division 1 playing experience, so he has stood in the stance you are standing in and he has coached the position at the college level.

That matters because O-line coaching is detail work. Where your hand starts. Whether your first step goes forward or sideways. How deep your set is on third and long. A coach who has taught it in a college meeting room sees those things in one rep.

It runs out of the indoor turf in Granite City, so weather never cancels a session.

Eric Bergman, offensive line coach at Elite Speed and former McKendree University offensive coordinator
Eric Bergman · Offensive line
  • 01McKendree offensive coordinator
  • 02McKendree offensive line coach
  • 03Division 1 playing experience
  • 04Serves St. Clair and Clinton County

[ 03 ]   Stance to hands

Stance, set, mirror, repeat

Four blocks, same order every session. The linemen who skip the first one are the ones who pull something in week three.

Dynamic warm-up

Hips, ankles and hamstrings get ready to move. Linemen who skip this are the ones who pull something in week three.

Stance and start

Weight distribution, hand down, eyes up. Then get out of it, over and over, until the first step goes where it is supposed to go without you thinking about it.

Pass-set footwork

Kick-slide and vertical set on a line. Depth without drift, hips square, no crossover. Add a rusher angle and repeat it.

Lateral agility and mirror work

Shuffle, redirect, mirror the defender. This is where you learn to stay in front of a guy who is trying not to be in front of you.

Hands on target

Inside hands, thumbs up, strike and reset. Punch timing tied back to the footwork that put you in position to throw it.

[ 04 ]   Questions

Linemen ask these

Is speed training worth it for an offensive lineman?

Yes. An offensive lineman moves more in a two-yard box than most skill players do in twenty yards, and every one of those movements is trainable. Elite Speed trains linemen on first-step quickness, pass-set footwork, lateral agility and hand placement. You are an athlete. The 40 is not your test, but your first step is.

Who coaches offensive line training at Elite Speed?

Eric Bergman coaches the offensive line program at Elite Speed. He is a former McKendree University offensive coordinator and offensive line coach with Division 1 playing experience, so he has taught this position at the college level and played at it himself. The program serves St. Clair and Clinton County.

What do you actually do in an offensive line session?

Elite Speed offensive line sessions start with a warm-up, then work the movements the position asks for: getting out of your stance, kick-slide and pass-set footwork, mirror and lateral agility work, and hand placement with a target. The coach watches one rep, names one thing, and the athlete fixes it before the next rep.

How much does offensive line training cost?

Offensive Line Training at Elite Speed runs $180 to $360 a month depending on how often you train. Your first session is free with no commitment, and that free session already includes position-specific football work, so you find out what O-line training here looks like before anyone pays anything.

Do I need to already be strong to start?

No. This is footwork and movement coaching, not a max-out session. Linemen come in at every size and every level of experience, and the drills scale to the athlete in front of the coach. Groups run 1 to 15 athletes, so you get corrected instead of hidden in a crowd.

[ 05 ]   Start here

Your first session is free, and you will do O-line work in it

Not a tour. Not a sales meeting. You warm up, you get in a stance, and a coach starts fixing things. Show up once and decide for yourself.

5.0 from 11 Google reviewsFirst session $0From $30 a month

3985 Horseshoe Lake Rd, Granite City IL info@elitespeed.org Mon to Thu 4-9pm · Sat 9am-12pm
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