In the final Episode of Building a Lineman we focus on an Offensive Linemen's neck. Nolan Clausen of Midwest Movement Elkhorn (https://www.midwestmovementelkhorn.com/) explains why neck strength & mobility is critical to Offensive Line Dominance. First we talk about "Camp Neck." This is a condition all football players experience by adding the weight of their helmet. The soreness can be minimized by strengthening the neck prior to camp starting and also wearing your helmet in the weeks before practice starts.We then talk about how the head and neck are involved in playing football. There is no way to completely remove helmet collisions from football, but you can prepare for those collisions by focusing on proper body posture. Neck soreness and injuries usually occur when the neck is out of alignment with the spine. Nolan recommends focusing on keeping the head stacked on top of the spine minimizing pressure on vertebrae's. For Offensive Linemen the helmet is often used as a tool for effective striking. One mistake I see coaches make is purposely teaching offensive linemen to keep their head out of blocks by craning their neck back. While trying to minimize head collisions is a good theory, offensive linemen craning their neck up and back may actually lead to more injuries since that doesn't conform to stacking the neck in a position of strength.I like to coach offensive linemen to keep their head stacked when they strike so the impact is absorbed and dissipated. Staying in alignment and keeping our joints stacked is a common theme for our Building a Linemen series. Football is a violent game and injuries happen, but many can be avoided by focusing on proper posture and alignment. Nolan demonstrates keeping your chin in and stacked. He jokingly says to "pretend like your sister is trying to kiss you." That posture helps activate the stabilizing muscles in your neck and core to absorb the load and protect the spine. Nolan recommends some best practices for training stability in the neck and core in preparation for the football season. He also demonstrates some exercises and stretches to maintain strength and mobility in an offensive lineman's neck during the football season. Lastly, Nolan advocates awareness for shooting or sharp pains originating from the neck area. If the pain is sharp or burning he recommends seeing a professional immediately before the problems gets worse. A great example is stingers which is when a player has burning down their arm from a collision. When that kind of pain happens, get help from a professional immediately.The Bober Academy was founded in 2019 by 8 year NFL Veteran Chris Bober with the Mission to train and develop athletes to maximize their potential and succeed on the gridiron by coaching the fundamentals of offensive line technique. The Bober Academy believes in laying the the building blocks of O-Line Success first then repeating over and over until mastered. The Bober Academy offers O-Line instruction for all ages and skill levels through camps, clinics, & one to one learning. Chris Bober went from a walk-on at Division II UNO to NFL starter by hard work, determination, & becoming a master of Offensive Line technique. After graduating from Omaha South High School Chris redshirted then became a 4 year starter helping his team win NCC Conference Champions in 1996 & 1998. He was a team captain and named to All America Team after his Junior & Senior seasons. Chris went undrafted in the 2000 NFL Draft & signed with the NY Giants. He was cut after his rookie training camp, signed to the Practice Squad & finally to the active roster for the 2000 NFC Champion Giants. Chris stayed with Giants 4 seasons becoming the starting Center in 2002-2003. In 2004 Chris signed a free agent contract with the...

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