From Chris…
I play a game called ultimate football with my youth football players.  It is like ultimate frisbee only with a football.

We play sideline to sideline and use cones that are about 20-30 yards apart, depending on how many players on each team, for the field (so the field is 20-30 yards wide by 51 yards long).  The idea is to move the football down the field by passing it.  If the ball is dropped or a pass incomplete the other team takes over from the spot of the incompletion.  If a pass is completed the player who catches the ball is not allowed to run with it, he has to pass it to another teammate.  The pass can be forward or backward and the team can take as long as it likes to move the ball down the field.  If the ball is moved past the sideline (end zone) that team scores (6 points).  Then they kick off to the other team from their goal line.

Play first team to score 3 touchdowns wins or whatever number of scores you want.  Sometimes we will play 2 or 3 games of this at once.  Maybe have linemen going against linemen, receivers going against receivers,  and QBs and running backs going against other QBs and running backs.  The smaller the numbers on each team the more everyone is involved and the less chance for someone to get hurt.

Very good for conditioning because everyone is constantly moving/running.  Good for evaluation purposes too, football coaches can watch and see who can throw the ball well, who can catch, who is competitive, who can cover, etc.  The younger kids love it.

Technorati Tags: football practice, football conditioning drill, football, football coaches

From Wayne…
This is a football open field tackling drill that I do with my players.  It emphasizes proper foot width and proper steps approaching the tackle and through the tackle.  There’s a diagram of the set up at the bottom.

Have the players partner up.   For each set of partners you will need an agility bag (or a step over bag as some like to call it.)  Then what you do is put the partners 10 yards apart.  Then you put the A-Bag in the middle of them with it barely overlapping the line and the majority of the bag on the offensive players side of the line.  On the coach’s command the defensive player sprints from his stance to the bag and when he gets to the bag, he runs with a foot on each side of the bag and throttles down to make the tackle on the approaching offensive player.  The offensive player will start to jog 1/2 speed from his starting point once the defensive player reaches the bag.  Once the defensive player gets over the bag, he should explode through the tackle and run his feet through it for five yards.  You can also have the offensive player break to the right or the left when the defensive player is finished coming over the bag.

Coaching Points:
1. No false steps for defensive players at the start of the football drill.
2. Ensure that the defensive player sprints to the bag to work on closing the distance between himself and the ball carrier.
3. Good pad level/ arms extended at 45 degree angle/short choppy steps while going over the bags.
4. Good form on the tackle at the end and running the feet through contact for 5 yards.

________OP_________    Offensive player

_________I________    A Bag

________DP_________    Defensive Player

Technorati Tags: football training drill, football tackling drill, football, football drill

From George
For this football drill you need:
2 centers, 2 quarterbacks, 3 lines of receivers ie: “trips formation”. 30 yard field.  We run out of the shotgun a lot and roll out pass so this obviously wouldn’t benefit a running offense.

What you do:
1st guys in line are defensive backs. Football coach coordinates with the 2nd guys in line, (receivers) and the 1st quarterback. Calls patterns typically crossing patterns, in’s out’s,slants, hooks. Kids run the play, trying to score; ball is live and defense is tackling.

Upon completion of football play the receivers become defense, previous defenders go to back of receivers line and second quarterback and receivers run patterns. We have coaches watching and teaching the quarterbacks, receivers and defense backs.

The kids love to pass, this is fast paced so you get lots of reps. These are all high percentage passes and really allows to negate any size differential we find against opposing teams as most 3rd and 4th grade teams are not used to defending multiple receivers rather they are run oriented.

Technorati Tags: drill for youth football, football drill, Football coach, football play

From David
To keep all football players active: I run two stations with my two QB’s.

I have a receiver, defender, and center.
The QB makes a play with the wide receiver. After the play, they all rotate except for the QB.  The wide receiver moves to Defender, Defender moves to
Center, Center moves to wide receiver.

If you have more than three players (other than the QB) in the group, you
can include a rusher (have the player count to two) or you can have them wait in line at the WR spot.  Kids love it. QB practices throwing to each player. Each player runs routes and defends.

From Steve
My favorite football drill is a race.
You have 2 teams and start with a 10 yard sprint.
Next an in and out ladder drill.
Then tackling the dummy and finish with a sprint for 10 yards.

Technorati Tags: conditioning for youth football, football drills, football, football drill

From Kevin,
Here is one of the football drills we do in practice for running backs, wide receivers and quarterbacks.
Give the ball to one back and have another behind him holding on to his jersey. Blow the whistle and have the back pull the other football player 5yds to 10yds. Have the football coach hitting at the ball mid way through the football drill.
This will help the running back keep his legs moving after contact and dragging tacklers. Plus it teaches them to run down hill instead of upright.

From Derrick,
The thing that I do is at the end of each football practice and right before games I make my whole team get on their backs in a nut cracker position about 3 yards apart and blow the whistle and let them go at it for about 5 to 10 sec. The kids love it and it gets them ready for the next practice and the next game!

Technorati Tags: becoming a football coach, football drills, football, football coach, football practice

From Reggie,
Two things that really help my football offensive line is the mirror drill and, believe it or not, bear crawls.
Mirror drills work on my big kids footwork.  It helps them move their feet fast to get in front of pass rushing D-linemen and backer. This makes my QB feel safe in the pocket and bear crawls help my O-line STAY LOW when run blocking.

I hear a lot of people say that football defense win titles, but if you have a solid O-line like I do, you control the clock. I had games last year that the other team only had the ball once or twice in each half because we just run the ball.  The only time I pass is when I have no choice–3rd and long or 4th down. We don’t try and score a lot of points. we control the clock, and beat down a defense.

Technorati Tags: football offense, football coach, football drills, football, football defense

From Jim,
SUMO - One of our favorite drills is “Sumo.” Paint a circle (10 foot diameter for 10/11 yr olds, larger for bigger kids) on the ground. Put two kids in the middle, three point stances and call a snap count. Each player tries to drive the other player out of the circle. They can move around laterally, fighting for position. The trick is to stay low and wide, and drive block your opponent out of the circle. It’s fun to make two (even) lines and give each side a point for success. The line with the most points gets a prize.

From Carlos,
When dealing with a large team (25+) of young players and multiple coaches. Divide your team up into squads evenly, give them a squad name and assign a coach to be their squad coach.

Run your football drill rotations, stretches and warm ups in these squads. Have the squads compete for enthusiasm or excellence awards in running drills. This allows each of the kids to get to know each other better in a more intimate sense and to work and develop closer ties to a squad coach. It encourages the stronger and veteran kids to help teach the younger kids. It also allows the coaches to become more familiar with each of the players and their strengths and weaknesses from a continuity of development perspective.

Technorati Tags: free youth football drill, football drills, youth football coaches, football drill

From Henry,
I place a football on a flat cone behind an offensive lineman (about seven yards). I then place two about a yard apart at the line of scrimmage. I then have an offensive lineman and defensive lineman line up between the cones.

The idea is for the defensive lineman to get to the ball without going outside of the two cones and touch the ball within a certain amount of time (usally 5-8 seconds). We give the offensive lineman a point if he stops the defensive lineman from getting it within a certain amount of time.

From Sam,
It’s a football tackling drill that starts with 2 players on their back about 5 feet apart. One player has the ball and the other will be the tackler. The coach blows the whistle and both players get up as fast as they can and the runner tries to get by the tackler and the tackler goes after the runner.

A great football drill to teach quickness getting off the ground and still making the play. Thanks!!

Technorati Tags: football speed and agility drills, football, offensive lineman, defensive lineman, football tackling drill, football drill

From Cory,
The “Zipper” Drill

You will need anywhere from 6-10 tackling dummies for this football drill. You will line them up in two staggered rows. The bags on each side should be about 7-10 yards apart. The rows can be 5-8 yards apart.

The players start on one end and on your whistle a player goes at the first bag (on either the right or left side) and executes a perfect tackle. They must get up quickly and then go hit the first bag in the other row. They are done when they have worked their way through all of the bags (in a zigzag fashion).

This is a great conditioning drill and the players love to hit the bags. I have started timing the players as they make their way through the drill so they always have a goal to meet.

One of the best parts of this drill is when the players holding the tackling dummies/bags start encouraging their teammates as they make their way through the course. Make sure that the players keep good tackling form throughout the drill. Sometimes as they get tired they just dive at the bags. Good luck!

Technorati Tags: football tackle drills, tackling dummies, football, drill, tackle, conditioning, tackling form

#2 Here’s a 7 on 7 passing (skeleton)drill
Center and 2 lineman, 3 receivers and a QB.
Cover the whole field. The action is live but no hitting the QB. It is fun, lots of running, and the kids learn some ball skills both catching and defending the pass as well as tackling in the open field.

From Mark,
I do a flag pull drill and have a championship showdown at the end.

Set up cones 10 yards apart (wide) and 15-20 yards apart (long). Players lay on their backs. When I say go, one has the ball and tries to run by the flag puller. After the drill, i select my top runner and top flag puller and have a showdown!

The kids love the competition!!!

Technorati Tags: football, drills, youth football speed drills, drive blocking, coach, blocker, passing, catching, defending, drill