From Danny…
This is a football drill that my kids ages 8-11 love to do. We call it the linebacker drill.

You take two cones and put them 10 yards apart.Then take 4 more and line them up as holes,1,2,3,4. Make 2 lines,One on each cone.

One side runs the ball,the other line has to slide down the line read the hole, keep his head on the runner’s inside shoulder and attack the ball carrier.

This teaches them to tackle correct, read correct and not to over play the  ball carrier. This also helps the runners vision. My kids love the one on one contact  football drills.

From Brent…
This may be pretty basic but I coach football to 5-8 year olds and the 1 thing that changed my whole practice was SPRAY CHALK. For a couple bucks you can get this stuff and put it on the ground anywhere. The best part that it goes away fast.Spray dots, lines or short pass routes and the kids know where they got to run.  After a few plays its gone.

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From Jason,
This football drill is great for conditioning and the kids really enjoy it as well.
Form large circle with helmets, 30 ft wide.
Have boys take off shoulder pads…
Have them take their shirt or jersey off and tuck in back of pants with good amount hanging. Have all kids in circle, blow the whistle and they have to take out the shirt of others. Last one standing with shirt wins. They get to sit out of sprints. It really wears them out towards end, staying alive. If they go outside circle they’re out; if they hold their own shirt they’re out; and if they hold or push they’re out.

From Mike
My football drill has to do with the backfield.
I need to remind you that I am working with 4-5 yr old kids. Their minds seem to wonder off. But anyway, my idea is to have a wishbone formation and have one of the backs run to the left and the quarterback follow the other backs to the right. The reason for this is to draw the linebackers and safety’s toward the back who runs to the left.

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From Patrique,
I am a youth league football coach and just like most coaches at all level we have pre-game on Fridays (Just helmets and game jerseys). I like to shut practice down about half-hour to forty-five minutes early. Before practice I call ahead to have some pizzas delivered to the field. I usually shows up on time for our final stretch.

We all break out of football practice, head over to my truck, sit down and eat. The kids can come out of football mode which a lot of coaches don’t get to see. I have learned so much about my players. Their lives at home, school, and even relationships. I tell you what, you get a much better idea of how or why a child functions just by listening to some of the things they tell you about themselves. It has brought me closer to them and I know it has brought them closer to each other.

Sometimes I get so involved with the game, that I fail to realize that football is the only stability in a child’s life. One child for instance, I had know idea that his parents were recently separated and involved in a serious custody battle over him and just to get to practice everyday he takes 3 different buses in full gear with his homework and backpack. That is just one example. So many children are displaced or having some sort of issue or problem in life. We were all kids and you were either one of them or you knew someone like that. It made me realize that sometimes football isn’t always about football.

I know this isn’t really a football coaching drill, but maybe some friendly advice. Me getting to know my kids outside of football has made me a better football coach.

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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.

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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.

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From Aaron,
I have always found that the most important thing that a football player can hear is their name.

Take the time to learn each and every one of your football player’s name. A great way to accomplish this is during your team jog or warm-ups have the first player say their name and something that you do not know about them. Have the next player in line say the name of the player in front of them and what they learned about the first player.

Continue through the whole line have each player say the name and the one thing that they learned about each player in front of them. Obviously the last player in line will have to remember the most information making his job the most difficult so make sure that you change the order of players regularly.

From Christopher
We can do football drills and practice all day, but I have found that the short one-on-one talks with young kids about their progress makes the biggest difference. So remember, if you are coaching a younger team it is just as important to know your kids and how they tick as it is to know the game of football itself.

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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!

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#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!!!

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From Rodney,
When working with the young football players (ages 10 -12) it is often difficult to keep their attention and focus. In addition keeping drills activities fun, revolving and well planned, we found it very helpful to keep them vocal.

Emphasizing on counting loud at warm-up, loud breaks at the huddle and loud group cheers during practices and games seem to use their energy in a way that pulls them together. We even have the players recognize other players who executed a play properly, who gave extra effort and even a struggling player’s improvement. Kids are being empowered.  Bonus, they also show a higher level of good sportsmanship.

From Curtis,
Here is a drill that I have used with our high school team. It involves the guys having some fun while at the same time keying on some key tackling fundamentals.

Drill for Defense:
Water balloon tackle
• Instead of a ball the ball carrier uses a water balloon. The tackler’s goal, whether it be from head on (shooting gaps) or angle tackling ( you can use this drill for both), is to burst the water balloon by putting their “head on the ball”.

In order to do so, they must remember to put their head on the ball side, keep their head up and explode, when tackling, etc.  The guys really like this, especially during the hot two a days, as a fun way of emphasizing tackling fundamentals such as head and body in front (angle tackling etc.).

Technorati Tags: drills, youth football training, football, warm-up, practices, good sportsmanship, drill, ball carrier, tackling