I went to the local paint shop and picked up some free 5 gallon buckets. Next, I filled the buckets with different amounts of water–about 1 gallon to 5 gallons.  I set up the buckets about 10 yards apart alternating the amount of water.

To begin the football drill/exercise I would have your player pick up the empty bucket (squat with his legs), “wrap up” the bucket, then carry it to the other end where he would squat to put it down and move to the 1 gallon bucket where he would squat, wrap up and carry the 10 yards to the other end and so on until he finished with the 5 gallons bucket.

This taught him to use his legs to explode out of his position and to tackle with great effectiveness. For little people, the diameter of the bucket is very similar to that of other children.

I also used the buckets to increase their leg power and balance by having the player to alternate 1 foot squats on the lid of the bucket. (one foot on top of the bucket, raise up, balance, both feet on top, opposite foot down… raise up…)

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This first football drill is for defensive backs:

Starting at the top left corner
1.Begin by sprinting to top right corner
2.Back peddle down to lower right corner
3.Shuffle to the lower left corner
4. Sprint back up to top left corner
5.Sprint diagonally to lower right corner
6.Repeat drill 3 times

Note: You can use cones and space them 7 yards apart across the top and 5 yards apart along the side.

The second drill is aimed on improving our RB to WR exchange for reverses.

I break my team into 2 teams.  Each team will get into two lines spaced about 15 yards apart and facing each other with 2 or 3 kids in each line.  One player runs at the other and they work on exchanging the football cleanly.  I will also put a string on the ground to assure proper spacing so that they don’t run into each other.

The football team that goes through a cycle with no drops and clean hand-offs wins.

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One way I keep them motivated is by giving them a chance to go against the coach.  The really light up when they get the chance to block me without me holding a dummy.  They hit me harder then they would ever hit a dummy or another player. They can’t wait to get back in line to hit me again.  The same thing when we are running defensive line football drills.  When I am the QB back there with the football, they go all out.

At this age, it is all about making sure they have fun and stay motivated.  Having their head coach play with them and not just tell them what to do really makes a big difference.

Another football drill that is fun for everyone, is having the team form a circle, and then have two players enter the circle. Give one player the ball and his goal is to run through the others, while they are trying to tackle the ball carrier.

I like to use trash can laying down for the kids to jump over.  It teaches them all from backs to linemen to keep their knees high when running.

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Have the O-line stand as they would for a normal double tight end formation.  On the snap count, vary the snap count. Have them step forward with the play side foot, throw their hands forward (like going into the D-lines middle chest) and yell “Hieee Yaah”, just like a Kung Fu Warrior, Ninja Turtle…you get the picture.  The kids love it and this really teaches them to fire off.  I have them go home and practice this too. Some kids really had fun hiding around hallway corners and firing off at their parents with a “Hieee Yaah”!  It scared a few Moms and Dads along the way.

For pain and injury I will do a short demonstration the first day in full pads.  I huddle the team and tell them that this was the first day as real football players; full pads.  They loved hearing this.  I then tell them that there is difference between “pain” and “injury” in football.  I  take the back of my hand and hit it fairly hard an a players helmet…thump.  Of course the player felt nothing, but my hand would normally show a red mark or slight bruise. “…Gentlemen, my hand hurts, it is painful, but I not injured..”  There would be a few ooohs and aaahs.  I told them that the football coaches will take care of them when they get injured, but that pain is part of football. We as Coaches will help them work through pain, but to have confidence that they weren’t injured just because it hurt.  The kids loved it.

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Cone off a 20 yard by 20 yard area. The football drill starts with 1-5 Tackle Monsters standing 5-10 yards from on off the sides. (The number of Tackle Monsters can vary depending on how many players are on team.)  The rest of team is ready and facing the Tackle Monsters.

When the whistle blows the Tackle Monsters must tackle at least one football player or they are out.  The non-Tackle Monster’s goal is to get to the other side without being tackled.

The one primary thing that should be maintained is that there is never more Tackle Monsters than players trying to get across field.

A variation I like to implement is:  poor tackling technique will take you out of the game.

The last player/s standing becomes the new Tackle Monster.  Kids love it!

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Many of us use the standard West Point 1v1, 2v2, 3v3 live football tackling drills to get the kids to learn tackling as well as blocking and running. We turned this West Point football drill around so we could use it to run out bread and butter sweep play and did a 4-on-3 offense vs. defense sweep and blocking football drill.

Defense – Stand Up Defensive End that is responsible for getting up field and turning everything inside.  Outside linebacker who is responsible only for the tailback.  Corner back who is responsible for pass first but then run support/
Offense – Wide Receiver responsible for the corner back.  Tight End responsible for the Defensive end.  Lead Running back responsible for the outside linebacker.

Drill is set up using only the field from the hash mark to the sideline.  It is a full contact live drill with blocking and tackling. Cones are set to show players where to lineup and running backs are required to stay within the cones to keep the drill active.

This has been a great drill for us as we get the opportunity to work with offensive and defensive players at the same time and the kids get to learn to block and tackle kids who are running towards a sideline and not just directly at them.  Our effectiveness in handling sweeps from the offensive side as well as the defensive side has been incredible.

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D-lineman vs. O-lineman–pass rush vs. pass pro.

This works both sides of the football; since most of our kids play both sides.
The def. player has 3 seconds to rush the offensive player, make a move, and touch the blocking dummy standing 5-7 yards deep in the backfield. I give the “ready” call, and the offensive player goes when he is ready. The defensive player gets off when the offensive player moves, and the battle begins.

I count “thousand 1, thousand 2, thousand 3.
If the def. player tags the bag within the 3 sec., he gets 1 point.
If the off. player holds the def. player out for 3 sec., he gets 1 point.
We go for 10 minutes, with groups of how ever many players we have.
They partner up, and we set up the # of bags accordingly to the # of groups we have.

It is a battle, and the kids are working both sides of the ball (off/def).  The one football player who has the most points at the end of 10-15 minutes, gets a prize (”crunch” candy bar, soda pop, energy drink, twinkie, etc.)

It is amazing what a player will do for a Twinkie in this football drill.  Very competitive, very fundamental drill, very physical and a lot of fun for kids.

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The goal of this football drill is to help them remember to not block in the back.

• Line the kids up in front of a football coach holding a dummy.
• Have another coach with a stand up dummy, that has a picture of a helmet on one side, lined up about 5-10 yards down field from the first dummy.
• On the word “go”, the player blocks the first dummy for about 3 seconds, then peels off and goes after the second dummy.
• The coach can either keep the helmet side facing the player or suddenly turn the dummy so the “back” of the dummy faces the football player.
• If the helmet is facing the player, he blocks the dummy.
• If the helmet is not facing the player, he runs past the dummy.
• If the player hits the dummy while the helmet side is facing away from him, he has to do 5 push-ups.

After a few times through this drill, most players learn not to hit the dummy in the “back”. Our blocking in the back penalties decreased dramatically since I came up with this drill.

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I’ve pushed, pulled, bumped, and nudged them in their stances only to find them leveled on the line. So I decided to have them get in their stance 3 or 4 point and put my hand on their helmet. As they look up from their stance at me I can see first hand how they go.

If they have to put a foot back or side shift their feet or they stand right up I can just push them on their butts. But then I tell them why and what they did. I can have them think about it and adjust before the football moves and our blocking and defensive launching forward has greatly improved.

The idea is they need to be immediately moving forward with my hand on their helmet or any backwards movement or sideways ends with them on their butt.

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For the O and D Line – we play “Whose the King“.  Pitting two linemen against each other with others lined up behind.  Whoever wins the contest at the line (drives the guy back significantly to where they cannot recover) becomes King.  The King tries to remain the champ for as long as he can.  They seldom can hold it through the entire group as they get tired.

What really works about this football drill is how quick it gets our players to stay low.  They stand up – they lose quick.  Even the smallest linemen learn quickly that staying very low off the line and firing off right on hut, or go works best.  They love being King (at least at the mighty mite level!).

For 5-6 year olds (it seems to keep them involved), highlighting speed & teamwork, we use this relay drill.

Line up into groups with 1/2 of your group on one side of the field and 1/2 of your group on the other (about 20-25 yards). At the whistle have one player from each group run, football in hand, towards the other group flipping the ball to his teammate in the process. The teammate catching the ball then does the same until the winner is announced (a relay of sorts).

I know that this is VERY basic, but allot of fun for 5-6 year olds !

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