Leverage Drills

although they’re great for the highlight reel. What makes a great linebacker, is his ability to move East and West, and combine that with the ability to move North and South. Pursuit is a skill, and something that it takes time and practice to perfect. Here are a couple of non-contact drills I like to put my linebackers through on a daily basis.

Leverage Drill

Here we’re teaching our players how to maintain leverage, forcing the runner to the outside. Set up four cones in a diamond shape, with a line of defenders on one end and ball carriers on the other.  The runner will make one move, and sprint for the outside cone, trying to beat the defender there. The goal for the defender is to tap the hip with the hand, just to show to the coach they were close enough to tackle.

The key for the defender here is to stay on the runner’s inside hip, making sure not to overpursue to the outside, giving up the cut back lane. Remember, if your heads up, the runner can make two decisions: inside or outside. If you take away the inside, there’s only one place the runner can go: the boundary.

Cutback Drill

Cutback Drill

Once your players are starting to feel pretty comfortable with the Leverage drill, were going to make it a little bit more difficult. Here we take a look at how to defend a runner who begins to run at the boundary, and attempts to cutback to the inside to break free.

Widen up the cones to give the players more room to run. Now the drill is basically the same, but the offensive player is free to cut back whenever they feel. The key for the defender here is to stay focused on the inside hip and shoulder, and as soon as the cutback happens, run upfield. It’s a loss for the defense if the runner can bet back inside, even if they still get the tap.

If the defender floats, and hesitates to sprint upfield, they will get beat. Commit and run upfield and you’ll maintain your inside leverage, and keep the sideline on your side.

And if you need some help with the actual physical act of tackling, make sure to check out these other great linebacker drills!

The pyramid course is a fine example of and one of my favorite drills, forcing players to make three catches in quick succession – one heading from right to left, one heading from left to right, and one over the shoulder catch. This forces players to learn how to anticipate

Pyramid Course Drill

where they’ll go after making the catch, while still focusing in and tucking the ball away safely.

Pyramid Course Drill

To set it up, have a coach line up in the middle of the hash marks, with three footballs. Five yards up, a player will stand on each hash mark, facing each other. Now the player running the course is going to start outside the hash mark, and on the coach’s signal, will sprint to the other side.

The coach will hit the player in stride, who will catch the ball and either handoff or shovel pass it to their teammate, touch the hash mark and sprint in the opposite direction. The coach is going to make a second pass here, and the player will do the same thing, handing it off to his teammate – except now instead of sprinting in the opposite direction, the player will head downfield.

The coach will loft it up, hitting the course runner for a deep pass over the middle, giving them a chance to work on making an over the shoulder catch.

If you’re in need of some help improving your secondary, make sure to check out these defensive back drills!

While you don’t want to rely on your receivers being able to pull off the spectacular catch, it can be a huge momentum swing when

One Hand Warmup Drill

somehow a receiver snags a ball they had no business getting their hands on. And while we don’t make it a huge focus in practice, we don’t spend sometime every day working on making those extremely difficult catches.

One Hand Warm Up

I like to do this as our first drill for receivers when we start out. It’s a great warm up drill, and its alot of fun for the kids.  The premise is simple – have the receiver line up at the line of scrimmage, drop back, and put a bit of air underneath the ball, allowing the receiver to chase it down.

Now here’s where it gets tricky. Instead of reeling the ball in with two hands, as we want our receivers to do whenever they have the chance, we want to simulate a situation where their other hand might be tangled up in the defender or otherwise unavailable. So the goal here is to extend one hand and pull ball in tight into the armpit, making the one hand catch.

Sideline Catch

Sideline Catch Drill

One of the most difficult catches to make because of the incredible physical coordination it requires, here we’ll practice making the catch by the sideline and stamping our feet down inbounds. While most levels only require you to bring one foot down, here we will do our best to get two, just widen the referees margin for error.

Setup two garbage cans a couple of yards away from the sideline, and have your receivers line up infield. On your command they’ll begin to sprint over to the sideline, and leap over the garbage cans. As they jump, you’ll throw them a pass right at the sideline, with the idea being they will make the catch and get both of their feet down in bounds.

This can be a very unnatural feeling – we naturally want to put our feet out in front of ourselves to either stop or continue our momentum. But here you’ll want to tell your players to let their legs go limp, and allow their feet to drag on the ground, trailing behind them as they fall out of bounds.

And if you’re more concerned with stopping the big play on defense than creating it on offense, make sure to check out this pro recommended defensive back drills!

If you favor a more bruising running style than the Barry Sanders Balance Drills from last week, these might be the drills for you. One of

Blaster Drill

the first names that comes up when you talk about the greatest running backs of all-time, is my personal favorite, Walter “Sweetness” Payton. Now if you haven’t had the privilege of seeing the legend play, do not be fooled by the nickname – he was one tough runner.

He loved and invited contact, and was famous for never. ever. running out of bounds. He fought for every inch he could get on every single play, and as coaches, I’m sure that’s a quality that we can all agree we would love to have in all of our players. So today, instead of looking at how to make a quick move to beat the defender, were going to look at drills where we can practice going through the defender.

Blaster Drill

This is a great drill for teaching players to run through contact without inhibition. Setup two defenders with blocking pads, about 7 yards away from the offensive player, and with only a yard or two of distance between them. And it’s pretty simple from there.

Give the runner a ball, and on your command he’ll run through the defender, who are going to close the gauntlet simultaneously as the runner breaks through between them, sprinting upfield. Remind them to shield the ball (unlike Mr. Payton!), I usually recommend cradling it with both arms as you come through two defenders, limiting the balls exposure and the potential of a fumble.

Sideline Blaster Drill

Sideline Blaster Drill

You ever see a great running back break a run to the outside, sprinting down the line as defenders try to bump him out but he somehow manages to tip toe down the line forever? Well here’s a drill to help you develop the balance and strength to pull off that special skill.

Set up your two defenders with blocking pads again, but here we’ll stagger them, with about five yards distance between them, and the runner again about 5-7 yards away from the first defender. Instead of having the runner just go in a straight line, have them start slightly inside of the defenders, so that they can simulate the same momentum that carries your wait to the sideline on a pitch or a sweep.

Here they’ll want to keep the ball in their outside arm, and bump off both blockers while doing their best to stay in bounds. You don’t want your players hitting the defenders head-on – it should just be enough contact to knock them off-balance.

If you’re more concerned with stopping the run on defense, these great linebacker drills are a sure-fire way to improve your run D!

Combined Receiver/Defensive Back Drill
Two lines of DB’s and Receivers.
QB or coach can throw the ball.
Two players line up about one yard apart at about 6 yards directly in front of coach or QB.

On coach’s signal players begin to backpedal; coach or QB will signal right or left.
Player to the signaled direction side becomes a receiver running an “out” and player on the other side becomes a DB and attempts to break up the pass.

Coaching points:
Make receiver gets good body position on the DB to block out the DB’s break up attempt.
Make sure DB’s break quickly on the out and use proper technique. Ball side arm to knock down pass, up field arm to grab cloth.

Variation on positioning DB/Receivers–one player back one yard keeping players still one yard apart. Players lined up at either inside or outside receiver orientation but still 6 yards down field.

From this orientation for example if the player back one yard is to outside of the field, if the
coach points that way he runs a fade. If the coach points inside then the player who is up and inside could run a drag or post.

Ball Transfer Drill

yard can make all the difference – everyone knows this is a game of inches. Barry Sanders was arguably the greatest running back of all-time, but there is no doubt about it that he had the best balance ever – he was a true escape artist.

But the kind of balance it takes to bounce off of tacklers and somehow staying on your feet despite being tripped up isn’t just a natural talent; it’s a skill you have to work on in practice. That’s why I’ve put together a series of drills to help your running backs out with just that.

Ball Transfer Drill

While it’s great to be able to extend a play a couple extra yards, those extra yards are useless if you fumble the ball. That’s why our first priority is teaching proper technique in transferring the ball from hand to hand.

Our players will line up together, facing the same direction, balancing on one foot. They will start with their right foot up off the ground and the ball in their right hands, with their left hand down on the ground to help them balance.

Stayin' Alive Drill

Now they’ll jump forward, onto their right foot as they transfer the ball from their right to left hands, and extend their right hand out on the ground to help them balance. Player will need to remember to keep the ball tucked against their forearm and pressed up against their body, cradling the ball with both hands to transfer it securely across their body.

They will continue jumping this way for a pre-set distance, about 5-10 yards, and then a second line of kids will follow through.

Stayin’ Alive Drill

Here players will get to practice using their free hand to keep their balance. Have your players line up, and set up about 5 yards away from them with a bag. As they run through, they will keep the ball tucked tight in one arm, and being to stumble as they approach you.

They need to use their hand to keep their balance once before they reach you, and as they reach you, you will swing your bag along the ground, attempting to trip them up, while they need to keep pumping their feet and use their free hand to keep the run alive.

This drill is fantastic for improving balance, and if you wish to simulate a first down or end zone situation, you can place two cones another 5 yards or so behind you to give them a plane to attempt to cross.

Goalpost Drill

where these great drills for receivers and backs really come in handy.

One catch that a lot of players struggle with sometimes at the beginning of their careers is catching a bullet pass on the comeback route. This can expose a lack of fundamentals in a players that uses his body to help him catch the ball, rather than catching with his hands and then proceeding to tuck and tap the ball.

Goalpost Drill

The first drill I like to get them to start using if that’s a problem is what I call the goalpost drill. Have your receiver stand right behind the goalpost, and stand about 10 yards away. Now have your receiver extend his arms out around the goalpost, forming a triangle with his hands by connecting his index finger and his thumbs.

This will force the receiver to isolate the ball away from their body, using only their hands to secure the ball. Once they’ve made the catch however, encourage them to

45 Angle Approach Drill

pull the ball in and tuck it into their pocket to help build muscle memory.

45 Approach Drill

Have your players line up about 10-15 yards away from you, and set up a cone about 5 yards off to either the left or right. On your signal, they’ll sprint at a 45 degree angle towards the cone, with their hands ready (and isolated!) to catch the ball. It’s a fairly simple drill, and is more just about developing a comfort with attacking the ball even as it comes directly at them.

Catch and Hit Drill

Catch And Hit Drill

This is drill is very similar to the 45 approach drill, but instead of letting the players just make an easy catch, have another player or coach nearby ready with a blocking bag. And right as the player makes the catch, come down across with the bag, hitting him and trying to jar the ball loose.

Caution: Do NOT hit the player above the shoulders with the bag. We’re not lining them up and punishing them with a brutal hit here, we just want to simulate a bit of contact, to make the catch slightly more difficult.

If your looking for some help defending wide receivers, make sure you take the time to check out these great defensive back drills!

SHARK
This can work on any size boundaries that you want to setup.
We start with 3-4 kids with footballs on one side (minnows) and the rest of the 10 kids on the other side (sharks).

The object is for the sharks to pull flags off as many minnows as possible before they reach the other side. Then, repeat until only one minnow is left. The kids just love it and they get their cardio (running) in without even knowing it.

Flag Football Tackling Drill
Set up: 4 cones in a square about 7-10 yds a part
4 groups of girls with their flag belts on, line up behind each cone  (usually there are 4-5 players in each corner)
Drill:
On coach’s command, 1st player in line from one corner proceeds clockwise as fast as he can to each of the other three corners, and pulls both flags off the belt of a player standing in a football ready position.

Rotate through each corner, then go counterclockwise.  The tackler practices what we call “popping the hips” -  with thumbs up, hands slightly curved, attacking (tackling) the hips of the player to be tackled before pulling the flag  in a downward directions.  We focus on the “popping the hips”, making contact with a ball carrier, and avoid reaching or grabbing at flags.

We have three other four corner tackling drills we build from this basic flag pulling (tackling) drill.

Wind Sprint Alternative
Set it up like wind sprints but have one or two of your best tacklers in the middle.
The objective is for the players to run to the other side and not get tackled.
The tacklers in the middle try to tackle whoever they can and if they are successful, the newly tacked player(s) is now also in the middle.

The middle keeps getting more players as the line of runners dwindle.  The last player to get tackled starts in the middle for the next round.

This is a fun drill for the players while also helping their running, tackling and toughness.

Tackling drill
We do a drill that I have adapted from running the figure 8.
We put two circular hoops on the ground to form an eight.  The players run around the “8″ at full speed.  To do this they must maintain a low center of gravity.
What we add on is to make a hard form tackle on their buddy at the end of the run.
The thing we get is a very low level tackle, still above the waist but certainly under the other guys shoulder pads.

Other results from this are added agility, a quick renewed focus on a ball carrier, and some “non-hitters” get encouraged that hard contact is okay for them.

Punt/Return Youth Practice Drill
A drill I use a lot is a complete drill, it helps younger kids work on sprinting to the ball, open field tackling, long snapping, and punting.  It’s great as a warm up or a conditioning drill.  It’s just a punt return drill.

Centers practice their long snaps, punters work on punting. For younger kids it’s basic punting; for older kids they can work on ball placement as well.

I have two lines on each side of the ball and one line back to receive the ball.  When the ball is snapped or punted again based on experience the front player in each line sprints to the ball making sure to maintain outside containment forcing the ball to the middle.  At this point players break down and make a good open field tackle.  The player running the ball works on protecting the ball, stiff arm moves, or various other running moves.

Breakdown Drill
When we go over defense with no offense, we started snapping the ball as coaches and going through our angle of pursuit drills. 4 seconds after the snap we throw the ball and all 11 run to it from where they stand.

The first one there gets to holler “breakdown” when everybody gets there and they break out.

This serves a few purposes proper angle/pursuit, conditioning with out them realizing it and in games we have 11 guys flying to the ball.