Youth Football Drills – The Circle Drill

When coaching at the youth level–4th,5th, and 6th grade, this is one of the youth football drills I used each and every year. The kids absolutely love it and beg to do it–the “circle drill”.

Get the entire team in a circle; one player starts by running the football along the outside of the circle. As they run full speed around the outside, they must tap another player, designating that player as the tackler.

The tackler must run through the center of the circle, taking a good angle, coming through the other side to make a tackle on the ball carrier. This teaches the kids the concepts of taking a good angle and good tackling form (head across the body to the outside, wrap arms, drive the legs). It’s full speed and full contact.

At the youth level, this is one football practice drill we use to really get the kids used to hitting and contact. There is plenty of opportunity to stop the drill and point out different things to the players to ensure correct form.

We give each player the opportunity to be the ball carrier and be the tackler. It’s also very easy to match kids up by size in the beginning to ensure no one is hurt.

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