Youth Football Drills & Tips

As a coach for a football team, it's your job to create drills that teach the needed football skills and keep your players interested in practice. To do this, there are a variety of different drills you can use that allow players to compete against each other. These can be individual or team competitions. To add a little incentive, give the winning team a break such as having to run one less lap around the field than the other team at the end of practice.

  1. Quarterback Accuracy Drill

    • Set up five trash cans on the playing field. The first one should be five yards away from where the quarterback will stand. Place the remaining trash cans on the field, at an interval of three to five yards between each one. Do not line up the cans directly behind the previous one. Place them slightly offset from the previous ones, within three to five yards horizontally of the previous trash can. Assign point values to each of the trash cans with the closest being worth the fewest points and the furthest worth the most points. Players take turns throwing 10 footballs each. Players score points for each ball that lands in a trash can. The player with the most points after throwing 10 footballs wins.

    Cross Drill For Receivers

    • Line the receivers up on one sideline at the 25 yard line of the football field. Line defenders up across from them at the 22 yard line. Direct the first receiver and defender to each run towards the middle of the field on his yard line. When the players get close to passing each other, throw the ball to the receiver. This will teach the receiver to concentrate on the ball when a defender runs in front of him. For additional difficulty for the receiver, tell the defenders to raise their hands when the ball is thrown.

    Bull In The Ring

    • Have the players form a circle in the middle of the playing field, and choose one player to be the "bull" in the middle. The coach then throws a football to a player standing in the circle. That player must cross the circle and exit directly across from where he started. The player that is the "bull" must try to tackle him before he accomplishes this task. If the player makes it across without being tackled, repeat the drill with the "bull" remaining in the center. If the player is tackled or runs out of the circle before making it all the way across, he is the "bull" for the next round.

    High Knee Drill

    • Fill five bags of laundry and place each one directly five feet behind the previous one, lying on its side. A group of players should line up 20 feet from the first bag. Give the first player the ball and he must run straight ahead, lifting his legs high enough to clear each of the laundry bags. When he finishes, he throws the ball back to the player at the front of the line and that player then takes his turn. This can be done as a relay race using two lines and two sets of laundry bags, one for each team.