Football Practice Planning

The flow, intensity and goals of football practice depend greatly on the age and skill level of the players. Youth football teams practice once or twice a week. High-school teams practice daily and even do double sessions in the summer. Coaches need to get the most out of their time with the players, so having a well thought-out practice plan is one of the keys to running a great team.

  1. Prepare The Body For Practice

    • No matter which skill level you're coaching, your players need to warm up. A good brisk jog (a few minutes for younger players, five or 10 minutes for older players) coupled with thorough stretching is a great general start.

    Talk To the Team

    • Every practice needs a goal. It's the coach's job to state that goal and keep the team on point. If it's your first practice, for example, your goal is to evaluate your players' abilities. Take a few minutes to introduce yourself, hand out schedules and explain that you'll be watching to figure out which players are good at which skills.

    Get To Work

    • Using the example of a first practice, get the kids to run a 40-yard dash and time it with a stopwatch. This will help you decide where to put which players. Then get them started on drills to determine how well they throw, how well they catch and how agile and comfortable they are in action. If the players already know how to tackle, assess their abilities with a tackling dummy (most tackle leagues require the first several practice to be without pads). If this is the first year of tackling, you will need to teach safe tackling as a separate skill.

    Roll In New Skills

    • If you're coaching youth football, your job is to get players comfortable playing the game. It is not to win. Every practice should be dedicated to incorporating new skills: handoff drills, passing drills, running patterns, agility, etc.
      If you're coaching players with a good knowledge of the game, you should be able to see your team's strengths and weaknesses quickly. Maintain the strengths and focus on the weaknesses.

    Planning Your Drills

    • Skill-building drills should make up the bulk of your practice. There's no set rule for the amount of time you'll need for drills -- just allow enough time for a good warm up and a 20-minute scrimmage and fill the difference with drills.
      Different drills involve different players and take a varying number of repetitions to be effective. Older players can get away with doing just a few repetitions; younger players will need more (like four or five).
      You can run as many rotations as you have assistant coaches. At older levels, trusted but inactive players (those who are out with injury) can continue helping the team by running drills at practice.
      Plan drills so that all players are always working on a skill they need to develop.

    Keep the Players Hydrated

    • Football practice is hard work, and it often takes place during warm or hot weather. Build water breaks into the schedule and let players know that if they're feeling overheated or exhausted it's more important to cool off and rehydrate than it is to try and power through practice. Make sure the players understand the importance of hydration, what causes dehydration, and how to avoid it. Get them to drink water throughout their day, especially before practice.

    Plan around attention spans

    • Young children have short attention spans and tons of desire to romp around (especially if they're wearing football pads.) If you're going to do drills, do them early in practice while the kids' focus is best. Once those are out of the way, they can play scrimmages and enjoy the physical part of the game.

    Scrimmage

    • This is where practice is the most fun because the players actually get to play. Consistent coaches close each practice with a 20-minute scrimmage. Make sure the players know this so it will give them something to anticipate -- a reward for the hard work. Make sure players are using the skill you taught at that practice ("OK, I want to see everyone tucking the ball in the right way") as well as the others you've stressed throughout the season.

    Cool Down/Talk To Your Team, Part Two

    • If you're coaching young players, you're a motivator as well as a teacher. Ask if everybody had fun that day. Congratulate them on their participation and remind them that the team has a lot more work to do and a lot more fun to have at the next practice.

      If you're coaching older players, comment on the team's performances: You all tackled better today, some of you tackled better today, we still need to work on our tackling. Make all comments about the team, not about individual players. That, more than anything, reinforces the team spirit.