How to Build a Homemade Football Sled

Football is, and has always been, a game of inches. Entire seasons have crumbled because players can't move the pigskin past the first down marker. Gaining those precious inches is as much a matter of conditioning as it is skill. The right kind of conditioning sled does not have to cost hundreds of dollars. With a few tools and inexpensive lumber, you can build a football-conditioning sled that will increase your average speed and explosive power.

Things You'll Need

  • Hand tools
  • Some power tools
  • Approximately 60 feet of Lumber
  • Nails or wood screws
  • Running harness and tow
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Instructions

    • 1

      Get your wood. You will need enough lumber to build a modified saw horse, a standing platform and two beveled sled rails. A rough estimate puts that at approximately 60 feet of lumber. The best type of wood would be a hard grain, like maple or oak. Pine, though fragrant, is too soft.

    • 2

      Build a horse. Begin with a T shaped frame, similar to a saw horse. This will be the push bar of the sled. Instead of making four legs, you will only need two.

    • 3

      Ride the rails. Cut two pieces of wood, approximately 5 feet in length. Bevel them at one end, allowing them to act as skis on the grass. These will be the rails of the sled.

    • 4

      Box it up. Attached the push bar to the rails and screw in two diagonal support beams. The support beams should be attached at the mid-point of the rails.

    • 5

      Stand up. Build a standing platform between the push bar and the rails with the excess lumber. The running harness and tow can be attached to the finished standing platform. Let the sweating commence.