1. Coach with a baseball stands at tailback depth behind rings set up like an offensive line
2. Linebacker or defensive back aligns at a MLB position or other DB position
3. Coach rolls baseball to simulate path of running back
4. LB or DB moves laterally and low to cut off the baseball and scoop the ball similar to short stop
5. LB or DB should scoop ball and run 3 to 5 yards to simulate driving through the running back

This defensive youth football drill is a great movement and footwork drill for your young defensive backs.  It also teaches them to stay low because they must scoop the ball.    I hope you enjoy the football drill.  I introduced the drill to a few of my linebackers last week and they loved it.  We started grading them on a 1 to 3 scale on 5 reps and whoever had highest score won the game.  They loved it.

Play for Fun and Winning is Funner!

Happy Holidays,
Coach Parker
Keller, Texas / Ft. Worth TX

Here’s a draft agenda for the Burst Speed Football Camp

Dynamic Warm ups

• High Knees
• Toe Touches
• Lunges
• Bunny Hops
• Cariaca
• Shuffles
• etc

Station One

• Rings – In Out In Out In
• 10 Push Ups
• 10 Set Ups
• 3 bags in and outs touch bags 2 Xs
• 10 Push Ups
• 10 Soccer Ball Crunches
• Jog around End Zone Station 2

Station Two

• Rings – Out Across to Out and back
• 10 Push Ups
• 10 Soccer Ball Crunches
• 3 Bags Side Shuffles right and Left 2Xs
• 10 Push Ups
• 10 Soccer Ball Crunches

Station Three

• Rings – In Two Out in Jump In
• 10 Push Ups
• 10 Soccer Ball Crunches
• King Crab Push down and Back
• 10 Push Ups
• 10 Soccer Ball Crunches

Station Four

• Crazy 8 Cones
• 10 Push Ups
• 10 Soccer Ball Crunches
• Side Jumps over Bar 25
• 10 Push Ups
• 10 Soccer Ball Crunches

Station Five

• Star Cone 8 Point Circle
• 10 Push Ups
• 10 Soccer Ball Crunches
• Forward Jumps 25
• 10 Push Ups
• 10 Soccer Ball Crunches

Running Backwards and Sideways Drill Stations

Jog 400 Meters cool down

Let me know what you think.

The youth football drill has a tackler and 6 players lined up as a gauntlet with their hands outstretched and together similar to the old red rover game.  The tackler takes a good form tackling position on the bag and then drives the bag through the gauntlet and then drives the bag on to the landing mat.  If you do not have a landing mat you can line up 5 or 6 square bags or a old mattress works too.  The gauntlet players want to give resistance but let the tackler through, we do not want the tackler to stop his momentum.

I really like this drill and will be implementing this football drill into my pee wee football practices this year.

Play for Fun and Winning is Funner!

There are three lines and they rotate in for DBs, LBs, and Lineman.  The DBs rotate at TB, LBs and FB and DL at OL and or run an offense squad vs a Defensive squad.  The Tailback runs the ball and the OL and FB block for the TB.  The DL must stuff the blocker, linebacker stuffs the lead blocker at LOS and Defensive back watches over flow.  If the TB crosses the goal line the defense does 10 push ups.

This youth football drill is great because very few players are standing around, almost everyone is involved or just off a rep.  You can watch blocking, tackling and running technique and grade all of them if you have enough coaches.  I have run the drill alone but you miss some things.

Play for Fun but Winning is Funner!

Angle Tackling Drill

The coach pitches the ball to the tail back and the two defensive players play contain  and or make angle tackles.  Our youth football players love this defensive drill.

Youth Football Drills.  Play for Fun and Winning is Funner!

Ok, how many of us stood in these long drill lines in High School footbal that start out as straight line then snake back around the drill because no one could see or hear the coaches coach?  Well why are you doing the same thing to your players?  Youth football players have very short attention spans and standing in line gives them plenty of opportunity not to listen and goof off.  Thus the reason you send so many to run around the opposite goal post for not listening when you should be punished for not keeping your practices fun and interesting.  Oops, did I say you might be boring.  Yep!

At the end of the season three years ago, my Arvada coaching staff  met to evaluate our season and determine what we did right and how we could improve as a team and as coaches for the next season.  One of my coaches, who also assisted on his youngest’s sons team, said his other team broke up drills into multiple stations so the players would get more reps instead of standing around.  He said the players liked the tempo of the drills and the coaches were able to focus on the individual players better.  We implemented the multiple drill format the following year with great success.  If you study Cisar, Reed, Wyatt and other youth football authors, they also suggest multiple drill stations to gain more reps and lessen boredom. 

Here’s an example of what we did to enhance our reps.  In our Oklahoma drill we went to three stations.  Small / Running Backs, Medium  and Big Meat station.  Each station ran the same OK drill within 10 yards of each other.  Each station had an assistant assigned to it and ran at its own pace.  I walked the down the line and over the bags to find the hardest hitters.  Try to keep your lines no more than 4 or 5 long.  At the end, I ask for the 2 hardest hitters from each station and we have a quick hardest hitter competition in one line.   

Another advantage of the multiple station drills is conditioning.  Since your players are not standing around, they are always on the move.  I used to love long lines so I could rest.  Now your players are constantly moving just like in a game situation.  We were able to stop running wind sprints at the end of practice because everyone was conditioned by doing drills and coaching.  Wind Sprints and sending kids to the other goal post is a huge waste of coaching time.  Is it worth 3 minutes sending them around the goal post or would you rather be teaching them their blocking assignment for 3 minutes?  Hey, there’s another advantage, more coaching time!

So the next time, you send a player around the goal post for horseplay, ask yourself who should be running around the goal post, you or him?  He’s only 10, your 25+ and YOU didn’t do your homework or organize practice so he’s interested in learning the game of football from YOU!

Play of FUN and winning is Funner!

I am currently teaching my boys (10 & 7) Racquetball and they love it.  Since racquetball is a game of angles and movement, I started them slow with racquetball and we also play a form of Handball which I’ve nicknamed “Throwball”  to teach the movement and court position of racquetball.  They love Throwball and I think just about anyone can play without much practice.  My wife played the other day with a quick 2 minute introduction.  The rules are similar to handball and racquetball but you catch the ball and throw instead of hitting the ball with your hand and racquet as in Handball or Racquetball.  You can either use a racquetball or handball.  We’ve started using a handball.  Since you don’t need to learn the racquet swing or bruise your palm,  I think Throwball is perfect for younger players to get the physical benefits of these two indoor sports.

After three months of playing Throwball, both boys have improved their quickness and hand eye coordination and are having a great time with Dad.  I plan on teaching my youth football team Throwball a few months before football season in addition to our normal conditioning / speed camps that we attend. 

To learn more about the rules of Racquetball, Handball and Squash you can visit these websites:

1. http://www.usra.org/
2. http://www.ushandball.org/
3. http://www.ussquash.com/

Play for Fun and Winning is Funner!

1. Tackling Fit & Form Drill
2. Hug and Hold Drill

On the first day of practice we teach proper tackling with the Fit & Form Drill.  This drill is part of our dynamic warm-ups.  Our two warm-up lines face each other and one line is the a stationary ball carrier and the other line is the tackler.  The tackler performs a proper form tackle on the stationary ball carrier; Bent knees shoulder width apart, bulled neck back (we tell the players their head should be up looking at the player’s numbers not at his feet or his head and never spear with top of helmet), slide helmet to one side of ball carrier with shoulder pads still in numbers while wrapping arms like a bear hug  around thighs, legs or buttocks while driving through the player.   The tackler picks up the ball carrier but does not take him to ground in this warm-up drill.  Each player does this twice; helmet left then right. 

Then we have we do the hug and hold tackling drill.  While the tackler is in a tackling ready position the ball carrier steps toward him slowly and jumps. The tackler then bear hugs the ball carrier in the air and holds the ball carrier up.  We learned this helps teach the kids to wrap up because they need both hands to hold the ball carrier in the air. 

We do these two drills everyday and emphasize head up no spearing.  While doing these tackling drills, our coaches walk the warm-up lines adjusting the players to insure proper tackling technique.  One thing I heard in a coaching clinic about keeping your head up was the tackler should be able to bite the running backs jersey through his face mask.  We do not condone biting but this is an easy way kids can remember to keep their heads up.  Just tell them they can’t really bite the player’s jersey.  If you have a problem using the word bite, try lick their jersey. 

You can find most of there in the Complete Book of Drills for Winning Football. 

Good luck this season.  Play for fun and winning is funner!