7 Best Youth Football Drills

• Mental toughness
• Building self-esteem
• Increase knowledge of the sport

Beyond running drills at tryouts to identify the strongest players, incorporating drills at every practice helps build a well-rounded player. The drills you teach your young football athletes play a crucial role in shaping their resiliency, confidence, work ethic, and, of course, skill level.

We review the top 7 youth football drills that you can incorporate in any practice, tryout, clinic, or camp.

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1. Youth Linebacker Drill: Mirror Dodge

Set up:

• Place 2 stand-up dummies about 4 yards apart.
• Pair up your players. One will be the ball carrier and the other will be the linebacker.
• Each player will start facing each other, on either end of the dummies.

Mirror dodge drill

Execution:

• On your whistle, the ball carrier will try to cross the line with the ball in their hands.
• The linebacker will mirror the ball carrier’s movements and use their hands to obstruct their opponent, preventing them from crossing the line.
• The ball carrier will attempt to cross the line as many times as possible in 2 minutes.

Note: The linebacker must maintain fast footwork, keep a wide base, and bend their knees (at their waist rather than at their back).

2. Youth Tackling Drill: Kneeling Tackle

Set up:

• Pair up your players. One player will be the tackler and the other will act as the opponent.
• The opponent will be standing up for the entirety of the drill. They will start by holding out a tackling pad to the side in one of their hands.
• The tackler will be directly facing their opponent, kneeling on the ground at about a 6-inches apart.

Execution:

• On your whistle, the tackler will explode towards the pad, aiming to tackle it in one swift motion towards the ground.
• *Rather than exploding up, players must ensure they are exploding forward. However, they must remain at knee level for the entirety of the drill.
• During the tackle motion, the tacklers must keep their chest up, maintain eye contact, and drive their shoulders directly through the tackling dummy.

Note: A kneeling tackle helps athletes explode off their feet and isolate the hips. Without a player using their hips, bringing their opponent to the ground will be extremely challenging.

See this youth football tacking drill in action

3. Youth Lineman Drill: Drive Blocks

Set up:

• Pair up your players on the field. One player will be holding a padded shield and the other player will be the OL (Offensive Linemen).
• Players will start facing each other. *The player holding the padded shield should hold it at their chest.
• The OL will start in a 3-point stance.

Execution:

• On your count, the OL will fire out and execute a drive block.
• *At the beginning of the drive block, the OL should stand with their feet shoulder-width apart and have their knees & elbows slightly bent.
• From the bent-elbow position, the OL will quickly “lock out” their arms, ensuring their arms are fully extended against the shield.
• In this locked-out position, the OL will continue to drive his feet and move his opponent up the field.
• The OL will finish the drive block only when your whistle is blown.

Note: The OL must keep their eyes on the target and engage their legs & hips to leverage power.

4. Youth Agility Drill: In-and-out Ladders

Set up:

• Place an agility ladder on the ground.
• Line up your players in a single file line.
• The first player in line will start at one end of the ladder with their feet directly behind the edges of the ladder.

In-and-out ladder drill

Execution:

• On your whistle, the player will quickly step forward into the first square with both their feet and just as quickly step backward outside the first square.
• The player will form a zig-zag formation, moving with agility in and out of the ladder squares.
• Once the player has finished running in and out of the ladder, they will go to the back of the line.

Note: This drill not only enhances agility but works on a player’s coordination & balance.

5. Youth Blocking Drill: Carpets

Set up:

• Set up 4 stations running carpets on the grass.
• Assign two players to each station. One will hold out a tackling dummy at chest level and the other player (the blocker) will start in a half-squat position.
• Each pair of players will start at the end of the carpet.

Execution:

• On your count, the blockers will explode out of the half-squat position and use their body weight to push the tackling dummy down the carpet as quickly & forcefully as possible.
• While pushing the tackling dummy, blockers must keep their knees slightly bent, extend their arms out in front of their chest with a slight bend in the elbow, and keep their eyes focused on the tackling pad.
• Once a blocker has pushed the dummy to the other end of the carpet, restart the drill with 4 new blockers.

See this drill in action

6. Youth Running Back Drill: Strip the Ball

Set up:

• Form 2 lines of players facing each other at about 1 yard apart.
• Aim to have at least 6 players on each side.
• Line up the remaining players in a single file line, and assign one player to the quarterback position.

Strip the ball drill

Execution:

• The quarterback will hand the ball to the first runner in line.
• The first player in line, aka the runner, will proceed to then run between the two lines of players.
• The players in both lines will try to strip the ball from the runner.
• The runner must work on maintaining speed, protecting the ball, and fighting through tackles.
• Once the first runner has reached the end of the line, the QB will pass the ball to the next runner in line.
• Run through this drill until each runner has had three turns.

For other youth football running back drills, visit: https://skillshark.com/running-back-drills

7. Youth Defense Drill: Cone Reaction

Set up:

• Place 6 cones on the field in a line, leaving about 0.5 yards of space between each cone.
• Set up as many lines of cones as you would like, leaving ample space between each line.
• Divide your players and line them up behind the first cone.
• *All players will start facing backward.

Execution:

• On your count, the first player in each line will backpedal to the second cone and then break towards the first cone.
• When the player reaches the first cone, they will then backpedal to the third cone and break again towards the first cone.
• This drill will be repeated until the player has backpedalled to the sixth cone and returned back to the starting point (the first cone).

Note: A vital part of defense is being able to change directions and backpedal, and this drill teaches youth football players just that!

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