7 Best Youth Football Drills

Skill development, physical fitness, confidence building, and tactical awareness. These are just a few reasons why youth football drills are essential for the holistic development of young players.

In order to help your young athletes grow their game, we have outlined 7 youth football drills that are perfect to incorporate at any practice, tryout, or combine!

1. Youth Football 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 a 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 Football 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 drill in action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9O6EEYzQ6NU

3. Youth Football 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 Football 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 forwards into the first square with both their feet and just as quickly step backwards 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 Football 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: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFLGv-GayZU

6. Youth Football 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 line 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 Football Defensive 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 backwards.

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 back pedalled to the sixth cone and returned back to the starting point (the first cone).

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

Wrapping Up

As younger athletes will still be mastering fundamental football skills such as tackling and blocking, these drills are essential for teaching the basics. Therefore, when athletes perform youth football drills that align with their physical capabilities and cognitive development, their skill set has the potential to thrive.

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