These two youth drills are ones we use at the beginning of practice. The first works on conditioning and the second one teaches them how to be aggressive and not afraid of contact.
Obstacle Course Relay Conditioning Game
Players line up in two lines, one ball per group.
Set up two identical courses:
Jump over tackling dummies,
Cut through 4 pairs of staggered cones,
Run around end point (I.E.-cones, tackling dummy, coach)
Then sprint straight back and hand off ball to next runner until all players have completed course.
I always start my drills with the snap count. It gets the kids used to leaving on time.
My 7-8 year olds beg for this drill every practice.
Diamond Drill
We run a simple diamond drill to start practice off getting the boys into an aggressive mode.
Have one player chopping his feet facing two lines of players from his left and right.
On my whistle I motion for each player from left and right to fire out on the man, teaching him to take on a block and shuck him.
We repeat this drill over and over to get the boys making contact and getting rid of a block.
