What is The Gauntlet Speed Drill?
The Gauntlet Speed Drill is a free football drill on FantasyHQ’s Football Coaching hub for conditioning work. It covers The Gauntlet with purpose, setup cues, and coaching language for youth and high-school staffs.
- The Gauntlet Speed Drill is part of FantasyHQ’s free football drills library.
- Focus: Conditioning.
- Inside: 1 drill progressions.
How to run this drill
The Gauntlet Speed Drill is built for youth, high-school, and volunteer coaches who need clear drill language — not a random cone circuit. Beginners can install the first progression; experienced staffs can layer competition.
- Read the purpose once, then walk the setup on air before live tempo.
- Demonstrate one clean rep so players see landmarks, pad level, and finish.
- Run short competitive periods — quality reps beat long lines.
- Close with one coaching cue players can repeat in the huddle next period.
Progressions
Full drill
If you’re looking for football conditioning drills try this one that we do frequently. It keeps the competition in the practice, builds fast feet and endurance, and the athletes love to see their own improvement.
The Gauntlet
- Have the entire team lay face down, an arms length away. Make sure each player has his feet together and his hands and arms tucked underneath his chest.
- We start with our linemen and end with our speedsters. The last person in line (typically our fastest) gets up on the whistle and sprints over his teammates to the far end.
- He then lays down as he started with a good distance (room for feet) between him and the last person he ran over. The coach can either whistle each player to get up and go, or simply leave it that as soon as you’re at the end of the line you get up and go.
- Once everyone understands the drill, we make it a race.
- If you’re caught/passed by the person behind you, you have to pull out and do either pushups or crunches (depending on what we’re trying to strengthen that day).
The athletes love to see their own improvement in how fast they can run The Gauntlet.
It can be a bit entertaining if someone’s feet get too low as well. Sometimes we run it just a length of the field while other times we’ll have them turn on the fly and bring it all the way back as well.
The Gauntlet Speed Drill FAQ
- What is the The Gauntlet Speed Drill drill?
- The Gauntlet Speed Drill is a free football drill on FantasyHQ’s Football Coaching hub for conditioning work. It covers The Gauntlet with purpose, setup cues, and coaching language for youth and high-school staffs.
- Who should use this football drill?
- The Gauntlet Speed Drill is built for youth, high-school, and volunteer coaches who need clear drill language — not a random cone circuit. Beginners can install the first progression; experienced staffs can layer competition.
- How do I run The Gauntlet Speed Drill in practice?
- Read the purpose once, then walk the setup on air before live tempo. Demonstrate one clean rep so players see landmarks, pad level, and finish. Run short competitive periods — quality reps beat long lines.
- Is this drill free?
- Yes. Browse FantasyHQ football drills, youth plays, and coaching guides free on Football Coaching.
- What progressions does The Gauntlet Speed Drill include?
- This page includes The Gauntlet.
