While it may be tempting to waste practice time repeating plays over and again, you should devote the majority of your time to drills that will enhance your squad’s individual abilities. Use the drills listed below in your children’s flag football workouts.
The very first drill isn’t actually a drill but rather a warm-up exercise. In each practice, my aim is for each youngster to catch and throw the ball thirty to forty times. The majority of this is accomplished by our two-line passing warm.
Two Line Passing Warm-Up
The youngsters just team quickly and begin a short distance apart for this warm-up. A decent general principle is to calculate the distance based on the age of your squad. Starting distance for 5 to 6-year-olds should approximately be 5 yards. Children aged 10 and up should start around 10 yards apart. Allow each side to take a few steps back after a few minutes. After a while, repeat this process one more time.
To begin training, we usually do this for 5 to 10 minutes. When broken down, a child should be able to throw the ball and catch it back in roughly 10 seconds. 6 passes per minute for 5 minutes equals 30 passes or catches. I’m only 10 minutes into practice, and I’ve already accomplished one of my objectives.
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Handoff Drills
With younger kids, handoffs are crucial, not just in terms of efficiency but also in terms of completing a smooth handoff without losing the ball. You may expect a couple fumbles every game at the start of the season if you’re mentoring a squad of new flag football athletes. Fumbles are difficult because, if you train as I do, every youngster will get the chance to run the ball at least once every game. With a few fumbles, the frequency of possibilities to get everyone the ball is limited.
Split Backfield Handoff Drill
This drill emphasizes one of the routines I run with teams under the age of eight. In the split backfield drill, the quarterback fakes the ball to the very first running back, passing around him before handing it off to the second running back, who is also passing behind him. This drill may be adjusted to match the number of players during training.
You should have at least 6 people at drill, and you should be able to run two groups simultaneously. Kids who are inexperienced will attempt to catch the ball with their hands. Emphasize the importance of enabling the quarterback to deposit the ball in the cradle created by the running back as he sprints past.
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Passing Drills
Another thing you’ll observe is that you could have a handful of children that can throw the ball effectively, but when they’re placed in a game-like drill, they don’t seem so well. Receivers are the same way. During the warm-up, children may catch everything, but as they’re sprinting about trying to get open, their receiving percentage lowers. This exercise will simulate a game scenario for your quarterback and receiver.
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Flag Football Drills – Defense
Flag pulling, man-to-man coverage of receivers, and breaking on a ball once thrown are all examples of flag football defence drills. Taking the proper angle of approach is one of the most important things that youngsters will learn from most defensive drills. This refers to understanding where to go so that you may run to where the attacking team player will be rather than where they’re at right now. It may appear simple, but several first-time athletes will find it difficult at first.
Flag Pulling
At all ages, flag pulling is very important, but at the younger ages, it is the most important part of the defence. There are several flag-pulling drills you can implement during practice.