Middle School Football Training: Dot Drilling, Hand Offs, Tackling, and more

Conditioning: Dot drilling

Conditioning drills are effective in training and helping athletes be strong and reactive. This drills intention is to help quickness and accuracy on the field which will reduce errors and increase the chances of great plays. The drill set up is a mat or place on the field with 5 dots about a foot away from each other forming an X shape, exactly in the same shape as you would see diamonds arranged on a number five card in a poker deck.

This drill begins with the player starting on two of the outer dots and jumps feet together to the middle dot and then out again to the edge dots separating their feet. Next proceed around the dots one at a time jumping with one leg only, and then change to the other leg. After this, the player will touch all of the dots with both feet together. The last phase is really returning to the original starting phase of jumping together and apart, however this time the athlete will change directions after they have jumped to the outer dots. Remember that speed and accuracy are important on this drill so coaches should start players off slow and then proceed to full speed constantly watching accuracy.

Secrets to a good hand off

Handoff skills can secure yardage on the field and increase your overall success. The hand off can take place in many ways, but most if not all handoffs occur between the quarterback and the running back. A good hand off starts with the running back giving a target to the quarterback, this can be done in the running back keeping his arms flat against his body, one arm low and the other high creating an open square or target around the chest for the quarterback to slide the ball in. Once the quarterback has placed the ball in the pocket, or opening, the running back immediately clamps down on the ball protecting it and holding on to it. Now that the running back has the ball when he leaves the quarterback he should remain low to the ground in order to react quickly on the field.

Strip Tackling

There is a golden rule in football defense, get the ball to the offensive team as quickly as possible. The fastest way to gain possession of the ball is to force an offensive player to fumble the football. This drill practices with two players. Have the defender move up on the offensive player, trust his arms back and then forward with his fists clenched. The defender will practice stripping the ball by bringing his hands up quickly with a clenched fist to grab the opponent and as he does so to aim to knock out the football. This drill is most effective if you start it slow focusing on the motions needed to be effective, and then speed up over time.

Conditioning: Cross jumping

Football is all about action and reaction, and those that practice reacting quickly in a variety of directions will dominate the field. The point to this drill is having players practice quick directional changes on the field. It starts by placing players in a small four square box. The drill starts by having a player stand in one area or box, and has them jump diagonally, laterally, frontwards, and backwards from one area to another. Coaches should encourage one foot jumping to increase further strength and reactions on the field.

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