4 Corners
This is a drill we do every conditioning/practice session.
Line 4 cones up 10 X 10 to make a 40-yard square foot area. Start at the first drill with the back-pedal then when reaching the second cone you go into the carioca drill. At the third cone you shuffle your feet, never crossing over one another and pushing your hands outward in a full shoving motion, and at the last cone your players go into a full sprint.
This drill can be repeated at least 3 times to get the full benefits of its purpose. Always check for good form on back pedal, and full hustle on sprint.
40, 60, 80, 100'S
We run this drill once a week, usually on Wednesday. We call it: 40, 60, 80, 100's. Very simple.
Place your team in 2 groups at one goal line. Place 1 or more coaches 40 yards away. On the goal line coach signals or gives movement, the first group sprints 40 yards. While they rest the 2nd group sprints 40 yards. Repeat this 6 times. Coaches on the 40-yard line back up 20 yards. Repeat same drill 4 times as each group sprints four 60-yard sprints. Coaches on 60-yard line back up 20 more yards. Groups sprint two 80-yard sprints. Coaches back up to other goal line. Groups sprint one 100-yard sprint.
Box Drill
For conditioning, put down four cones in the shape of a square, 20 yards apart. Split the team into 5 groups of as close to equal numbers as possible. Put one group at each cone lined up abreast outside of the square facing the next cone (going counterclockwise). Put the fifth group in the middle.
To begin, every group at a cone gets down in push-up position. Now, as the coach, point to any cone. The group in the middle sprints to that cone. When the last person gets there, the group originally occupying that cone rises and sprints to the next cone in a counterclockwise direction. The arriving group (originally from the middle) immediately gets into push-up position.
One rep is completed once the first group has gone around the square twice. As the first group is running to the last cone, blow the whistle for them to come to the middle. Rest and repeat as many times as necessary.
Dot Drill
The purpose of the Dot Drill is to develop quicker feet. The 5 dots will take the shape of the five dots on a set of dice. Each of the five dots should be one yard apart. The pattern can easily be painted in the grass with regular field paint.
Variation 1
The player will start with one foot on each of the #1 dots. At the sound of your whistle, the player is to jump and land with both feet on the #2 dot. Next, the player is to jump out to put each foot on one of the #3 dots. The player will then hop backward to the #2 dot, and finally back to the starting position. This drill should last for 30 seconds, and the focus should be on quick feet and constant movement.
Variation 2
The player will start with one foot on one of the #1 dots and then proceed to hop in a figure-8 pattern. This should last for 15 seconds per leg. Try having the player face one direction throughout the entire figure 8, and then try the drill having the player face in the direction of their next hop.
Variation 3
The third variation of the Dot Drill is similar to drill 1, but after the player has landed on the #3 dots he or she will jump and twist performing a 180 and start forward in the other direction. This drill should last for 30 seconds.
Keep stats on your players (how many reps per minute) progress and see how they improve over time.
Indian Runs
Depending on the size of your team, line the players up either in one or two straigt lines. Begin jogging around the perimeter of the football field, or from goal post to goal post. Increase the difficulty of an otherwise ordinary jog, by having the person at the back of the line sprint to the front at the coaches whistle. When that player reaches the front of the line, they then slow down to the jogging pace, and another coach's whistle signals the next player to run from back to front.
Try this for about 12 minutes and then increase as necessary. It's a gut buster!
Jump Squat Routine
This is a low impact routine that really helps to develop the hip flexors. Remember, the hip flexors are a key muscle group in the development of the explosion that ALL athletes need to excel in their sport.
The routine consists of five quick parallel squats (traditional technique), followed by five box squats and finished off with five reps on the Super cat. Some schools may have different machines that serve the same purpose. I have also seen this machine also called a Leaper and a Sky Hawk. The key is to move from one exercise to the next, quickly and with little rest in between.
){kind=link}
After the five parallels you should only rack the weight long enough to change weight for the box squats and get the squat stool in position. After the box squats, you should rack the weight and move immediately to the super cat. On each lift, be quick and explosive. Use about 50-60% of your max for the parallels and try to explode up. Your feet may actually come off the floor a little. The same is true for the box squats. On the super cat, again, use a moderate amount of weight. Your feet should come completely off the floor as you explode up. I recommmend doing this routine once per week and going through it twice on the day you use it.
Note: This is part one, click here for part two!
Eteamz.com Members,