One of the biggest decisions most coaches face is how to start planning football practice so that they gain as much as they can in the small time they have allotted. In the NCAA and in the NFL, there are regulations set down (by the NCAA and by the NFL Players Association) saying how much practice time a team can have and if they violate those rules, there can be major consequences. So, let’s look at some proven practice techniques you can teach your players the next time practice comes around.

The first step in planning football practice you can is to divide everyone up into sections. Have stations set up for all of your different positions.

Have some agility, scrambling and accuracy drills set up for your quarterbacks

Have some power, eye-hand coordination and stamina drills for your offensive linemen

Have some speed and agility and some catching drills for your wide outs

Have some collision, and agility drills for your running backs

And on the defensive side of the ball, you can do similar drills, such as:

Have some footwork and balance drills for your defensive linemen

Have some lateral movement and tackling drills for your linebackers

Have some jumping and catching drills for your defensive backs.

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You can even have football practice plans for your special teams guys like your kicker and punter. Have them work on accuracy and distance, and even have them run a play or two where the snap is fumbled and they have to throw the ball.

Now that we know what we want our players to work on, what is the best way to organize it? One of the most popular ways to start planning football practice is with a period system. Have a coach keep a stop watch around their neck and divide up the practice into a certain set number of periods. Let’s say you choose 10 and your practice is 2 hours long. Each period can last 12 minutes, with one rest period. Every 12 minutes, the coach tells everyone to switch their drill and concentrate on the next thing. Your linemen can go from eye-hand drills to footwork drills and your corners can go from speed drills to a tip drill. That way, you can make sure everything is covered every practice and it also stops your guys from doing the same thing over and over to the point where they are bored or could possibly get injured.

A final tip is to end some of your practices with a scrimmage. You can come up with a scenario where the offense has to score a touchdown in 6 plays or they lose. Not only does this give the players chances to try out their new skills that they are picking up, but it gives the coaches chances to scrimmage, too. If all the players do is practice, they will tend to get frustrated and bored. By letting them hit and be hit, you are giving life to the lessons you are teaching.