Football is a game that demands top conditioning from its players. When players prepare for the season, they must do serious workarts that prepare them for the contact they will have to endure. They also need to do drills that will help their speed, quickness, endurance and football skills.
Football Ladder Drills
Set up rope ladders on the football field to build speed, quickness and leg strength. The ladders should be in two rows of 10. In this drill, the player will start out in front of the first square ladder opening with a ball in his arms. On the coach's signal, he will sprint through the ladder, getting each foot squarely in the middle of each hole. At first it will be difficult to have the agility to get each foot in the hole without stepping on the rope. But eventually the player should be able to do successfully execute the drill. Have each player do this drill three times in practice.
Oklahoma Drill
The Oklahoma drill helps players get used to contact. In this drill, a running back and blocker will go up against a defensive lineman and a linebacker. The blocker and the defensive lineman square off at the line of scrimmage. The running back lines up five yards behind the blocker, and the linebacker lines up five yards behind the defensive lineman. The coach signals to the offensive players to go right or left and, on the whistle, the blocker drives the defensive lineman in that direction and the running back runs through the hole created. He tries to beat the linebacker by running around or through him, while the linebacker tries to tackle the back. Run this drill three times.
Quarterback Workout
In this drill, the quarterback will have the ball and attempt to work on his passing accuracy. Set up three receivers on the left side of the field and three on the right side of the field. The receivers on each side should be 10, 20 and 30 yards away from the quarterback. In rapid fire, the quarterback must throw to the first target on the right, the first target on the left, the second target on the right and so on in that manner until he throws the ball to all six receivers. Since there is no pass rush, the quarterback must throw the ball accurately. Have the quarterback run this workout three times in a row.
