Correcting High School American Football Practicing Strengths

Staying Hydrated

Drinking plenty of water is all it takes to prevent dehydration, and thus should be an important part of football practices. Make sure that during the football practice players have their water bottles handy and are drinking often. Water should never be used as a motivational or reward type basis. When players are hydrated and energized they will practice harder and learn more.

Catching the ball high

High passes happen, and as a receiver you need to be ready for something unexpected. As such you need to practice the high passes so that you know to react, here are some basics: The first and most important is that you extend your arms and keep your hands together in a diamond type shape to catch that football. When you try to catch the ball with your body there is a greater chance that it is going to bounce off and cause an incomplete pass. Once you have your hands around the ball, dont take your eyes off the ball but follow it right into your tuck. When you practice a high catch you are going to perform it subconsciously on the field, so remember extend the arms, catch and follow through.

Hand off drill

Running backs should constantly practice the hand off. This drill requires more than one player; it starts off with two lines, line A and line B, the front of each line facing each other a couple of yards apart. A player leaves line A with the football and runs at line B. At the same time a player leaves line B, and when they meet in the middle Player A hands off the ball to Player B. At this moment another player leaves line A and accepts a handoff from player B. This drill should perform in a seamless motion. This is a great drill to help running backs practice hand offs, and should be run every day.

Angle tackling

It is a great idea to practice angle tackles with your defense because not all tackles are made with the opponent right in front of you. Accomplish this drill in pairs, having one teammate act as the offense, or ball carrier, running in a straight line and the other as the defender coming in at any angle. It is great to take this in slow steps to show the defender in a fluid motion how to the quickest angle to take towards the ball carrier, plant his cleats squarely in the middle of the ball carrier, and to always remember safety and effectiveness by placing the head in front of the offensive player. The defender follows through with the tackle by straightening his knees in a lunging type motion, wrapping his arms around the ball carrier to pull him down to the ground or push him off sides.