Enhancing Middle School Foot Ball Winning Tips

Conditioning: The five dot drill

Strength and reaction time is what makes a great football athlete. For this reason, coaches like this drill for its focus on speed and accuracy. 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. Then continue around the dots with both legs 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. Players will need to increase their speed and accuracy to be effective with this drill.

Forcing the Fumble

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. A great way to practice is have two players line up, one as the defense, the other with the football as the offense. 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.

Weightlifting

No practice regime would be complete without lifting weights. The effects of weight lifting will add muscle to your body and increase strength, this straighten will add to your maximum power. Maximum power is different from strength because it is the power that you exert on the field during a play. It is the quickness and exertion that will enable a football player to accomplish their plays with skill on the field. We highly recommend working with a personal trainer when weightlifting to insure that you are doing it properly, and to help you design a program that will fit your position.

The High Toss Football Catch

As a receiver, or any player that is going to catch a pass, you know that not all passes are going to go right to the chest. 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. Never catch or try to catch a ball with your body, especially a high ball. Important to look the catch through and tuck it away. Some receivers fear an oncoming tackle and want to check out the field as soon as possible, those receivers that follow the catch with their eyes are going to catch more and receive more playing time.