Since most youth football teams only have two hours for practice, it is critical that practices are productive, and the players are getting into football shape. Here is our approach to maximizing practice time and getting players into shape.

Practice Planning

It all begins with practice planning. Coaches must plan practices so that time isn’t wasted and all the players are improving. Football coaches should create practice scripts for every single practice.  The entire coaching staff needs to understand their practice responsibilities and they must be able to execute. When practices are fluent and organized, they are more productive. When practices are upbeat and have tempo, it will serve as natural conditioning for the kids. 

LOOK: Get the USA Football Practice Planner

Conditioning Drills

When scripting practices, always make sure that time is committed to conditioning. Football games are long and very grueling. The team that is in better shape will usually take over the game. Conditioning drills must be football relevant.

Here are our favorite conditioning drills:

• 3-Cone drill
• Shuttle drill
• 4-Cone drill

Check out the 4-cone drill in action.

No Walking on the Field

Players running on field is something that we put a ton of emphasis on. Once the players step onto the football field, they are running. Whether they are going off or coming back from a water break, or switching through drills, the players are sprinting. A rule of thumb is if a player is inside the lines of the football field, he is running.  By implementing the “No walking” policy, you are basically conditioning your players throughout the entire practice.

SEE ALSO: Ensure all coaches understand the definition of "Full Contact"

A good practice starts at Home

Every season I create a “Letter to the parents.” Included in this letter are conditioning, nutrition, and hydration tips. It is absolutely critical that the players eat quality foods and stay hydrated. If a player comes to practice and isn’t hydrated properly, he will not perform well. It is important that parents prepare their kids for the conditioning that is going to occur during a football practice.  Also, hydration needs to occur during practice as well.  Give the kids plenty of water breaks. They need to replace the fluids they lost.

Jeff Hemhauser is co-founder of Youth Football Online