Weightlifting

Lifting weights is a fundamental requirement to improve your football skills. Not only will it add muscle to your body and increase your strength, it will also help you to increase your maximum power. Maximum power should be the goal of your training, because it involves muscle strength and muscle excursion during play. Strong and powerful execution will enable fast plays, quick action, and recognition on the field. Weight lifting can cause injuries, and as such we highly recommend having a professional coach on hand during weightlifting sessions. You trainer will also help you accomplish your weightlifting goals and teach you new techniques.

Tackling Fundamentals and Safety

Tackling is fundamental to football, and should receive proper attention at practices. If you, or your players dont take tackling seriously you will not stop the offense and could also cause injuries. Here are three important steps to practice:

First is to cut off your opponent by placing yourself directly in front of them. An excellent technique is to plant your foot in the middle of your opponents. At the same time you want to bring your arms back in anticipation for the next phase.

Second, thrust your other foot again squarely in front of your opponent and with all the momentum that you have brought to the tackle grab your opponent. As your feet plants your head should be making its first contact. The one golden rule in making a safe tackle is to never, ever lead with or try to tackle with the crown of your head. You need to literally imagine that the football is a big hamburger and you want to bite it and not slam your forehead against it.

Third, throw your hips up and hard as you drive the offensive player backwards. The more momentum that you bring to the table on steps two and three the more effective your speed will be in this last step.

Strength and conditioning: Up Downs

Up downs is an excellent conditioning drill that will improve reaction time and endurance. This drill starts by having the players run in place as fast as they can encourage them to get their knees up as high as they can. From time to time the coach will signal to the players, by whistle or a command, to get down meaning that they drop down do a push up and get back up as quickly as possible to run again. As up downs require endurance and strength, players are encouraged to start in slow short burst and work up to longer and more intense sessions.

Conditioning: Dot drilling

Conditioning drills are effective in training and helping athletes be strong and reactive. This drills intention is to help quickness and accuracy on the field which will reduce errors and increase the chances of great plays. Setting up this drill is very simple, you will need five markers placed about a foot apart in an x formation with one of the dots being in the center surrounded by four other dots in a square formation.

The athlete starts at the edge of the mat placing their feet on two of the outer dots and proceeds to jump with feet together on the center spot and then out again quickly to the outer dots similar to a simple hop scotch motion. Next the player will jump touching each dot with on leg only, and then switch using 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.