Flag Football Drills For Any Athlete
Flag football is growing in popularity at every age level! This sport is a great way to keep young kids active and opens more opportunities for older kids, especially girls, to get involved in football.
Help flag football players of any age or skill level improve their skills with these three drills:
1. Animal Relay Drill
Assign two relay teams or 2-4 players and split them to either side of the field. Be sure teams are divided up equally or if you have an odd number of players, designate someone to run twice in the relay.
The coach will choose the type of animal movement that the players must mimic as they move from one side of the field to the other. Some examples for coaches include:
- Crab crawl
- Bear crawl
- Seal crawl
- Elephant walk
The teams will compete to see who can move the fastest running from cone to cone and the first team to get all players through will win. Be sure to change the animal movement at different times of the drill.
Objective of Drill: Improve conditioning and learn dynamic movements
2. Clockwork Hands
Have players start five yards away from a partner. Using an appropriate size ball, have the players pass back and forth with the ball and adjust where the ball is thrown on each pass. The receiver will work around the clock to catch balls passed. Here is where each passer should aim:
- 12 o’clock: ball thrown above the head
- 3 o’clock: ball thrown to their right (your left)
- 6 o’clock: ball thrown towards their feet
- 9 o’clock: ball thrown to their left (your right)
The passer is simply trying to place the passes in the locations to have the receiver practice catching at different locations.
Objective of Drill: Quick receiving hands and passing accuracy for the thrower.
3. Angle of pursuit
Set up cones or markers along the sideline. Have one player on the sideline at the 50-yard line designated as “The Rabbit.”
The other players will spread out down the field middle of the field. Being sure they give “The Rabbit” at least 20- 30 yards of space between them and the sideline.
When the drill starts, “The Rabbit” will run down the sideline towards the end zone. The other players will then chase down the rabbit and work on picking the correct angle of pursuit to catch “The Rabbit” before they reach the end zone.
Objective of Drill: Understanding what angles to take in order to catch the opposing player and grab their flags.
These drills are a fun way for young players to learn the fundamentals and for older players to improve their skills. Youth athletes learn by having fun, so incorporating these three flag football drills into your practice plan or just trying it in the backyard with your kids is a great way to keep them engaged and teach them the game.
Ready to Join a Flag Football Team?
i9 Sports® offers flag football programs for boys and girls ages 3-14. Our programs are designed to grow with your athlete by focusing on age-appropriate development. We help your kids build confidence and grow a love for sports at a young age, and we level up their skills and competition as they get older.
Our youth flag football programs also focus on teaching life skills such as leadership, respect, and sportsmanship alongside the athletic fundamentals. This helps our athletes build confidence and ignite their future with skills they can use on and off the field. At i9 Sports®, we develop great people, not just great athletes.
