Flag football drills

12 drills coaches already run every week, each written out with the setup, the coaching points and how to make it harder — and each one animated, so your players can see it before they do it.

Add any drill to a practice plan in one tap and it prints on your run sheet with its time and its coaching cue. Free, and it does not use up a saved play. Plan a practice now, no account needed

• Under-7 and upFlag-pull anglesIn flag football the tackle is a flag pull, and most missed ones are missed by the feet rather than the hands. The defender takes an angle that keeps the runner off the inside, breaks down a few yards away, and arrives at the near hip under control. This is the drill that teaches it, before anybody is chasing in a game. 10 min 2 at a time from two lines: a ball carrier and a defender
• Under-7 and upCatch and tuckMost dropped passes in youth football are caught with the chest, or caught while the receiver is already looking for the next defender. This drill puts the catch on the move, on the shallow cross that every flag playbook runs, and makes the receiver finish it: hands, eyes, tuck, then turn upfield. 10 min 2 or more: a thrower and a line of receivers
• Under-8 and upShotgun snap and centre releaseA flag football play is over before it starts if the snap is on the floor. In flag the centre is also a receiver, often the quarterback's safest one, so this drill joins the two jobs: a snap that arrives chest high every time, and a centre who is out into a route before the defence has noticed them. 8 min 2 at a time, or pairs side by side: a centre and a quarterback
• Under-9 and upQuarterback drop and throwA young quarterback who throws off the back foot, or throws late, is almost always doing it because their feet are not finished. This drill gives the drop a rhythm from the shotgun: catch, three steps, set, throw. Two receivers run an out and a hitch so the quarterback has to decide, and the coach decides which one is open. 10 min 3 or more: a quarterback and two lines of receivers
• Under-8 and upHandoff meshA fumbled handoff loses more yards in youth football than any defence does, and nearly every one is the same mistake: the back reaching for the ball instead of letting it be put into them. This drill builds the mesh, the pocket the back makes and the quarterback fills, and then makes the quarterback carry out the fake so the defence has to respect it. 8 min 2 at a time, from a quarterback line and a back line
• Under-9 and upRoutes on airRoutes on air is the drill every football team runs and few run well: receivers and a quarterback, no defence, every route at its proper depth. Without a defender to blame, the only things left are the details, and that is the point. A slant at five yards, a hitch at six, a post at seven, and the ball out on time. 12 min 4 or more: a quarterback and three lines of receivers
• Under-9 and upPitch sweepThe sweep is the first run most youth teams put in, and in flag it is the run that works, because a defence that cannot block cannot hold the edge for long. This drill teaches the three parts that make it work: a receiver who takes the corner defender away, a pitch the back can catch on the run, and a back who turns up the sideline instead of drifting out of bounds. 10 min 3 at a time: a quarterback, a back and a receiver
• Under-9 and upRush from seven yardsIn flag football the rusher has to start seven yards off the line of scrimmage, so the rush is a race, and both sides of it can be coached. The rusher learns to take a straight line at the quarterback with their hands up; the quarterback learns that the ball has to be gone before the rusher gets there. One drill, two lessons, and it settles the argument about who is allowed to rush and from where. 10 min 3 at a time: a centre, a quarterback and a rusher
• Under-10 and upMan coverage mirrorMan-to-man is the coverage most youth flag teams play, and it is lost the same way every time: the defender crosses their feet, the receiver goes the other way, and there is nobody within five yards. The mirror drill fixes the feet first. The receiver moves side to side, the defender shuffles with them and never crosses over, and when the receiver finally goes, the defender turns and runs on their hip. 10 min 3 at a time: a receiver, a defender and a coach with the ball
• Under-11 and upZone dropsZone defence works in flag because nobody has to win a footrace; everybody has to be in the right place. That is a habit, and this drill builds it: on the quarterback's drop, two deep defenders get to their halves of the field and two underneath defenders get to their spots, all of them watching the quarterback. When the ball is thrown, the nearest one breaks on it. 12 min 6: a quarterback, a receiver and four defenders
• Under-10 and up3-on-2 passingTwo defenders cannot cover three receivers, so somebody is always open, and the whole drill is the quarterback finding out who. It is the simplest read in football and the best first one for a young quarterback, because the answer is always there. The receivers learn to run their routes at full speed when they are not the target, which is the habit that makes the target open. 15 min 6: a quarterback, three receivers and two defenders
• Under-6 and upHandoff relayConditioning that is a race is conditioning young players will actually run, and this one teaches a football skill on every leg. Each runner carries the ball round a cone fifteen yards away and back, and has to give the next runner a proper handoff, into a pocket, before they can go. A fumbled exchange costs the team the race. 8 min 6 or more, in two or more teams of three to five