Football Conditioning: Middle School Sports and training

Conditioning: Five dot jump

Conditioning is meant to increase speed, endurance, and reaction time on the football field. The intent of this drill is to increase accuracy, timing, and speed. 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.

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. The second phase is having the player touch each of the dots with only one foot, and then switch to the other foot. The next step is jumping on all five dots with both feet together. The end step is similar to the first jumping jack step except that this time the player will turn 180 degrees after jumping on the two dots. Because this drill is intended for accuracy and speed, it is recommended that players start out slow and deliberate and then speed up to their maximum time.

Conditioning: Cross jumping

Football is all about action and reaction, and those that practice reacting quickly in a variety of directions will dominate the field. The point to this drill is having players practice quick directional changes on the field. Start out by placing the player on any crossing lined area on the field, anything like a small for square area. Then the player will proceed to jump from on area or box to another, thus forcing the player to jump laterally, diagonally, frontwards, and backwards. Changes can be made so that the player will only use one foot and then the other while they run the drill.

Up Downs Conditioning Drill

Out of all of the football conditioning drills up downs is one of the most popular. This drill consists of having players run in place as fast and as hard as they can. At the coaches signal the players will drop to the ground and do a push up, and then quickly get back up and start running 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.

Learning the Basics of Catching a Low Football Pass

Great plays are made through dedicated practice of the fundamentals. Execution on a football field starts with practice. One situation that happens a lot in a game is catching the low passes. Here are some secrets to making this catch. First, keep your hands down low in a scooping or shovel position; you can even cross your pinkies. First, keep your hands low and lock your pinkies. Second, keep your knees bent low and in extreme cases you should be flat on the ground or diving. Third, once the ball touches your hands scoop it up into your chest and tuck it away into a secure position. Third, once you have caught the ball, tuck it away as soon as possible. Keep your eyes right on the ball. Last, concentrate on catching it first and then worry about the defense, and scoring some more yards.