A quality football practice lays the foundation for success during the game. As a coach, your job is to use every minute of practice effectively in order to maximize your players' potential and help all players come together as a team. Some simple tips can help make sure your next practice is the most effective it can be.
Develop a Game Plan
Game plans aren't just important for game day. They're also important for practice day. Plan ahead how you're going to use every single minute of your football practice. You might start out with five or 10 minutes of warmup. From there, you could move on to position-specific drills and then transition to practicing formations and specific plays. However you want to organize it, make sure you have a plan in place, with backup ideas in case something needs to be switched up in the middle of practice. Schedule time in your practice for regular breaks and transitioning between different activities.
Listen to Players
Practice is your time to help your players learn what they should know before the next big game, but it's also their opportunity to communicate with you about what they're struggling with or don't understand. Give players the opportunity to ask constructive questions, and go over new or unfamiliar drills a few times before running players through them. Remember, if players don't understand why they're doing what they're doing in practice, they won't get as much out of it.
Teach the Rules
Most coaches see practice as a chance to teach their players about basic football skills, but understanding the rules of football is equally crucial at game time. Use any opportunity to help players understand the rules associated with whatever fundamental they are practicing. For example, if you're doing a drill with the offensive line, demonstrate to players the legal way to block a player without holding, and teach them what referees look for in terms of penalties during the game.
Put Safety First
Football is a contact sport, and sometimes injuries happen, but do everything you can to avoid injuries during practice. Avoid pitting two players of different sizes against each other in tackling drills. Consider canceling practice in extreme weather conditions, such as extreme heat. Dehydration affects players' performance, but it can also lead to serious conditions such as heat exhaustion or heatstroke, according to the Mayo Clinic. Never punish players by not allowing them to drink water during practice.
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