Whether you're a wide receiver trying to keep your feet inbounds after catching a pass or a defensive back trying to keep up with a wide receiver while running backward, the game of football requires a tremendous amount of coordination. Certain drills can help you develop the coordination you need to succeed on the field.
Sideline Inbounds Drill
Staying inbounds after making a catch is a skill your wide receivers will need all throughout the year, especially on late-game drives where you need to preserve the clock. Use this drill to help develop their lower-body coordination. Line up all your wide receivers behind the line of scrimmage about 10 yards from the sideline. At the whistle, have the first receiver in line sprint up the field five yards, then make a hard cut toward the sideline. Have the quarterback throw a quick pass to the receiver, who must catch the ball and touch both feet in bounds before stepping out of bounds. If the player fails to catch the ball or catches it with one or both feet out of bounds, he must repeat the drill. Rotate all receivers through the drill several times.
Backpedal Drill
It takes a tremendous amount of coordination to keep up with a fast wide receiver while running backward. The backpedal drill helps your defensive backs develop this skill without falling over. Have your defensive backs all line up along the line of scrimmage. On the whistle, have them sprint backward, keeping their hands in front of them in a defensive stance. Blow the whistle again, upon which players must turn and sprint down field. Another blow of the whistle means players must turn around and backpedal once again. Each time you blow the whistle, players must transition from backpedaling to sprinting down the field, and back.
Quarterback Circle Drill
Throwing out of the pocket is one thing, but throwing on the run when you've got linebackers chasing you down takes quite a bit more coordination, which is where the circle drill comes in. Line up two quarterbacks about 15 yards apart, one with a football. On the whistle, have both quarterbacks start running in the same circle across from each other. On the next whistle, the quarterback with the ball must pass the ball to the other quarterback. He catches the ball, then passes it back. The first player to drop the ball or make a poor pass has to run a lap. Repeat the drill until the players can execute a certain number of perfect passes.
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