Conditioning prepares football players to last physically throughout the game, enabling the players to continue performing skills correctly even at the end. Instead of throwing sprints at the end of practice, plan conditioning drills ahead of time and expect the players to put their full effort into the drills. Entertaining aspects to the drills make the players more engaged in the conditioning for potentially better results.
Catch the Leader
Running laps around the football field becomes more interesting by adding a chase element to it. The players run in a single file line around the perimeter of the field. The player at the back of the line sprints past the other players to get to the front of the line. When he reaches the front position, the new end person repeats the challenge, sprinting to become the new line leader.
Zigzag Cone Sprints
This conditioning drill combines sprints and jumping. A series of six or more cones are set up in a zigzag pattern. The distance between the cones is up to personal preference, depending on how far and long you want the players to sprint. One at a time, the players sprint to the first cone, where they jump sideways over the cone a set number of times. The players continue sprinting to each cone and repeating the jumping. Have the players jog back to the end of the line after completing the course. This gives them rest time before repeating the sprints.
Team Chase
A large square or oval course creates the chasing area for this conditioning drill. Use cones to define the area. The players divide into two teams, starting on opposite sides of the course. The teams run around the perimeter in a single-file line. The goal is to catch the other team. This means that each time is only as fast as the slowest runner. If one runner falls behind, the other team is more likely to catch up with him.
Four Corner Running
Cones are also used for this football conditioning drill to create a square 10 yards on each side, with one cone at each corner. You can increase or decrease the size of the square, depending on your players. Each length of the square requires the players to perform a different type of running. Bodybuilding.com suggests backpedaling, shuffling the feet, cariocas and sprinting. When the runner reaches the next cone, she begins running in the designated manner to the next cone.
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