Week 3 Youth Football Practice Plan (90 Minutes)

Get them lined up on a yard line with helmets in hand. Quick roll call, then helmets on together so you can check chinstraps.

• Key message: today is bags/dummies only for tackling—no player-to-player contact.
• Cues: “Eyes on me.” “When I whistle, you freeze.” “Jog everywhere—no walking.”
• Common issue: kids wander to friends. Fix: assign each kid a spot on the line and make them return to it after every instruction.

Finish with a 20-second demo of what “freeze” looks like (athletic stance, hands on thighs, eyes up).

Use a 10-yard lane with cones. Everyone moves together—no racing.

• Jog down/back, high knees, butt kicks, side shuffle both ways, backpedal, then 2 short accelerations.
• Watch for: heads up and space between kids (no clipping heels).
• Cues: “Short steps.” “Stay in your lane.” “Finish past the cone.”

If you have time, add 30 seconds of “good football stance” holds: feet under hips, chest up, hands ready.

Water fast. While they drink, show the tackling checklist with your hands: near shoulder, head behind, wrap, drive, eyes up.

Coach action: pick one player and demonstrate the difference between “head down” and “eyes up” on a bag (no contact, just position). Two adults drag the bags into the triangle now.

Set three stations in a triangle with 10–12 yards between them so kids aren’t running through another station. Split into 3 groups. Rotation script: 5:00 of work, then a 30-second whistle rotate; each station has one repper, one resetter holding/standing the bag back up, and the rest in a line behind a cone.

• Station 1 (fit and freeze): stand-up bag square to the player. From 2 steps away, fit near shoulder to the bag, head slides to the side of the bag (never across the front), wrap, and freeze for a count of 2. Coach checks eyes up and tight wrap.
• Station 2 (drive for two): same square bag, same fit, then drive feet for two short steps, finish balanced (no diving).
• Station 3 (angle leverage): a coach or resetter holds the bag turned sideways so one “hip” of the bag faces the player, who starts a step off to that side. Cue in order: “Near foot, near shoulder, eyes through, head behind, wrap tight, two-step drive.” Aiming point is the near hip of the bag; the helmet finishes behind the bag (cheek to the back side), never across the front. If a helmet goes across the front, stop the line and walk the rep.

Watch for: helmet to the side/behind and eyes through the contact point, not down at the ground.

Common issue: kids “hug” high and slide off. Fix: tell them to wrap low around the middle of the bag and squeeze elbows tight; rerun at half speed, then speed back up.

If the groups get long, run two kids at a time at the fit station (one fits, one resets), but keep the contact controlled.

One line per dummy. Start 3 yards away with a cone. Coach pops the dummy as the player steps forward.

• Player steps, fits near shoulder, head behind, wraps, and drives the dummy down with two steps—then immediately releases and backs away.
• Cues: “Near foot, near shoulder.” “Wrap and squeeze.” “Two steps, then out.”
• Watch for: they keep their base under them (no launching).

Common issue: kids try to jump into it. Fix: move the start cone closer and require a walk-in rep before they earn a faster rep.

Water. While they drink, lay out cones for kickoff lanes and point to where each lane starts: Lane 1 outside the numbers, Lane 2 numbers to hash, Lane 3 the middle (mirror on the other side; adjust to your league’s field markings).

Coach action: tell them exactly what “onside” means today: nobody crosses the kickoff line until the kicker’s foot hits the ball (use your whistle as the trigger on air).

Today is kickoff coverage only—no return team. Set the kickoff team across a line (use cones if needed). Put 5 lane cones downfield so they have something to run through.

• Align them where you want them every time. Call out: “Outside, inside, middle.”
• On your cadence, everyone takes off on the whistle (simulating the kick) and runs through their lane cone under control.
• Watch for: no one crosses early; they stay in their lane and don’t drift to the ball.

Cues: “Freeze on whistle.” “Lane first, ball second.” “Run through the cone.”

If they’re clean, add a coach rolling a ball downfield so they learn to avoid it and keep lane integrity.

This is here because special teams is where young teams give up easy yards; we’re teaching safe spacing and safe ball handling before it ever shows up in a game.

Set a punt line with cones. Put 1–2 returners deep with a coach tossing soft punts (or high lobs) and everyone else learning where to stand.

• Punt team: align, take two controlled release steps, then sprint downfield in lanes on the whistle.
• Returners: start with “call and cradle” only—call “MINE,” get under it, cradle to chest, and freeze.
• Watch for: returners’ eyes track the ball into the tuck; no one crowds them.

Common issue: kids run toward the returner. Fix: create a 5-yard “no-go circle” with cones around the returner and stop the rep if anyone enters it.

Controlled team period: offense runs your base plays with good spacing and clean exchanges. Scout defense is there to give the offense a consistent picture so kids learn alignment and execution.

Set the ball on a hash. Run a short script (example: 6 runs, 4 quick passes, 2 play-action looks if you have it). Keep tempo: spot the ball fast and huddle 10 yards off the ball.

• Cues: “Break the huddle fast.” “Get set, then still.” “Run through the finish cone.”
• Watch for: clean snap count and ball security on handoffs (two hands on the ball through the mesh).
• Common issue: kids forget where to line up. Fix: freeze pre-snap, point to landmarks (tight end spot, split spot), then re-run the same play immediately.

Keep contact to tag-off or thud on the runner only—no taking kids to the ground.

Finish with a quick, clean conditioner: 4 x 20-yard striders (not all-out sprints). Everyone starts on a knee; on whistle, run to cone and back, then immediately line up again.

• Watch for: they finish under control and stop past the line—no sliding or crashing.
• Close: 60-second huddle. Ask two kids to say the tackling cues out loud: “eyes up” and “wrap.” Remind them next practice we’ll keep the same tackling steps and add tracking the angle.