Kids Football Drills For Speed and Agility | 2 Step Sprint Out
While athletes are young their bodies are still growing. This makes it difficult, and in some cases counterproductive, to have youth athletes going to the gym and training with weights. For this reason it is important for coaches and parents to focus on the skills their young athletes have which they can improve. Speed, agility, and footwork are all football skills which young athletes will use as long as they are playing a sport and it is never too early to improve these skills.
An excellent kids football drill to help young athletes develop speed, agility and footwork is the 2 Step Sprint Out. This kids football drill focuses on important aspects of the game while simulating game situations any football player has found himself or herself in. The focus on transitioning from a lateral movement into a full out sprint will help athletes develop footwork and build hip strength.
Best Youth Footballs Drills | 2 Step Sprint Out: Setting Up the Kids Football Drill
An important aspect of any football drill for kids is simplicity. If a kids football drill is to complicated the young athlete will lose interest or may not be able to execute the kids football drill properly. This football drill for kids is very simple, very easy to set up, and very affective at challenging young athletes.
The set up for this kids football drill requires 4 Speed and Agility Cones, a set of youth Kbands (both yellow and red bands), enough room to safely perform the kids football drill, and a coach or parent to supervise the activity.
Begin by evenly placing the four Speed and Agility Cones 3-5 yards apart in a square. The athlete will then securely attach the Kbands just above their knees. Athletes will use the yellow bands to start the football drill for kids. It is important for young athletes to not start out with too much resistance, as this will hinder the athlete’s form and the effectiveness of the kids football drill. As athletes become more advanced with the football drill for kids they may proceed to using the red bands. This will allow youth athletes to progressively increase their resistance, without hindering form.
Execution And Technique Tips
Athletes will begin the kid’s football drill at one of the back Speed and Agility Cones. From this point young athletes will quickly and explosively slide laterally until they have reached the next Speed and Agility Cone. While moving side to side young athletes and coaches need to watch form and be sure young athletes are keeping their shoulders and hips square in front of them, not allowing the athlete to “click” their feet together. A good base and foot position will help athletes with proper footwork and transitioning from their side shuffle into a full out sprint.
After the athlete has reached the opposite Speed and Agility Cone they will go into a full sprint. For the sprinting portion of the kids football drill, athletes will alternate which Speed and Agility Cone they sprint toward. The first time executing the football drill for kids, athletes will come out of their lateral shuffle and sprint toward the Speed and Agility Cone directly in front of them. On their next repetition athletes will perform an angular sprint toward the top Speed and Agility Cone, which is diagonal from them.
This variation in sprinting destination will help train the young athlete to be multi directional coming out of their lateral movement. It is important for athletes to simulate game situations and sprint all the way through the Speed and Agility Cone during the kids football drill. As young athletes sprint out it is important they have a good pump with their arms, solid arm action, drive their knees through the resistance, and use good sprinting form. This means being in a natural “dig phase” beginning with a low chest and allowing the chest to come up as speed increases.
Keep The Drill Fun And Motivate
Form and technique for young athletes is extremely important, as it is much easier to create good habits than get rid of bad habits. It is important, from an early age; athletes and coaches emphasize using proper form and technique to help athletes maximize their training time. This will allow the athlete to see more transition from practice to the field of play.
The kids football drill should consist of two resisted sets. One set of the kids football drill consists of one shuffle to a straight-ahead sprint out, followed by a lateral shuffle into a diagonal sprint out. During the kids football drill athletes and coaches need to alternate the starting side. Alternating the starting side of the football drill for kids will allow young athletes to develop lateral strength and speed going in either direction, and will make athletes more effective on the field.
Coaches and parents should allow around 45 seconds of rest time between sets for the young athlete. This allows for proper recovery time and ensures good form and technique during the kids football drill.
After the athlete has performed two resisted sets of the football drill for kids, the athlete will remove the Kbands and perform two un-resisted sets of the kids football drill. During the un-resisted sets it is important coaches and parents emphasize form and technique as athletes are experiencing total muscle activation which may feel different to them.