Running Drills On The Football Field

‏Football fields present lots of open space for athletes. Athletes can use this massive amount of space to their advantage whether on offense or on defense. Offensive players need to perform running drills which help to develop elusive skills like speed, agility, and acceleration. These types of running drills will help an offensive player avoid would be tacklers.

Reactionary running drills which emphasize balance, acceleration and power will help defensive players avoid would be blockers and bring down opposing ball carriers. Since these types of running drills benefit both sides of the ball they can easily be performed as a team training drill on the football field.

Double Stack Drill On The Football Field

One of these great running drills is the Double Stack Drill on the football field. Athletes will need 6 Speed and Agility Cones placed in two rows of three. Each Speed and Agility Cone should be 5 yards apart and each row of Speed and Agility Cones should also be 5 yards apart. Athletes will securely attach a set of Kbands Leg Resistance Bands just above their knees and line up at one of the Speed and Agility Cones on the end of a row. Athletes will laterally move back and forth between the two rows of Speed and Agility Cones 3 times before sprinting five yards to the next set of Speed and Agility Cones and again laterally move between the two rows of Speed and Agility Cones 3 times. Athletes will sprint forward and perform the same lateral back and forth movement to finish the drill on the football field. Athletes have the option to finish the Double Stack Drill on the football field with a 5-10 yard sprint out before turning around, beginning on the opposite side of the Speed and Agility Cone formation, and completing another repetition of the Double Stack Drill. Athletes will complete 7-8 resisted repetitions of the Double Stack Drill before moving into additional Speed and Agility Training With the Kbands Leg Resistance Bands.

Athletes also have the option of removing the Kbands Leg Resistance Bands and performing an additional 2-3 unresisted repetitions of the Double Stack Drill on the football field. Athletes will feel the lightness and quickness in their legs as they work to accelerate and move quickly through the unresisted running drills.

Running Drill On The Football Field

To effectively move through this and all running drills athletes must use great form and technique to effectively induce positive adaptations to athletic skills like quickness and lateral change of direction.

As athletes move side to side in the Double Stack Drill on the football field athletes should focus on keeping their hips, eyes, and shoulders looking forward down the Speed and Agility Cone formation. Keeping a good athletic stance with a slight bend in the hips and knees will make for quick, powerful lateral movements with the legs. As athletes move the knees apart they need to focus on not allowing the resistance from the Kbands Leg Resistance Bands to pull the knees in toward each other. Athletes should instead focus on driving the knees away from each other. This movement will induce more glute activation and enhance the effectiveness of the running drill on the football field.

Being smooth and using efficient movement is another key component of this and any other running drills. As athletes transition from side to side in their lateral movements they need to perform short choppy steps. This will allow for the body to make a smooth transition and not waste any time or energy. Athletes must also be smooth as they transition from their side to side movement into a short, forward sprint. Athletes should have active arms during this portion of the running drills. Active arms will help to increase speed and reduce speed as the athlete approaches the next Speed and Agility Cone.

Athletes can also increase their ability to perform transitional movements during running drills by performing core strengthening exercises. Drills like traditional and modified Planks along with other abdominal strengthening exercises will make for a stronger and sturdier torso. This will allow an even smoother redirection of the body as athletes’ train or work to outmaneuver opponents during competition.

Running Drill On The Football Field Routine

Athletes should not limit themselves to one running drill on the football field. The football field is a wide space and can be used for many different running drills along with plyometrics, endurance training, and power training drills.

Athletes can begin their training with a Dynamic Warm Up Drill on the football field. This will help athletes activate their muscles and lubricate their joints. This Dynamic Warmup Drill on the football field will help athletes perform at a higher level while training and take advantage of the amount of training time an athlete can devote to running drills and athletic training.

After performing the Dynamic Warm Up Drill on the football field athletes can continue their training by performing running drills like the Double Stack Drill on the football field, sports or position specific drills, finishing the running drills workout with some sort of endurance sprints. Athletes should utilize additional resistance equipment like the Victory Ropes or Speed and Agility Ladder to perform circuit workouts with the running drills or to perform additional power and speed training drills.

Athletes should always make sure they are performing sports specific training drills with their speed and running drills. Being fast and agile will not benefit an athlete if they do not have the muscle memory of performing the needed motion in training. Athletes and coaches can go to the Training Section, search for their specific sport, and explore general running drills, or sports specific training drills to help target, and improve certain motions or skills. Keeping this necessary balance and always emphasizing fundamentals of sports are the keys to being a successful athlete.