Fun Practice Games for Youth Football

Part of learning how to play football is engaging in various drills, such as those to perfect throwing and catching skills, or ones that improve overall quickness and coordination. There are endless drills to choose from, including those specific to certain positions, such as quarterback or wide receiver. Find fun drills that match the abilities of your players as well as drills that are more challenging.

Instruct a player to kneel on his throwing side knee and place the football on the ground in front of him. Have the player grab the ball with his throwing hand and lift it using the throwing hand only. Once the ball is high in the air, instruct the player to throw it to a receiver with an emphasis on the follow-through. The thrower should be able to pick up grass following the throw. Switch the knee as needed. This drill builds arm and wrist snap strength.

Divide players into two teams of six or less, though each team should have the same number of players. Assign a quarterback position to a member of each team. Instruct one player from each team to run out for a pass. Once the player catches the pass, have him run quickly to a cone that is 20 yards away and throw the ball back to the quarterback. Players that drop the ball have to start all over; the first team that uses all of its players wins. Losing players must run laps. This drill improves player concentration, particularly if they are feeling sluggish or tired.

Set up cones or spray paint in a square formation with one cone or paint mark in the middle. The formation will look similar to the five faces on a set of dice. Each of the five "dots" or cones should be about 1 yard apart. Instruct players to jump and land with both feet from one dot to the next when you blow your whistle. This drill improves agility and quickness.

These drills help with reaction time. Use a wall and a tennis ball for this drill. Instruct a player to throw the ball at the wall and catch it with the same hand. Once the player has mastered this drill, have him throw the ball and catch it with the opposite hand, then throw it and catch it with both hands at the same time. Another variation of this drill is to have someone stand behind the player and throw the ball against the wall, which the player must catch. This last drill is an especially good one for wide receivers as they usually do not see the ball thrown from the quarterback's hands, but rather have to find the ball in mid-air while running away from the quarterback.