Introduction/Review of New Team Football Plays

When introducing new offensive or defensive plays, it is best to go over them at the beginning of practice before your team has tired mentally and physically. Explain to your team how long you need their focused attention to help reduce distractions. By providing a timeframe to the players of how long they need to focus on a task, they will generally be more committed. My experience is that a player who knows he needs to focus on a new play for 10 minutes will generally outperform a player who was not given a timeline.

When reviewing a new play or defence, focus first on specific assignments. Give a quick explanation followed by a run-through at half speed. If possible, try to only introduce one play at a time and no more than two plays. It is much better to have a team who can execute a smaller number of plays than a team who does a poor job executing a large number of plays.

If you do not have new team plays to review, this time is best spent on conditioning exercises. Completing conditioning exercises towards the start of practice will prepare your team for success in the second half of games. Players need to be able to play good football even when they are tired.

Cheers!