Drills for youth flag football practice, each with a short video, setup instructions and the coaching points that matter at this age. Organized the way a practice runs: warm up, offense, defense, agility, then a game to finish. For 5U to 14U.
4 drills · 22 minutes if you ran them all
Mark a ten yard lane with cones and have players bear crawl down it on hands and feet with hips low and backs flat. Go down forward and back up backward, two trips each, then add a crawl where they hold and lift one hand on your call. Keep groups small so nobody stands long in the cold.
Keep the hips below the shoulders and the eyes up. It builds the core strength and body control that keeps kids balanced when they cut.
Watch: NFL FLAGSpread players out in lines with room to move and teach the football ready position: feet shoulder width, knees bent, back flat, head up and eyes forward. Have them drop into the stance on a whistle, hold it for a three count, then jog five yards and reset. Repeat eight to ten times while you walk the lines and fix posture.
Say head up, chest over knees, and feet under you. Every drill in practice starts from this stance, so do not rush past it.
Watch: NFL FLAGSet two cones five yards apart and line players up at one cone. On the whistle they shuffle to the far cone and back without crossing their feet, staying low in the ready position. Run three or four trips each, then have them shuffle on your hand signal so they must react instead of anticipate.
Stay low, keep the feet apart, and never click the heels together. This is the footwork they will use to mirror a ball carrier on defense.
Watch: NFL FLAGPlace six cones in a zig zag line and stand a player next to each cone. One ball carrier weaves through the cones while the cone players reach out to swipe at the ball without stepping away from their cone. Rotate so every player carries the ball three or four times.
Ball in the outside arm, cover both points, squeeze it tight. Remind the swipers to touch only the football, never the runner.
Watch: NFL FLAG11 drills · 77 minutes if you ran them all
Pair players up five yards apart and teach the diamond with the hands for high balls and pinkies together for low balls. Throw soft passes high, low, left and right so the catcher has to adjust, and have them tuck the ball away after every catch. Widen the distance as hands improve.
Catch with the hands, not the chest, and look the ball all the way into the tuck. Thumbs together high, pinkies together low.
Watch: NFL FLAGPartners five yards apart start on one knee and throw to three spots on purpose: below the waist, at the chest and above the head. The catcher calls out which hand shape they used on every ball. After a few rounds stand up and move farther apart.
Say thumbs together on high balls and pinkies together on low balls. Watch the ball into the hands, then tuck.
Watch: NFL FLAGPair players as center and quarterback. Teach the shotgun snap from a two point stance, five yards apart, with the center looking back through the legs and snapping with a flick of the wrist. Do ten snaps, switch roles, then have the center snap and release into a short route so it feels like a play.
Snap it to the numbers and get out of the stance quickly. A clean snap matters more than a fast one.
Watch: NFL FLAGSet up cones to mark running lanes on each side of the quarterback and number them. The quarterback calls a lane, takes the snap, opens to the running back and places the ball in the pocket while the back runs through the called lane. Rotate so everyone gets reps as both quarterback and back.
Back makes a pocket with the inside elbow up, quarterback puts the ball on the belly and lets go. Eyes on the lane, not the ball.
Watch: NFL FLAGPartners face each other five yards apart with one football. Both start on one knee, throwing hand side knee down, and play catch for a couple of minutes to isolate the upper body motion. Then stand up and keep passing, backing up a step every few throws.
Elbow above the shoulder and finish with the hand pointing at the partner. Slow and smooth builds a spiral faster than hard throws.
Watch: NFL FLAGUse the same numbered lanes as the handoff drill but now the quarterback calls either a run or one of three passes: hook, slant or go. The receiver runs the called route out of the lane and the quarterback either hands off or throws. Mix runs and passes so the defense would never know which is coming.
Make the fake look exactly like the handoff, then set the feet and throw. Receivers run the route the same way every time.
Watch: NFL FLAGSet up a center and quarterback with a receiver at ten yards. Work the snap exchange, a three step drop, and a throw to a stationary target, then move the target to a hitch and a slant. Give every player who wants to try quarterback a turn, and keep a second station throwing at a net or square so nobody waits.
Two hands on the ball during the drop and eyes downfield, not on the feet. Quick feet and a quick release beat a strong arm in flag.
Watch: NFL FLAGGroups of three: a quarterback and two receivers. Teach the post, the flag and the drag with cones marking the ten yard break point, then have the quarterback call a route for each receiver and throw to one of them. Rotate every three plays.
Break at the cone with a sharp plant, not a round turn. Hands up and ready as soon as the head turns to the quarterback.
Watch: NFL FLAGSet a short cone course with a handoff spot at the front, two cut cones and a finish line. The back takes the handoff, makes a hard cut at each cone and bursts through the finish while keeping the ball tucked high and tight. Run it left and right and finish with a defender trying to pull a flag at the last cone.
Eyes up, ball high and tight, and plant the outside foot to cut. One cut and go, do not dance in the backfield.
Watch: NFL FLAGPair players about ten yards apart with one ball per pair. Teach the grip, the sideways stance, the elbow up motion and the follow through, then have them throw and catch for five minutes while you move pair to pair. Back the pairs up a few yards once the spirals are consistent.
Fingers on the laces, point the front shoulder at the target, and finish with the thumb down. Accuracy first, distance later.
Watch: NFL FLAGLine receivers up on a cone with a quarterback or coach throwing. Call one route at a time, starting with the hitch, slant, out and go, and have each receiver run it and catch the ball before jogging to the back of the line. Add the comeback, post and corner once the basic four are clean.
Sell the route with speed off the line and a sharp plant foot on the cut. Run the route at full speed even when the ball is not coming.
Watch: NFL FLAG5 drills · 34 minutes if you ran them all
Mark five yard squares with cones and put one offensive and one defensive player in each. The ball carrier has fifteen seconds to stay inside the box and avoid the flag pull while the defender works to break down and grab it. Switch roles after every rep.
Short choppy steps when you get close, then two hands at the base of the belt. Runners stay in the box, no pushing off.
Watch: NFL FLAGPartners play catch inside a marked area while music plays or the coach counts. When the music stops, whoever has the ball becomes the runner and the partner chases to pull a flag. Go in thirty second rounds and switch which partner starts with the ball.
Buzz the feet to break down in front of the runner and rip the flag from the hip. Defender stays in front, never dives from behind.
Watch: NFL FLAGPartners face each other at a walk. The ball carrier jogs straight ahead while the defender breaks down, gets square, and pulls the flag with the near hand while watching the hips. Progress from a walk to a jog to a full speed run and then let the runner add one move.
Watch the belt buckle, not the ball or the head. Break down, square up, and rip the flag with the near hand.
Watch: NFL FLAGGroups of three run live handoff plays into numbered lanes with a center, quarterback and running back, while a fourth player on defense starts on the far side and takes an angle to cut off the lane. The defender has to pull the flag before the back crosses the finish line. Rotate so every player defends.
Take the angle to where the runner is going, not where he is. Stay under control and break down in the last two yards.
Watch: NFL FLAGGroups of three: quarterback, receiver and defender. The quarterback and receiver pick a route in secret, the defender lines up in coverage, and on the snap the defender backpedals and mirrors the route to knock the ball down. Rotate roles after each rep.
Backpedal first, keep the receiver in front, and turn when the hips turn. Play the ball with hands up, not the receiver.
Watch: NFL FLAG4 drills · 26 minutes if you ran them all
Lay out one or two ladders. Players face sideways and go two feet in, two feet out through each space down the ladder, then jog back. Add forward one in each, in in out out, and a lateral hop pattern. Send the next player once the one ahead is halfway.
Short choppy steps, stay on the balls of the feet, and pump the arms. Quick and clean beats fast and sloppy.
Watch: NFL FLAGUse the fun conditioning games from the video as a finisher: short sprints, relay races and chase games that keep everyone moving. Keep work bouts under twenty seconds with a jog back recovery and finish with a water break.
Make it a game and keep it short. Young players condition best when they do not realize they are conditioning.
Watch: NFL FLAGSet cones for the five agility patterns shown in the video: a shuttle, a box, a weave, a backpedal and turn, and a sprint and cut. Run each pattern twice with players going one at a time. Keep lines to four players so nobody stands around.
Plant off the outside foot and keep the hips low through every change of direction. Finish every rep through the last cone.
Watch: NFL FLAGPlace five cones in a star pattern around a center cone. On the whistle the player sprints from the center to the first cone, backpedals to the middle, then goes to the next cone until they have hit all five. Time each run and let them race their own time.
Stay tall when sprinting, stay low and choppy when backpedaling. Touch every cone, no shortcuts.
Watch: NFL FLAG2 drills · 12 minutes if you ran them all
Partners about twenty yards apart. One player holds the ball out at waist height with laces up, takes two steps and punts to the partner, who fields it and punts it back. Count how many catches in a row the pair can make.
Drop the ball flat, do not toss it up, and kick through the laces. Returners get under the ball early with elbows in.
Watch: NFL FLAGPartners twenty yards apart with one ball and a tee or disc cone. One player kicks off the tee, the partner catches or fields the ball and runs it back to the tee, then they switch. Give each player ten kicks and move the tee back as they improve.
Take a few steps on an angle, plant the non kicking foot beside the ball and swing through. Catchers call mine and look the ball in.
Watch: NFL FLAG4 drills · 41 minutes if you ran them all
Split into two teams of five and play a short game on a sized down field with a quarterback, center and three receivers on offense, and man coverage with a rusher on defense. Stop play after the first few snaps to teach the rules: no contact, flags only, seven seconds to throw, and no running zones if your league uses them.
Huddle fast, line up right and know your job. Use the game to coach the rules out loud rather than lecture from the sideline.
Watch: NFL FLAGGroups of three in a marked area, everyone wearing flags. Two offensive players carry and hand off the ball to each other, no throwing allowed, while one defender tries to pull the ball carrier's flag. When a flag is pulled, rotate roles.
Pocket ready before the handoff and secure the ball before you run. Defenders stay square and go after the ball carrier only.
Watch: NFL FLAGSplit into two teams with a line between them and a few hoops or cones as goals on each side, plus several footballs. On go, players throw balls into the other team's goals without crossing the line, and any pass caught in the air by the other team erases one of your goals. Play two minute rounds and count the goals.
Good grip and a target before you throw. Catchers get under the ball with hands up and ready.
Watch: NFL FLAGTwo teams on a short field with end zones. The team with the ball moves it only by passing: the catcher cannot run and has three seconds to throw to a teammate. Incomplete, intercepted or batted down means the other team takes over on the spot. Score by catching the ball in the end zone.
Move to open grass and give the thrower a target. Make quick decisions and keep the ball alive.
Watch: NFL FLAGVideos are linked, not hosted, and belong to NFL FLAG. Drill write-ups are by Cheat Code Coaching. Durations are what we run them at with a youth team; adjust for your group.
Every drill here is already in the Cheat Code Teams Practice Builder for Flag Football. Drag them into a plan, tap Start practice, and the clock, the whistle and the next drill are on your phone and your lock screen.