# Drilling Your Way to Success - This and Other Great Football Tips

The importance of learning the Playbook

Learning a play is critical because when an individual learns a play and executes it properly, it benefits the whole team. Rule number one in starting out a new play is following your coach's instructions. As you start to practice the play make sure to slow it down, there is no sense in practicing errors. Remember that if you need help, you should ask for it. At times we have seen a player fail to advance or refine their techniques because they don't ask for added assistance. Don't let this happen to you After practice is over visualize the play in your mind. Go over it again and again, and you will find that your mind will help you learn the plays even when you sleep.

Ball handling Drill: "Hot potato"

Without a solid foundation of ball handling players will be easy prey to a solid defensive team. This drill is meant to help players control and develop their ball handling skills. The secret to this drill is having the ball constantly moving around and from hand to hand. The drill starts by having players hold the football above their head and start to pass it around their head, moving to the chest, under the arms, around the waist, knees, and completing with passing it through the legs.

Coaches can mix up the drill by shouting out body parts that the players will have to start circling with the football; they can also reverse the direction that the ball [เกร็ดความรู้กีฬา](https://footballarena88.com/top10football/) is traveling by calling, "reverse". The reverse option is an important command as it will keep the players on their toes and focuses on concentration and ball handling.

We recommend that you end this drill by doing several football drops. This means that the player will drop the football and retrieve it again quickly. To further increase pickup skills have your players change up the hands that they are using so that both their strong and weak hands are developed.

Conditioning: The Quick Jump

Reaction is as skill that players need to develop through conditioning and drills. This practice drill is intended to increase reaction speed and the ability to quickly change directions. The drill takes place in small four corner area that you can draw out or use the lines of the field. The drill starts by having a player stand in one area or box, and has them jump diagonally, laterally, frontwards, and backwards from one area to another. Coaches should encourage one foot jumping to increase further strength and reactions on the field.

Forcing the Fumble

The faster your defense is at getting the ball back into the offensive's hands the more likely you are to win a game. The fastest way to gain possession of the ball is to force an offensive player to fumble the football. Practice dislodging the football on the field in pairs of players. The defender will practice stripping the ball by bringing his hands up quickly with a clenched fist to grab the opponent and as he does so to aim to knock out the football. This drill is most effective if you start it slow focusing on the motions needed to be effective, and then speed up over time.