Coach QB thud game
Why it works
It is real tackle football for the youngest teams, with the two things that make it safe built in: the coach controls every snap, and the play ends on the wrap instead of on the ground. Five year olds get to carry, fit and pursue in a game they recognise, without a single body hitting the turf.
Run it
15 MINFifteen minutes, which uses half of the 30 minutes of full contact USA Football allows in one practice. Do not run it on a day that already had tackling stations. Stop the period the first time someone leaves his feet to finish.
Say this
“Wrap him up and stay on your feet.”
Thud is a fit and a squeeze, not a takedown, which keeps every rep inside USA Football's contact limits.
“Two hands on the ball until I blow the whistle.”
The handoff is the most common place for a young team to lose the ball, and the coach is giving it every snap.
“Aim at his near hip, not where he is.”
A defender who runs at the ball carrier's spot arrives behind him; one who aims ahead meets him.
Good looks like
- Every play ends standing up, on the whistle, with arms wrapped.
- Nobody puts a hand on the ground before the snap.
- The runner carries the ball high and tight in both hands through the line.
- Backside defenders take a deeper angle than frontside ones.
The mistakes
A defender diving at the legs to finish. Whistle the play dead and run the rep again; the dive never counts as a stop.
Say: “Wrap him up and stay on your feet.”
The runner swinging the ball loose in one hand as he looks for a hole. The coach slaps at it on every handoff until the second hand comes over.
Say: “Two hands on the ball until I blow the whistle.”
The whole defence chasing in a pile behind the runner. Freeze a rep and point at where the angle should have met him.
Say: “Aim at his near hip, not where he is.”
Drop to control speed: the runner jogs, the defenders fit and hold, and the coach calls the hole out loud before the snap so the defence knows where the ball is going. USA Football's guidelines start at age 6, so be extra careful with fives.
Let a player take the quarterback spot, add a pitch and a fake, and allow the offence a block at the point of attack. Keep it thud; going live is a decision for your league's contact rules, not this drill.