Turnover Drills

1) Punch the Ball - Hold the ball behind the bag that they are tackling as they come. Each player has to put his head on the outside of the bag, hit, wrap, and take the bag to the ground. As they hit and wrap. they use their inside arm and make a fist and "punch" at the ball with their fist before completing the wrap. If they punch it correctly, the ball will go about 5-7 yards backwards and to the side... They must push up off the top of the bag, and scoop&score with the football. Then they bring the ball back and place it behind me in the pile.

While they are scooping & scoring, I pick up the dummy and get it set up for the next kid coming about 3 seconds later. After the first 2-3 days of doing it, the kids get the idea and you can fly through it really quickly.

2) Stick & Follow - If you do not have the time during individual to do the "Punch the Ball" drill, then you can have the kids pair up and have each pair go very close together during the bag drill. One after another. Have the first one "Stick" the bag with a good hard driving tackle while the ball just sits on top of the bag. The second player has to adjust to where the ball goes after the first hit, and scoop&score with it. (I've had kids that have been with me for a couple of years actually be able to catch the ball in mid-air before it hits the ground because they are getting that quick at reacting to the ball coming out. Only happens once in a while because the ball has to basically bounce straight up in the air to do it. Everyone gets fired up when it happens though...)

The first player just gets a good hit and tackle on the bag, then lifts it and places it back in its spot while the 2nd player chases the fumble. Coach sets the second ball on top of the bag for the next 2 kids coming. Only need 2 footballs and 1 weighted bag to do this one. Have the kids switch positions the second time through.

3) Grip & Rip - Get 2 LB's & 1 RB... Have the RB and one LB do the "Angle-Tackling" drill, but instead of having the LB try to drive through the RB at an angle (I've noticed that the LB rarely gets his head across correctly anyway) have the LB hit the RB straight ahead and wrap. DO NOT TAKE THE RB DOWN TO THE GROUND!!! Have the RB & LB drive their legs and try to drive the other player backwards with his legs. The RB's job is to drive the LB backwards and fall forward for YAC, while the LB's job is to not allow any more movement by the RB and hold him up. The 2nd LB now comes in and is to Grab the ball and rip it out while the 1st LB holds up the RB.

This one is much more of a challenge. Many of the kids will try to just lift the RB before stopping the momentum, and will get ran over as a result. Really helps develop the ability to stop the run in short yardage situations, where they are supposed to hold up the RB and not allow any more forward movement.