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90 Minutes Means 90 Minutes: How to Make the Practice Plan Work

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The 90 Minute Practice Plan might seem impossible with so much to get one. This article shares 6 tips and tricks for planning better football practices to win more games.

FEBRUARY 12, 2026

Written by Joe Daniel

Joe Daniel Football

To make the 90 Minute Practice Plan work, we needed to make some adjustments. I started doing this back in 2018 on a dare, before it was the hot new thing.

"90 Minutes" is a container. It is arbitrary and there is no science behind practices being exactly 90 minutes. One of my core principles is the "Containers Principle." That means everything needs boundaries.

Practice plans are 90 minutes. Install the playbook in 5 practices. New plays get installed in one practice period.

You can apply containers to many other places. Meetings have a start and end time. Game film breakdown ends on Sunday night. Everything has a defined start and finish, and you figure out how to make that work.

Your container could be longer or shorter. The key is that the container has to make you a little uncomfortable. If you limit practices to four hours, most coaches would end up wasting a lot of time.

When I installed the 90 Minute Practice Plan in 2018, we had 27 Varsity football players. They all played both ways, except the Quarterback. We installed the entire Offensive and Defensive Playbook in five 90-minute practices. For a High School football team that went 10-2 and won the first home playoff game in school history.

I have helped hundreds of coaches install some version of the 90-minute practice plan. We go in-depth on the details inside JDFB Premium Coaching Systems.

The key is that you have the container. It makes you a little uncomfortable. And you commit to finding a way to make it work.

Here are some of the "tricks" that make our 90-minute practices work...

90-Minute Tip #1: 90 Minute Practice means time spent on the field practicing football.

Time spent in the weight room or speed training is not included in the 90 minutes. Time spent watching film is not part of the 90 minutes, either. This locked-in focus time is for teaching football skills, techniques and plays.

90-Minute Tip #2: Conditioning is not included in the 90 minute practice.

Some coaches don't believe in doing any conditioning at the end of practice. If you run a fast-paced practice (and you will if you put a tight container on it) you may not need to do any conditioning.

I found that running some sort of fast, short burst time of conditioning at the end added a little extra. Hill sprints, 40 yard sprints, etc. Not long gassers. More like Tabata style work with short breaks.

We also handed this to our Squad Leaders. It was a chance for them to practice leadership. They organize the team into a quick conditioning of their choice (with help from coaches). Coaches are not running the session and are not involved at all. Walk away. Just not too far, you're still responsible for supervision.

The 90-Minute Container for practice planning is for teaching and practice football skills and techniques. It does not include weight training, agility work or conditioning.

90-Minute Tip #3: Install a 10-minute Pre-Practice at the start of practice.

Pre-Practice gave a chance to work on non-contact or light contact skills. It saved time for individual drills. Inside JDFB I teach our tackling progression and block destruct drills. Neither requires pads or violent contact. We were able to do one or both in pre-practice.

Coaches aren't always available. You need one or two coaches to supervise, but at a small school you may only have three coaches total on game day. Someone's making sure everyone is getting out of the locker room. Run pre-practice drills the players can manage themselves, with minimal coach supervision.

Pre-practice is not required. It is the squish period after players get out of school, finish up tests, find lost equipment and everything else. and the start of the official 90-minute practice.

90-Minute Tip #4: Steal time wherever you can

I cut practice periods from five minutes to four minutes first. That gave us as many periods as a typical two hour practice, coaches just had to get going faster.

Keep practice stations consistent so players know where to go. Transitions need to be fast. Don't send the offensive linemen off to another planet.

Use basic equipment or no equipment other than a football and some cones. If you need it, set it up before practice starts.

During the summer I always want water breaks on the schedule. It's a CYA liability thing as much as anything. But they don't need a full period. Have water bottles available during drills. Send them to water, get with the coaching staff to make sure we're all on the same page, then bring them back. Just because the schedule says 3:34 doesn't mean we can't get moving at 3:32.

Follow the Container Principle. Do not make exceptions like starting practice over because the effort wasn't there. The container can be 90 minutes or longer, but it needs to be tight enough to feel a little bit uncomfortable.

90-Minute Tip #5: Never break the container. 90 minutes means 90 minutes.

About two weeks into that first season, we had a terrible practice. The first one of the season. The players knew it was bad, too.

"How'd we do today?" I asked them at the end of the practice. "Bad coach, bad. We'll get it right. Let's start over, we're not done!"

That's how they always did it. Do it right, do it light. Do it wrong, do it long!

Nope. "Practice is over. In the past. It's gone. Can't get it back." That was it.

We did not have another bad practice the rest of the season. 90 minutes means 90 minutes. Get it done or it's gone.

90-Minute Tip #6: Put all the Special Teams focus on one day.

Special Teams are important. You need to invest practice time in them. But the transition to getting each group out on the field, setting up a new scout team each time? Too slow.

I like to dedicate Monday (for teams that play on Friday night) to game plan and Special Teams. Investing in all your Special Teams units at the start of the week helps emphasize the importance, too.

Be sure to schedule each team into other practices during your team sessions. Like you'd schedule another play. You want to get out and execute, getting on and off the field fast.

The day before the game, polish all those units so they're ready for game day. But batch your Special Teams focus time to keep practices moving faster.

There are many more ways to prepare your team for success in the 90-Minute Practice Plan. It will look like crap for the first week. Prepare for that. But don't write it off just because you aren't a huge two-platoon team!

Click here to download my free Practice Plan Templates.

90-Minute Practice Tips FAQ

What is a 90-minute football practice plan?

A 90-minute football practice plan is a structured practice built around a fixed 90-minute block of on-field football work. It focuses only on teaching skills, techniques, and plays within a defined start and finish time. The time limit creates urgency, eliminates wasted periods, and forces everything to fit inside the container.

Does the 90-minute practice include conditioning, weight room, or film?

No. The 90 minutes is strictly on-field football practice. Weight room work, speed training, and film study are not included in the container. The 90-minute block is reserved for teaching and practicing football.

Why does a 90-minute football practice plan work?

A 90-minute practice works because it creates purpose and urgency. Coaches must eliminate wasted time, tighten transitions, and focus only on what matters most. The slight discomfort of the time limit forces better use of every period.

How does Special Teams fit into a 90-minute practice plan?

Special Teams are batched into a focused day early in the week to avoid constant transitions that slow practice down. Instead of setting up different units throughout the week, you invest dedicated time in all units at once.

What should I expect if I switch to 90-minute football practices?

You should expect it to feel messy at first. The first week will not look smooth, and you may feel rushed. That discomfort is part of the process. If you stay committed to the container, the urgency and structure will lead to more focused, efficient practices.

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