Drill Purpose #2: Drills must translate to the field. Break every football play down to the one-on-one game. An individual play has multiple one-on-one games. Each one is a drill.

For example, the back side Linebacker in the 4-2-5 Defense defending a Power run play. His primary key in our system is the Guard. The guard pulls inside, so he triggers to attack the first open door past the center. This is our Guard Read Drill from the Defensive Drill System inside JDFB Premium Coaching systems. If he executes, he wins the first one-on-one game.

Now the front side guard releases to block him. He needs to rip through the block. We use a rip drill to teach that technique, and he wins the second one-on-one game.

Then he picks up the path of the ball carrier. He's tracking the inside hip since he is a spill player based on our Umbrella Run Fits. The In-At-Out Drill teaches him how to track the ball carrier and win another one-on-one game.

Now he approaches the tackle. Eyes up. Shoot the hands, squeeze the legs. Drive for five yards. Finish the tackle. That is taught in our tackling drill progression. He wins the fourth one-on-one play to finish off a great defensive play.

Drill Purpose #3: Drills solve problems. It is easy to figure out what drills you need to run if you know what the execution on the field is supposed to look like.
Look at the film or the performance on the field. What do you see happening that should not be happening? What is not happening that should be happening?
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Those are one-on-one games. Now you need a drill to fix that problem. 

​One big mistake coaches make when they are in "drill collector" mode is running a drill because a big shot coach runs it. Then assuming that it's a good drill for everyone. 

If you don't have that problem, why run the drill? Football coaches should always be looking for the issues your team has and then finding the solutions. 

When a receiver is taking a false step at the start of his route, it throws the timing with the Quarterback off. He doesn't get the depth on the route he needs to get. That first step is a one-on-one game. So your drill is route releases. 

Not fancy. Not sexy. But it solves a problem that your players are having. That's what matters.

Focused individual work doesn't take a long time. Don't let players stand around. Keep everyone involved. Maximize the reps but keep the focus on the one-on-one game. You can get a lot of work in a five- or ten-minute period this way.

Drill Mistake #2: Drills are not conditioning. Players don't learn new skills in an exhausted state. This is one of the reasons I do not use the sled for offensive line development. It wears them out, but it is not realistic drill work that translates to the field.

Keep your drill work up-tempo and have quick transitions. Your players should be working, not standing around. But we do it in short bursts like you play the game. Get lots of quality reps with quick coaching points. Fatigued players are not learning new skills.

Conditioning has a time and a place. While many coaches have given up on specific conditioning work, I have gone back to a short 5-10 minute conditioning period at the end of practice. But I'm not wearing players out in an individual drill.

Drill Mistake #3: Drills are not to develop toughness. Drills teach skills and techniques that translate to the field on game day. Drills teach your players how to play the game safely.

Drills are not about toughness. You can develop that in the off-season if you want to put a focus there. If you demand players keep the tempo up, you'll develop discipline. But separate your drill work from any specific mental toughness training.
If your players are puking during drills, there's a problem. No one is learning skills while they puke. They're just learning they would rather play baseball or soccer.

Running the exact same drill every single day for three or four months is a waste of time. Either they get it, and you are in a maintenance phase, or the drill doesn't work, and you are beating a dead horse.

Drills must have progression. They must solve the problem you have right now.
Want to know the good news, coach? It is real easy to take the Every Day Drills you have now and build progression into them.

Remember our series of one-on-one games for that Inside Linebacker? Once he masters the Guard Read Drill, you can start stacking it with other drills.
Stacking drills is one of the simplest ways to add progression. You start giving him the guard pull read, then after he reacts, he needs to rip through a block from the front side lineman.

For Offensive Linemen, I build everything on progressions. They start on day one taking the first step. You win the block on the first two steps, but you put all the focus on the first step until they master it.

Once they master the first step, I'll put more emphasis on the second step. The first two steps are the first one-on-one game.

Then you work on the aiming point. How do they fit the block? Hand placement? Is it a combo block? When does he come off, how does he come off to the linebacker?
A receiver has the route release. That starts the play, and it is a one-on-one game. Then each route has a break. You drill the top half, working on the curl route break, the slant route break, etc. Next, he drills on catching the football. Another one-on-one game. Then he needs drill work on securing the football. Finally, he'll burst up the field to gain more yards.

Each of those is a one-on-one game. They are the foundation of your drill work. A simple progression is putting the route together.

There is progression in practice, and progression throughout the season. In practice, your Defensive Linemen can focus on squeezing a down block in individual drills. Then they can go to a group drill like Inside Drill, Outside Drill or Half-Line with a focus on defending a gap drill and squeezing a down block.

The next practice period focus is a Team Run Defense period with emphasis on defending Power (with a down block and a kickout). Finally, they put it all together in a team session.

Every drill and every practice period needs to have a focus. What are you trying to get better at doing? What problem are you solving?
Focus on fixing one thing at a time, not trying to fix everything at once. Your team will make faster progress, and you'll be able to see the results on the field.​