Creative Ways to End Practice

Pick 3 or 4 linemen. Have them run pass routes. If they catch the ball take a sprint off of conditioning. If they all make their catches then cut out conditioning completely for that day.

Sorry if im being ignorant here but explain your head/heart simon says.   I love the idea of end of game senarios but also wanna do some fun stuff as well.

I was at a school that did coaches competitions to end Thursday walk-thrus and determine who got team meal first. Basically, all players lined up behind one coach then the random competition was announced, if your coach won you got team meal first.

The competitions were always something that required little athletic ability or specific football skill (as to keep it fair to all the coaches). It would be things like left footed FGA, or who can roll a football closest to the center of the logo. It was okay for walk thrus, but I'd say most any other day the best way to get them out is say well done no go get some rest.

During the summer I try to end our field work with a trick play I make up on the spot.  I'm constantly impressed with how well our kids can take a pretty stupid idea and make it work.  I like to think it's prepping them for a moment where I'm drawing some sh!t up in the sand.

Once a week, we end with a goalline drill, losing side does conditioning.
-We've done linemen catching punts.
-We'll line up the coaches on every 5 yard mark, a few kids in each line behind them, every kid has to catch a fade route from every coach, moving on to the next coach every time they catch the ball
-run a "perfect play" drill, 1st offense on air, everyone else in the backfield watching. 8-10 plays. Coaches watch like a hawk. Every mistake equals 1 sprint for the team.

Mondays we did Perfect Play Drill, or as we called it "Beat (opponent school's name)" Drill.

Starting on +30 with as many huddles as possible, each runs play (including yelling "Beat _____" off snap-LOS) and sprints into EZ. If everything is perfect, they move up five yards. If not they return to previous yard line and repeat. If they do each one perfectly it's six full speed sprints totaling 105 yards while working on stances, starts, line calls, cadence, ball handling, effort.

Arch Drill with entire team (including linemen) going from sideline to sideline. Down and back right twice-left twice so four sprints of 53 1/3 yards each with chance for a catch.

One-Man Pursuit Drill. Team divided by Defensive positions on both sides of field. BCs start on +40 yard line one yard in from sideline, tacklers 35 yard line on hash mark. On coaches' command BC runs on right and left side of field straight for EZ, tackler attempts to close to stop TD-runs right behind BC - NO contact. Each runs ball once-is tackler once on both sides of field - four sprints of 150 yards total including a ball (linemen get to carry the rock) and defensive objective.

no sarcasm intended for anyone on here.....

-Tuesdays we usually do goalline for conditioning...4 plays from the 10, loser doesnt run. Running consists of a few 20's, something easy, just so one side of the ball can talk chit and gloat...bragging rights.
-We'll do the "linemen catching punts" thing
-Thursdays, after walk-thru, we do a game. Something like, kicking a field goal, hitting the crossbar with a throw, long-snapping to hit the upright padding. Each side (O/D) finds a winner, then the winners go. Overall winner gets McD's breakfast the next morning, overall 2nd gets a smaller breakfast.
-Sometimes, late in practice, we'll end on a big play from team...a 1-handed INT, or the last-string receiver catching a ball over the starting C...something silly and spontaneous, to end with positive energy.
-We had our kicker (5'2", 115lb) kick a 33 yard FG, from the same spot Roberto Aguayo missed from the day before. He made it, no conditioning...

Me- Pick up your {censored} and go home.

The kids- They pick up their {censored} and go home.


Some of you people have way too much time on your hands.

I am fully aware this is grumpy old man as hell, but god danged people, at some point kid's just have to do something without some sort of enticement/cookie.

Egg and spoon race

Actually it was 3 plays at each spot.  I was being a might facetious.  This was in week 3 and we were trying to do some toughness/get after it stuff because the HC thought we weren't playing as hard nosed on both sides of the ball as we needed to be at that point in time.  Well, the visored guys were whining that "didn't want to get anybody hurt", "that's not what we do", "We don't want to end pratice on a bad note".... kind of stuff.
If you are wanting to make it a contest, then make it game type situation -- 1st and goal at the +10 and the offense is down by 5, ball on the -30 with 1:30 and 1 time out down by 5, ball on the -20 with 2:15 up by 2 and the defense has 3 time outs, etc....  That way you have a clear winner and it is in terms of what might happen on Friday night.

We had an unscheduled bye week because of the Hurricane, so the HC cut Wednesday pratice short and let the kids play Knockerball.

We used to do rabbit hunts. Get your 4 fastest most agile guys on one side of the field and a mix of 11 players from lineman to DBs on the other. Give one of your rabbits the ball. Their job is to not get touched with the ball. The are allowed to run the field (goal line to goal line) and can lateral all they want but are only allowed 2 forward passes. If the group can catch a rabbit within 1 minute they are either exempt from conditioning or don't have to run as much. For each rabbit score it lessens their running.

Another favorite of mine is to have your team spread out on the field and lay down on their backs. Have them close their eyes and begin to deliver an Oscar worthy speech. Meanwhile have someone waiting to turn on the sprinklers and once your speech is finished wait a few seconds and turn am on. It's funny watching some of them scramble to get out of the water. Others just lay there and enjoy a free semi shower. Lol