• Football is an outdoor game, but some drills are still effective indoors.football image by sonya etchison from Fotolia.com
  
  Football is an all-weather sport on gameday, but torrential rains or inclement weather can take a toll on the playing surface. In such scenarios, rather than cancel practice altogether, occasionally teams will move a practice indoors. For high schools and youth football teams or colleges without indoor practice facilities, this usually means practice is held in a gymnasium. Due to the hard surface, tackling is avoided in gymnasium settings--and shorts, t-shirts and sneakers are encouraged.
  
  

The Ladder

• The Ladder is a foot quickness drill that is normally part of the outdoor practice routine. The difference is the ladder is elevated on stakes outdoors, but lies flat on the ground indoors. The basic layout of the ladder is a series of squares, two across and about five or six deep. The player must run through the ladder as quickly as possible, while touching a foot in each square. Outdoors, the elevated ladder encourages high knees, which should also be stressed while training indoors. Players can run the ladder frontward or sideways.
  
  

Four-Cone Drill

• The Four-Cone Drill places an emphasis on agility, speed, acceleration and eye-hand coordination. The cones are arranged in a square, with the player starting about five yards from a corner. The player sprints to the lower left corner of the square, breaks down and turns around to receive a pass thrown by a coach. The ball is thrown as the player is turning to enhance reaction speed. The player moves to the top left corner, makes a sharp cut to the right and catches a ball en route to the top right corner. At the top right corner the player breaks down and runs back toward the coach and the bottom right corner of the square. As he arrives at the bottom right corner the player catches a third ball. The player should not stop between the first pass and the final pass, keeping his feet moving at all times.
  
  

Wrestling

• Wrestling is a sport that places an emphasis on leverage and strength, much like football. When indoors, wrestling drills and mini-team competitions are an effective way to develop skills, build team unity and encourage competition. While not all wrestling moves are legal in football, the general concept behind the sport is very useful to football players, especially lineman. Players should pair with players of similar weight levels to practice techniques. At the end of practice, hosting a mini-competition where the entire team cheers on the participants can send the players off in high spirits and reward the hard work of the contestants. Although competitive wrestlers wear knee pads, helmets and other protective equipment, this exciting drill and competition is possible in shorts and t-shirts.