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title: "Your first practice plan | Englewood NFL Flag Football"
description: "A simple, ready-to-run practice for first-time coaches: warm-up, skill stations and a scrimmage, built around our home field rules."
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  "og:title": "Your first practice plan | Englewood NFL Flag Football"
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Coaches

# Your first practice plan

A simple, ready-to-run practice for first-time coaches: warm-up, skill stations and a scrimmage, built around our home field rules.

Englewood NFL Flag Football·Sep 24, 2026

New to coaching? You don't need a thick playbook to run a great first practice. Kids want to move, touch the ball and have fun. Here's a simple plan you can adjust to your division's age and attention span.

## Before practice

- **Know the rules.** Read the [rules](https://englewoodflagfootball.com/rules/) so you can teach the game the way it's played at our field.
- **Bring gear:** footballs, flag belts, cones and water.
- **Learn names first.** Kids play harder for a coach who knows their name.
- **Recruit a helper.** A second adult makes stations possible.

## The plan

### 1. Dynamic warm-up

Jogging, high knees, butt kicks, side shuffles and backpedals across the field. Finish with a few short sprints. Keep everyone moving; no standing in long lines.

### 2. Flag pulling

Pair players up. One jogs and cuts while the other closes in, breaks down, and pulls a flag with both eyes on the hips. Swap roles often. Talk about the rules: **no grabbing jerseys, no holding, no diving into the ball carrier, and no pulling flags off players without the ball**. See [Teaching flag pulling and avoiding flag guarding](https://englewoodflagfootball.com/news/teaching-flag-pulling-and-avoiding-flag-guarding/) for more.

### 3. Skill stations

Split into small groups and rotate:

- **Throwing:** grip, step toward the target, and follow through. Short distances first.
- **Catching:** hands up, thumbs together for balls above the chest, pinkies together below. Look the ball in.
- **Snapping and handoffs:** center-to-QB snaps between the legs, then clean handoffs behind the line. Remind players there are **no pitches or laterals** in our league, and **no handing off to the center** on the first handoff.

### 4. Routes and a few simple plays

Teach two or three basic routes (a quick out, a slant and a go route) and put them into a couple of plays your team can run all season. Simple and repeated beats complicated and confused.

### 5. Scrimmage

Finish with 6 on 6 or small-sided games. Rotate positions so every player gets a turn at quarterback, receiver, rusher and defensive back. Call out rules as they come up: the 7-yard rush line, the 7-second pass clock and the no-run zones.

### 6. Huddle up

End on a positive note. Recognize effort and good sportsmanship, and give a clear reminder of the next practice and game.

## Tips that make a big difference

- **Short and active beats long and perfect.** Avoid long lines and long talks, especially with younger kids.
- **Everyone plays, everyone sits.** Start building that rotation in practice.
- **Praise effort out loud,** and correct quietly and specifically.
- **Keep parents in the loop** with a quick message after each practice.

For more ideas, NFL FLAG has free [drills](https://nflflag.com/football-drills) and [plays](https://nflflag.com/flag-football-plays). Adapt them for 6 on 6 and our no-pitch rule. And read our [coaching guidelines](https://englewoodflagfootball.com/news/coaching-guidelines-for-the-new-season/) before the first game.

## Sitemap

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