It is common for football tryouts to begin with warmups and stretches that loosen the body. Coaches will often test players’ speed and agility through drills.
In order to practice drills tailored to their particular positions, football players are usually split into position groups.
Warmups
At a tryout, all the players will do a quick warmup first. The last thing a coach wants is for anyone to get injured on their first day back.
In order to loosen up, and get some of the nerves out, the first few minutes of practice will likely involve stretching and light cardio.
Speed Testing
As part of a football tryout, players will run a forty-yard dash or a similar distance to gauge their speed.
This drill will play a large role if you aren’t sure what position you want to play in high school football. A player’s speed dictates what position they will end up playing.
A player who shows he is extremely fast at an NFL tryout will often be assigned to a running back or wide receiver position.
Additionally, the speed test will give coaches an idea of how athletic each player is.
In football tryouts, larger players who play on the offensive or defensive line are not usually valued based on their forty yard dash time.
Agility Testing
There are many different football tryout drills that can measure a player’s agility, so it’s difficult to know what drill you’ll be doing.
When a player performs agility drills, he or she will be able to demonstrate the ability to change directions quickly and work in tight spaces.
Again, if this is a freshman tryout for a high school football team, how you perform in the agility drill may determine your position on the team.
Positional Drills
The coaches will likely move on to positional drills after you complete agility and speed drills.
For instance, quarterbacks and defensive linemen will do drills together, as will wide receivers and defensive linemen.
The coaches assign players to positions based on their preferences. Players will go to the group of the position they want to play if this does not happen.
Positional group drills will be much more tailored to the specific responsibilities of each position.
QBs will practice throwing the ball while wide receivers will practice running routes.
At this point in the tryout, coaches are already trying to mould their athletes into better players.
Though this does not mean that you have already made the team. At this point, the positional coaches will be keeping a close eye on each player to see how they perform in the drills.
This part of the tryout is not about raw athleticism, but about your skills at a specific position.
If you are performing well in the positional portion of the drills you will likely make the team.
Cardio workout
Many football tryouts end with cardio-based drills after positional drills.
Often, coaches use tryouts to get players into shape for the season. Many returning players will not be in the physical shape to perform their positions effectively.
As a result, coaches often use more conditioning drills at the end of practice, such as running gassers or 110’s.
If you want to learn more about what a preferred walk-on is in football or what senior night football is, check out our guides.