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Skills & Drills
Marking
- Marking: Correct eye technique under pressure.
- Third-Man-In Marking: Decide whether to go or to stay.
Hand Balling
- Half Volley Pick Up: Ball handling to pick up the football on the half volley and then handballing while on the rise.
- Hot Potato: Catching and handballing the ball in a tight situation.
Kicking
- Casting the Line: Use a weighted kick to enable the ball to land in various target areas at varying distances.
- Cue Kicking: Kicking drill that replicates various kicks during a game of football.
- Cut and Lead on Angle: This drill is a warm up drill designed to practice leading correctly and kicking to a moving target. It teaches players to lead correctly and not be one-dimensional. It also teaches the kicker to weight the kick properly and position the ball out in front of the leading player.
- Depth Perception: Recognize effective targets at different depths.
- Hit the Leader: Decision-making to pass to the leading player who is in the best position.
- Hit the Target: Decision-making to pass to the leading player who is in the best position.
- Kurt's Tackle and Hit Drill: This is a great fitness drill that also works on your players’ kicking skills under pressure. Players train their tackling and finish with a kick to a leading player. A good one for preseason.
- Lead From the Front: Enable the leading player to take a mark in front of the eyes on a fast lead.
- Read the Defence Lanework: Use opponents’ movements as cues for decision-making.
Goal Kicking
- Circle Snaps: Practice snap-shooting technique under pressure in a fun competitive environment.
- Golf Football: Kick goals using the drop punt from random positions from within 50 metres.
- Golf Par: Give experience in using correct technique under the pressure of fun competition.
- Goosey Goal Kicking Drill: A drill designed specifically to improve player’s set shots for goal.
- Leg Breaks: To experiment with methods of making the ball roll in different ways.
- Match Situation: Maintain correct technique when physically tired.
- Run an 'S': Teach the advantage of shooting for goal with the preferred leg.
- Running Goal Kicking Drill: This is a goal kicking drill that allows players to practice their running kicking at goal while under game-simulated pressure. At the time of publishing this drill, the Adelaide Crows regularly performed this drill during their pre-game warm ups.
- Snap Football: Taking accurate snap shots on goal and knowing when to use this kick.
Skill Games
- 27 Easy to follow skill games, complete with diagrams and step-by-step instructions.
- AusKick Compendium of Games
- Passing Game: The rewards and risks of short and long passing.
- Touch Football: Decision-making using handball.
Game-Based Drills
- Ball-Up With Contact Bags: Give experience in clearances which are under close body contact.
- Break Away: A game-based training drill refining player's skills at the stoppages.
Stopages - Exercise 1 - Stopages - Exercise 2
- Centre Bounce Game: To learn centre bounce strategies in a fun competitive environment.
- Constant Feeds: Practice basic ruck and clearance technique.
- Contest and Crumb: A great drill to teach players the art of crumbing a contest
- Corridor Footy – Funnel: A great drill that teaches players how to play corridor football.
- Corridor Full Oval Drill: This is a drill that teaches “front and square” set up, hard inside running in numbers and long accurate kicking.
- Cover The Rebound: Teaches players to how to 1) run into space to rebound the ball from defense, and 2) apply pressure to defend against the opposition’s rebound.
- Creating Space: Teach the tactics required to create space for a target inside 50 metres.
- Defensive Transition After a Behind: Give players experience in quick defensive transition.
- Diamond Drill: Basic practice to bring the play inside when receiving a handball.
- Fold Back or Rebound: Give defenders experience in working out the odds of whether to outnumber their opponents at contests or spread to rebound.
- Frawley's Full Oval Drill: This is a fantastic drill – designed by former Richmond Coach Danny Frawley – that provides specialized training for all players involved.
- Front & Square Close to Goal: Different responsibilities of attackers and defenders close to goal.
- Front & Square Game: Teach basic front and square positioning inside the forward 50 metres.
- Going to the Fat (empty) Side: To switch the play to the fat side in order to move the ball easily through the midfield and forward line.
- Grid Handball Game: This simple drill is one of the most effective game-based and fitness drills you can use. It teaches players how to create space, decision making, speed of handball (loop vs bullet), drawing opponents and the art of quick hands/release.
- Holding Ground: Encourages players to attack the ball and work together. Great warm up drill!
- Hunting In Packs: This is a drill that teaches players to gain possessions through teamwork by protecting the ball winner and to release the ball to an outside running player to clear the contest area.
- In One Way - Out The Other (1): To give players experience in using the fat side of the ground.
- Initiative Square: Improves decision-making, tests skills and improves fitness.
- Kicking Shallow to Inside 50 metres: Give experience in using the short pass from the centre of the ground to keep possession inside 50 metres.
- Loose Player Game (1): To teach a loose player how to influence a match.
- Muddy’s Switch Drill: This drill has been designed to teach players how to “switch the play” in the backline to open up the fat side of the ground and work the ball to the forwards. It was developed by Chris “Muddy” Waterman, the highly regarded former Defensive Coach with the Fremantle Dockers and West Coast Eagles, and now league coach of the mighty Subiaco Lions in the WAFL.
- Odd Man Rebound: A transition drill from defence to attack that also incorporates important practice of centre ball ups for midfielders.
- Protecting the Ball: Teach the skill of ball protection.
- Reaction Drills: These are two drills designed to develop your players’ reaction and decision-making skills, fitness and sheparding. They are also good preseason drills and have been thankfully provided by Jamie McGinley from the AFL ACT league.
- Reading Off Hands: Another good crumbing drill.
- Receiving in the Field of Vision: Moving into the field of vision of the player with the ball.
- Run & Carry Basic: Teach the basic science of run and carry.
- Switch of Play: A handy drill that teaches players to create the loose man, push hard to the opposite side of the ground and run and carry the ball.
- T-Drill: This is a drill aimed to enhance the decision-making ability of players whilst practicing kicking or handballing skills.
- Using the Loose Player: Give experience in taking advantage of a loose player in different parts of the ground.
- When to go to the Contest, When to Peel Off: Give experience in playing the odds at contests.
- Zoning Defenders: Give zoning defenders experience in proper positioning.
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MORE RESOURCES
- Laws of Australian Football
- AFL Coaching: Coaching resources for the AFL
- AFL Coaching Newsletter
- AFL Coaching Edge
- AFL Community Club
- AFL Junior Coaching Manual
- AFL Youth Coaching Manual
- AFL Victoria
- Coach AFL
- Coach AFL Drills and Articles
- Coach Assist
- Official AFL Level 1 Coaching Manual
- WAFC Coaching Resources
