Football Offensive Line Practice Plan for 9 and 10 Year Olds

Angles, sets, and the first assignment rules, all on air. The line is a thinking position played six inches at a time.

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Bear crawls, lateral bear crawls, and duck walks between cones five yards apart, then six snap-stance pops: stance, "HUT," two-inch pop to ready, freeze, inspect. The inspection standard is old news now (low, flat, eyes up) and should pass without correction most reps.

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You call an irregular cadence ("READY... SET... ... HUT!"); the kid explodes their first step on the sound, freezing after step one for inspection: six inches, flat, low, in the called direction. Vary the hold length to punish guessing. Ten reps, scored: perfect steps on true snaps earn a point, jumping early loses two. Linemen who move ON the snap (not after, never before) win the first six inches of every play.

Cones at four angles from the stance: straight ahead, 45 degrees each way, and directly sideways. You call them by name ("BASE!", "DOWN!", "REACH!", "SLIDE!"); the first TWO steps go there, short-short, body staying square-ish and low. Twelve calls. Naming steps after real blocks (base, down, reach) sneaks the playbook into a footwork game.

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The pass set, on air: from stance, kick the outside foot back and slightly out, slide the inside foot to follow, hands up at the chest, back flat, eyes forward. Three kick-slides in a row along a cone rail, staying low and balanced, never crossing feet or hopping. Six rails. Speed matters less than the shape; a clean slow set beats a frantic wobbly one at every level of football.

You are a SLOW rusher (walking pace, hands behind your back, never touching): you approach and weave; the kid kick-slides to stay squarely between you and an imaginary QB spot marked by a cone behind them. Thirty-second reps, four rounds. Losing the square (turning the shoulders) is the only failure; getting beaten while square is a fine rep at this age.

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Cones as defenders in different pictures: one head-up, one to either side, two at once, none at all. You arrange, the kid answers fast from a rule you give them (cover the head-up man first; nobody on you means help inside; two means take the inside one and trust help), then executes the first two steps toward their answer. Ten pictures. The rules are simplified but real, and answering fast is the skill: hesitant linemen block nobody.

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Three full-ceremony snaps: stance, cadence, get-off at the called angle or a pass set on your "PASS!" call, held to the freeze. No coaching during, applause after. End by asking which rep they would show a coach; self-grading is how line pride matures into line craft.

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What to watch today: the feet crossing. In mirror work and angle steps, tired kids cross their feet to move faster and instantly tip off balance. The slide discipline (short steps, feet never closer than shoulder width) is the session's load-bearing standard; hold it warmly and the rest of the position stays standing.