Warming Up the Team
Started Monday practice feeling kinda lazy honestly. Saw the Angola High drills online and thought, “let’s try this crap.” Had the kids jog half-speed laps while I dumped cones everywhere. Took forever setting up zigzag patterns near midfield. Two kids tripped over cones immediately – total chaos. Yelled at them to focus but secretly doubted this whole thing.
The Cone Nightmare
Split squad into offense/defense lines. Made ’em run passing drills through those zigzag cones. First ten minutes? Absolute disaster. Balls flying everywhere except where they should. Quarterback kept forgetting the footwork sequence. Had to stop every two minutes fixing positions. Defense line started goofing off near the end zone. Honestly considered quitting right there.
- Made QBs restart if they missed 2 cones
- Forced receivers to catch off-balance throws
- Defenders had to touch grass before chasing
By Wednesday’s practice, the QB finally stopped stumbling over his own feet. Noticed receivers catching sharper cuts too. Defense still complained about the grass-touching thing though.
Live Scrimmage Meltdown
Friday scrimmaged using Angola’s pressure rules. First quarter was brutal – 3 turnovers in five minutes! Running backs kept panicking under defense pressure. Blew my whistle til my lips went numb restarting plays. One lineman actually cried when I made ‘em redo a failed snap. Almost caved letting ‘em quit early.
Then weirdly, after halftime? Kids started moving differently. Saw receivers remembering the cone paths mid-route. Defense actually coordinated blitzes without me screaming. Final touchdown drive looked smooth – like they finally understood spacing. Felt my grumpy coach face cracking into a smile.
Why This Actually Worked
Those Angola drills force players into uncomfortable situations fast. No easing into anything. Mess up? Start over immediately. Teaches game-speed decisions when tired and pissed off. By week’s end, players stopped overthinking. Now they just react. Still tweaking the cone distances though – our field’s smaller than Angola’s.