1 on 1's - Get more out of your personnel

Just wanted to take a minute and write a short article addressing the importance of 1 on 1's during practice.  This is a simple drill that most college teams include in their practice schedule; however I feel that it is often overlooked during high school practices.  Some high school coaches may use this regularly but for those who don’t, I hope this explanation persuades you to incorporate this drill into your weekly practice schedule.  The reason 1 on 1’s can be difficult to do at the high school level is personnel and numbers.  At larger high schools, this may not be a problem but for most of us who coach with limited numbers and talent, providing competitive and efficient 1 on 1’s can be a problem.  To fix this problem, you must pair your best athletes against each other; let them go head to head.  One on offense, the other on defense and the next time through the line, they switch.  If you only have 4 good receivers, allow those four guys to pair up and get the majority of work with your starting qb; pair talent with talent and non-talent against non-talent.  If all you ever do is let your best receivers run routes against weaker scout team players, then you are getting nothing accomplished. I have seen many high school teams who have their best guys running routes against freshman who can barely get in a stance, that should not ever happen.  I understand that using your best players against each other, especially if you are limited, can cause a problem with rest and effort.  If they get tired, let them take a rest and get back in the drill.  This is also a competitive way to help with conditioning and can limit post-practice conditioning if the players do this drill with great effort. 

I speak from experience when I say that this drill alone can make a tremendous difference in your passing game.  If you run this drill correctly, it will allow your qb and receivers to developed timing and chemistry while getting critical reps throwing and running routes.  This drill should also be extremely competitive.  I love seeing guys talk trash and get excited when making big time throws and catches during this drill.  It’s a fun way for the players to gain reps.  Lastly, if you have an experienced qb, let him decide what routes the receivers will run.  This is important because it allows the qb to figure out what routes he likes throwing to specific receivers and it gives the coach an idea of what routes the qb feels most comfortable throwing. It also lets the QB get used to taking charge of the offense.  If you don’t have an experienced qb, choose the routes yourself based on what you feel may need the most work.   I understand that this article may be very basic to a lot of coaches but hopefully it provided some insight for those coaches who do not frequently use 1 on 1’s or for those who are looking to get more out of their 1 on 1 period.  Here are a couple videos showing some good clips of the Tennessee Vols and UC Davis during their 1 on 1 periods.