Shadow Boxing Drill
Setup
Players partner up and use a yard line to remain horizontally parallel with each other throughout the drill.
Purpose
The worst thing a running back can do is to fumble the football while running with it. This drill teaches good ball carrying technique and provides ball carriers with practice holding tightly onto the football while running and avoiding a strip or fumble.
Drill Description
The ball carrier makes his way across the field at a slow quarter speed jog while tightly holding onto the football.
His partner, the defender, shuffles alongside him as he uses his arms to strip, rip, knock, pull, and punch the ball out of the ball carrier’s grip.
The ball carrier, must use proper ball carrying technique to hold the ball high and tight across his chest, and securely hanging onto it with his fingers covering the point, his forearm across the outside, and his chest protecting the inside.
The partners trade off carrying the ball and switching sides/arms each time they go back across the field.
