How to prepare for football tryouts: a four-week plan

What football coaches actually grade at tryouts

Here’s the honest part: you can’t change your height or your 40 time in a month. You can change almost everything else a coach writes down. A football tryout usually has two layers: testing that everyone runs, then position work that shows whether you can do the job. Coaches use the numbers to sort players and the drills to decide.

USA Football’s advice to tryout players starts with technique: a ball dropped with proper hands-only form impresses more than one caught “like a loaf of bread,” and a short spiral beats a long wobble. That’s the theme. Clean form, full effort, fast reset. For the full picture across sports, see how to prepare for tryouts and what coaches look for at tryouts.

The combine-style tests, and how to practice each one

Many youth and high school tryouts borrow from combine testing. Ask the coach or a current player which tests they run. If you don’t know, prepare for the four below. Most young players lose time on the start and the turns, not top speed. That’s fixable in four weeks. The mental side of football carries through all of it; mental training for football goes deeper.

Keep speed work fresh. Short, fast reps with real rest teach your body to run fast. Tired reps teach it to run slow. Do conditioning on separate days.

A four-week football tryout plan

This plan assumes four or five training days a week, about 45–60 minutes each. If tryouts fall in summer heat, train in the morning or evening and build time outside slowly.

1. 01

   Week 4 out: find out and set a base

   Learn the date, the tests, the gear rules and the forms (most schools need a physical on file). Time your 40 and shuttle once so you have a starting point. Begin easy conditioning: 20–25 minutes of tempo runs or intervals, three days. Pick your three position basics.

2. 02

   Week 3 out: build the starts

   Two speed days of 10-yard starts and shuttle footwork. Two days of position work (15 minutes each basic). Add bodyweight strength: squats, lunges, push-ups, planks. One day of a mental rep: practice your reset after a bad start on purpose.

3. 03

   Week 2 out: simulate tryout day

   Run a mock tryout once: warm-up, tests, position drills, then conditioning, in that order, timed by a parent or teammate. Notice where you fade. Keep the other days the same as week 3.

4. 04

   Final week: sharpen and rest

   Cut volume by about half. Two short speed sessions early in the week, crisp and fast. Walk through your position basics. Rest the last two days before tryouts. Sleep and water matter more now than one extra workout.

Position drills to practice at home

You don’t need a full team. A ball, four cones and a wall or a partner cover most of this. Pick the row for the position you want, plus a second position if the coach asks you to play anywhere.

Flag tryouts follow the same idea: route running, catching and clean flag pulls replace blocking and tackling. Bring a flag belt if they ask.

Heat and safety: the part nobody should skip

The National Federation of State High School Associations says exertional heatstroke is “the leading cause of preventable death in high school athletics.” It also says an athlete “cannot be ‘conditioned’ in a period of only two to three weeks,” which is why your four weeks of steady work matter.

The NFHS notes that most heat-related deaths happen in the first few days of practice, usually from doing too much, too soon, with too much gear too early. The National Athletic Trainers’ Association guideline for high schools treats the first 14 consecutive days of preseason practice as the heat-acclimatization period, with helmets only on days 1–2, helmets and shoulder pads on days 3–5, and full gear and contact no earlier than day 6. Your school or state may run its own version.

1. 01

   Show up hydrated

   The NFHS says urine should be straw yellow or the color of lemonade when you’re hydrated. Energy drinks are not hydration.

2. 02

   Get your physical early

   The NATA guideline calls for a preparticipation exam by a physician before preseason. Book it during week 4.

3. 03

   Speak up early

   Dizziness, cramping, confusion or stumbling are reasons to stop and tell a coach or athletic trainer. Pushing through is not toughness.

Tryout day: what to wear, bring and do

Check what’s required. USA Football lists things like a mouth guard, cleats and a flag belt, and reminds players that rain can move evaluations indoors, where you’ll need sneakers. It also suggests wearing something with your name or a color that stands out, so coaches remember you.

1. 01

   Arrive 20–30 minutes early

   Check in, find the coach, shake hands and say your name and position.

2. 02

   Warm up like it counts

   Run your own warm-up from the mock tryout. Coaches notice who’s ready.

3. 03

   Be first in line once

   Volunteer to go first in at least one drill. It shows you want it.

4. 04

   Reset after every bad rep

   A false start or a drop is one rep. The next one is the one they remember.

For parents: how to help without adding pressure

• How to help your child prepare for tryouts
• How to calm tryout nerves
• Didn’t make the team: what to do next
• How to be a good sports parent

After tryouts, whatever the list says

If you made it, the work you did for tryouts is your preseason base. Keep the starts and position basics going. If you didn’t, ask the coach one question: “What are the two things I should work on to make it next year?” Then write them down and train them.

Football rewards players who show up for the next snap. reset is the mental training app for athletes, built to practice exactly that: Notice. Name. Return. Try a 2-minute reset, or join the waitlist.