Sharks and Minnows Flag Game (youth flag football drill)

A fast, loud tag game with flags. Minnows try to run from one end of a big box to the other without losing a flag, and the sharks in the middle try to pull them. Kids beg for it, and it quietly works on flag pulling, dodging and running.

Setup

Make a big box with four cones, about 26 yards wide and 17 yards long. Everyone wears a flag belt. Two sharks (S and T) start in the middle of the box. Everyone else is a minnow and lines up on one end (A, B, C, E and F).

How to run it

1. The sharks shout "Fishy, fishy, come swim in my sea!" and the minnows run for the other end.
2. Sharks try to pull a flag from any minnow. Minnows must stay inside the cones.
3. A minnow who loses a flag puts it back on and becomes a shark for the next round.
4. Keep going until one or two minnows are left. They start as sharks in the next game.
5. Play 3 or 4 short rounds. Stop while the kids still want more.

Coaching points

• Sharks: stay in front and chop the feet before reaching, the same as in a game.
• Minnows: run to open space, not straight at the other end.
• Call out good flag pulls by name. It makes the drill part of the lesson.
• Use it as a reward at the end of practice or to warm up on a cold day.

Common mistakes

• Kids holding or covering their flags. Call it right away, like a real game.
• A box that is too big for the number of kids, so nobody gets caught.
• Rounds that go on too long. Short and fast keeps everybody running.

Used in these practice plans

• First Flag Football Practice of the Season (7 minutes)

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