Where Can You Find Free Sports Drills and How Do You Use Them in a Session?

Updated

Free sports drills are widely available through coaching websites, video platforms, and national governing body resources. Sportplan, for example, describes itself as offering "15,000+ Sports Drills, Videos" alongside tools to "Build and Share Training Plans," with searchable coaching ideas and animated drills. The practical challenge is not finding drills — it is filtering them by sport, age group, and skill level, then assembling the good ones into a session that actually flows.

Where Free Sports Drills Come From

Source What you typically get Best for
Coaching websites (e.g. Sportplan) Searchable drill libraries, animated or video demonstrations, plan-building tools Coaches who want variety and a way to organise sessions
Video platforms Demonstrations filmed by coaches, clubs, and players Visual learners; checking technique before you teach it
National governing bodies and associations Age-appropriate progressions tied to official coaching frameworks Junior and pathway coaching where standards matter
Club and school shared resources Session notes, lesson plans, and drills passed between coaches Adapting something already proven with similar groups

Sportplan's own description highlights "junior" and "advanced" as categories, which reflects a common split: most free libraries organise drills by difficulty so you can match a drill to the group in front of you.

How to Filter Drills by Sport, Age, and Skill Level

Work through these questions before you shortlist anything:

  1. Sport and skill focus — Does the drill train the specific technique or decision you want to improve this week (e.g. passing under pressure, not passing in general)?
  2. Age appropriateness — Can the group physically and cognitively handle it? A drill requiring complex reading of play suits older or more advanced players.
  3. Skill level — Is there a simpler version for beginners and a harder version for advanced players? Drills with no progression get stale fast.
  4. Space and equipment — Does it fit your pitch, court, or hall, and the equipment you actually have?
  5. Group size — Will everyone be active, or will players queue? Long queues waste session time.

Judging Whether a Free Drill Is Any Good

A free drill is worth using if it passes these checks:

  • Clear objective — You can state in one sentence what players should do better after it.
  • Demonstration available — Video or animation lets you see the drill run correctly before you teach it.
  • Realistic to set up — You can explain and start it in under two minutes.
  • Adaptable — You can make it easier or harder without redesigning it.
  • Safe — Contact, landing, and equipment risks are manageable for your group.

If a drill fails the demonstration or setup check, it usually costs more session time than it returns.

Building a Session From Loose Drills

Free drills arrive as fragments. A workable session structure:

  • Warm-up (10–15%) — Movement, ball touches, or a light game that raises heart rate and rehearses basic skills.
  • Technical block (25–35%) — One or two drills on the session's main skill, unopposed or lightly opposed.
  • Progression (15–20%) — The same skill with added pressure, defenders, or constraints.
  • Game or opposed practice (25–35%) — Small-sided games where the skill appears naturally.
  • Cool-down and review (5–10%) — Light movement plus one or two questions about what players noticed.

The key is that each block feeds the next: the technical drill isolates the skill, the progression adds pressure, and the game tests whether it holds up.

Common Pitfalls With Free Resources

  • No progression — Many free drills are one-off activities. Pair each with a harder or easier variant before you use it.
  • Missing video — Text-only descriptions are easy to misread. Prefer drills with animation or video, which Sportplan's description emphasises.
  • Copyright and attribution — Free to view does not always mean free to republish. If you share drills with other coaches or online, check the source's terms and credit the originator.
  • Drill collecting instead of coaching — A session of ten unrelated drills teaches less than three connected ones.
  • Ignoring your own context — A drill that works for an advanced squad may fail with juniors. Always test the fit with your group.

A Practical Starting Point

Search a free library by sport and age group, shortlist three drills on one skill, and check each has a demonstration and an easy/hard variant. Build them into the warm-up, technical, progression, and game structure above. Run the session, note what worked, and keep the drills that produced visible improvement — that small, tested set will serve you better than a large untested collection.