Effort-Based Scrimmage Scoring
Effort
Legend
- player
- partner / opponent
- ball
- movement path
How it works
Create a full competitive scrimmage where effort metrics influence the final score alongside touchdowns, demanding maximum effort throughout.
What you need
- football
- flags
- cones
Your focus
Standard scrimmage scoring rewards outcomes but not process. Effort-based scoring raises the intensity ceiling by making sustained effort a competitive advantage. Teams that develop high effort as a default habit become very difficult to play against in close games.
Run a full 5v5 scrimmage where touchdowns score 6 points; two coaches track effort (1-3 per play) for each unit.
The effort score is added as bonus points to the scoreboard and announced after each series.
A team could win on effort points even if they scored fewer touchdowns.
Debrief: how did knowing effort was scored change how you played?
Goal
You're doing it right when your effort-based score is as high as your touchdown count, maximum effort earned those points.
Helpful cues
- How you play is worth as much as what you score in this scrimmage
- Effort points compound across a series
- Play every rep like the effort coach is watching
Adjust the challenge
Make it easier
Strip it back
Use a 2-point effort scale (full effort vs not full effort) instead of 3-point.
UpLVL it
Add the next challenge
Players score their own and their opponent effort, adding peer accountability.No account needed
Build a practice plan
Add drills, keep the plan in this browser, then share a link with your staff or parents.This library helps you find the right drill. Inside UpLVL the right drill finds the player.
This library helps you find the right drill. Inside UpLVL the right drill finds the player.After every practice, UpLVL automatically surfaces the drills each player needs to work on most. See it for yourself.