Effort Score Series
Effort
Legend
- player
- partner / opponent
- ball
- movement path
How it works
Build sustained effort habits by scoring practice reps on effort quality and not just on skill execution.
What you need
- football
- flags
- cones
Your focus
When only outcomes are scored, players learn to protect themselves by not extending maximum effort. Effort scoring reverses this by rewarding the process independently of results. Players who build effort habits at this age enter high school athletics with a significant competitive advantage.
Assign two coaches: one evaluates skill execution (0-3 points), one evaluates effort (0-3 points) on every rep.
Run a 15-play practice series; both scores are recorded on a shared whiteboard.
A player can win the Effort Leader title by scoring 3/3 effort on at least 10 of 15 plays.
Debrief: are effort scores and skill scores correlated?
Goal
You're there when your effort score stays high throughout the series, consistency beats one flashy rep.
Helpful cues
- Effort score of 3 means you gave everything on that play
- Effort is a decision, skill develops over time
- High effort with a mistake beats low effort with a result
Adjust the challenge
Make it easier
Strip it back
Only score effort so players focus purely on one dimension.
UpLVL it
Add the next challenge
Players self-score their effort and compare with the coach score to build 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.