The present disclosure provides a training apparatus for developing fundamental skill for the game of football which comprises a base pad having at least one of a hand grip and a shoulder pad, and an outer pad mounted and securely stitched to a front of the base pad. The outer pad includes a torso region and a shoulder region shaped to mimic shoulder pads of a football player. In some embodiments, the outer pad is covered with a grippable mesh material adapted to mimic a texture and form of a football jersey. The outer pad may be smaller than and fit within a perimeter of the front of the base pad, and during training, the outer pad is adapted to draw attention to the center of the training apparatus to draw hands of a training player inside the perimeter of the base pad.