Change direction, then react
Transcript
Turning fast and reacting fast are different skills. Here's a drill to train both. Warm up first. Then ladders are fine, but a small trial in young players found no benefit over normal training. You need three cones in a line, five metres apart, and a partner facing you. Watch. From the middle, sprint to an end cone and back. Now your partner points to a cone, and you react. First, go on the point, not before. Then, touch the cone, push back. Our target is a few planned reps, then six to eight reacting reps, resting thirty to forty-five seconds. Then take the free test at footballreach.com.
What it trains
Reactive agility: changing direction fast when a partner gives the signal. A 2015 review found that planned cone turns and reacting to a signal are separate skills, that reactive tests tell higher and lower level players apart better, and that agility training should include a reactive element, so most of this drill is reacting.
Set up
- Warm up first
- 3 cones in a line
- 5 m apart
- A partner facing you
How it works
- Warm up first, every time: the FIFA 11+ Kids warm-up for ages 7-13 (FIFA 11+ from 14, about 15-20 minutes) or your club warm-up. Then, if you like, do about 2 minutes of footwork on a flat ladder. Keep it short: a small trial in 12-year-olds found ladder training no better than normal training.
- Set 3 flat cones in a straight line, 5 m apart, on flat grass. Stand just behind the middle cone. Your partner stands about 4 m in front of you, facing you.
- Planned reps: pick an end cone, sprint to it, touch it with your hand and come back to the middle. Do 4 to 6 planned reps, alternating ends, with 1.5-2 min rest after each.
- Reactive reps: your partner waits a different time each rep, then points to an end cone. Go on the point, touch that cone and come back to the middle. About 5 s per rep. (The diagram shows one reactive rep: your partner points left, so you run to the left cone and back.)
- Do 6-8 reactive reps with 30-45 s rest between, then swap roles.
Coaching points
- Go on the point. Watch your partner, not the cones, and move only when they point. Setting off early is a guess, and guessing is not the skill you are training.
- Touch the cone, push back. Get low as you reach the cone, touch it with your hand, then push off hard back the way you came.
Not this
Going before your partner points. It can look quick, but it is guessing, and the drill only trains reacting if you wait for the signal.
Dose
- A few planned reps first
- 6-8 reacting, 30-45 s rest
Our target: 10 minutes, 3 times a week, after the warm-up: about 2 minutes of ladder footwork, then mostly reactive games (the Football Reach plan target, not an FA rule). The rep and rest numbers are our own suggestion, not from a study.
Harder / Easier
Harder
Your partner points again as you touch the first cone, so you may have to sprint 10 m to the far end and then back to the middle (a reactive 5-10-5). Or they call a colour instead of pointing (use coloured cones).
Easier
Jog the planned reps first, then react at three-quarter pace until the touch and push back feel clean.
Safety
- Flat, dry grass or a track, with room to slow down past each end cone. Never on a road or a driveway.
- Your partner stands well in front of the cone line, never in your running lane.
- If you use a ladder, it must lie flat with no raised rungs.
- Under 16: if your knees or heels hurt when you run or jump, stop and tell an adult. Knee and heel pain is common while you are growing, and a GP or physio can help. 16 and over: if something hurts, stop rather than training through it, and get it checked by a GP or physio.
Sources
- Int J Sports Science & Coaching - agility vs change of direction (opens in a new tab)
- PubMed - ladder training trial in 12-year-olds (opens in a new tab)
- PMC - 5-10-5 pro agility protocol (opens in a new tab)
- FIFA - injury prevention (FIFA 11+, ages 14+) (opens in a new tab)
- PMC - FIFA 11+ warm-up for ages 7-13 (opens in a new tab)
- The FA Boot Room - growth and the physical corner (opens in a new tab)
Not sure which skill to work on first? The free Football Reach test gives you a Player Development Score and shows which of the four corners of your game to work on next, in about two minutes.
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