Agility drill
Pro Agility Shuttle
Train repeated hard braking and re-acceleration off both feet over short distances.
- Time
- 15 minutes
- Players
- 1 to 4 players
- Intensity
- High
- Equipment
- Cones
- Space
- 9m straight line
- Positions
- All positions
Setup
Three cones in a straight line 4.5m (5 yards) apart on flat grass. You start at the middle cone.
How to run it
- Straddle the middle cone in a three-point stance.
- Sprint 4.5m to one side and touch the line with your hand, turn and sprint 9m across to the far cone and touch it, then turn and sprint 4.5m back through the middle.
- Shorten your last two or three steps before each touch so you get your weight behind your braking foot instead of drifting past the cone.
- Do 3 reps leading each way with 2 minutes rest.
- Be honest with yourself about the score - most of this drill is straight-line running, so a fast time here does not automatically mean you turn well.
Coaching cues
- Chop the steps before the line
- Get your hips turned before your foot leaves the ground
- Drive out low off the plant
Common mistakes
- Rounding the turn instead of planting and driving
- Letting your body tip sideways over the planting foot
Related drills
- Run and CutBuild the 45-degree cutting step that beats a defender, in the safest possible knee position.
- Accelerate-Decelerate RunwayTrain hard braking, which loads the body more than sprinting and underpins every change of direction.
- Curved Sprint ArcDevelop speed on a curved running line, which is how most attacking lines are actually run.
- Box DrillTrain switching between sprinting, shuffling and backpedalling without standing up in between.
- Mirror DrillTrain genuine reactive agility by making you respond to a real player instead of a set pattern.
- Run to DaylightTrain reading a defender late and cutting decisively into the gap at full speed.