Contact Skills drill
Get Up Off The Floor
Fight to your feet under a body, which is what every phase of contact demands.
- Time
- 10 minutes
- Players
- 2 to 12 players
- Intensity
- High
- Equipment
- None
- Positions
- All positions
Setup
Soft grass, no equipment, with a partner. One of you lies face-down, the other lies across their back.
How to run it
- On a count the bottom player fights to their feet, engaging the core and legs, driving the hips up, getting a knee under and then a foot.
- The top player resists and tries to keep them down, but never grabs the neck or head.
- Swap roles after every rep.
- Do 8 reps each of 6 seconds maximal effort, 2 rounds - it doubles as an excellent contact warm-up.
- Every millisecond you spend on the floor in a game is a millisecond you are both illegal and out of the game.
Coaching cues
- Hips first, then a knee, then your feet
- Head up, spine long - never bridge on your neck
- Six seconds maximal, then reset
Common mistakes
- Trying to press up with the arms rather than driving the hips
- Bridging onto the head or neck - stop the drill immediately if you see it
Session plans that use this drill
Related drills
- Contact Security One-on-OneTake the carrier down and immediately win the ball on your feet.
- Latch and DriveBind onto a carrier just before contact and drive as a unit without conceding obstruction.
- Falling and Ball PresentationLearn to hit the ground safely and present the ball long, entirely alone.
- Ball Carry into ContactArrive into contact low, shoulder-first and legally, with the ball protected.
- Ball Placement Under LoadMake a long, clean placement with a body on top of you.
- Fend and Hand-OffCreate separation with a legal fend rather than a strike.