Repeat Sprint drill
Repeat Sprint Set
Train the ability to sprint hard again and again on short recovery, which is what fades in the last twenty minutes.
- Time
- 25 minutes
- Players
- 1 to 20 players
- Intensity
- High
- Equipment
- None
- Space
- 35m straight line
- Positions
- All positions
Setup
The 5m dashed line to the near 10m line is 35m, so this needs no cones at all.
How to run it
- Set a repeating 20-second timer.
- From a standing start, sprint the full 35m flat out and run through the far line rather than slowing into it.
- Jog back and be set on the line before the next beep, which leaves you roughly 10 to 12 seconds of real recovery.
- Do 6 reps, rest 3 to 5 minutes, and complete 2 to 3 sets.
- Rep one must be genuinely maximal - if your first and last reps are the same speed then either you sandbagged the start or your rest is too long, and either way the session did not do its job.
Coaching cues
- Maximal on rep one, not 90%
- Be on the line with 5 seconds to spare
- Run through the line, not to it
Common mistakes
- Pacing yourself to survive the set, which quietly turns a repeat sprint session into a tempo run
- Resting until you feel ready instead of holding the fixed clock
Session plans that use this drill
Related drills
- Repeated Sprint SetsBuild repeat sprint ability across a training block using sets that protect sprint quality.
- Alactic Power RunsDevelop the pure power end of repeat sprint ability with full recovery between efforts.
- Alactic Capacity RunsExtend how long you can hold near-maximal speed before the anaerobic systems take over.
- Speed Endurance Maintenance ShuttlesTrain holding speed while badly fatigued, on deliberately short recovery.
- Speed Endurance Production ShuttlesProduce maximum output on every single rep, with long rest to keep quality intact.
- 22m Shuttle GrinderBuild tolerance to a single sustained maximal effort with heavy braking and turning.