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Purpose:

To improve your players agility, running technique, and coordination.

Setup:

Whatever kind of marker works best for you will do – I personally just stick with cones. Set them up so that the course is bookended by larger gaps. This way we can encourage players to explode out at the end of each run, a technique that is especially important for your running backs and receivers to learn.

Player running through the course.

Execution:

Have each player weave through the cones, with the player next in line waiting until their teammate has gotten past the fourth cone to run through.

As soon as a player has run the course, they should get in line, ready to go back the other way as soon as everyone has gone through once. Our next step is to separate the cones by a couple of yards, creating some strong Vs for the players to run through. The key here is for them to get low and sink their hips when they pass the cone, plant with their outside foot, and explode forward to the next cone.

Coaching Tips:

Great thing about this drill is that it is beneficial to every single player on your team. The agility is important, but even just developing the correct running technique – the arms are pumping, the knees as well, and their head is right over their knees.

It can also be a great help to place this drill directly on a line. The younger players especially, who’s motor skills are just developing will see huge gains in coordination

Tips for Younger Athletes:

  • Instruct players to maintain a low center of gravity by bending their knees and keeping their chest over their toes to enhance balance and coordination as they navigate through the cones.
  • Use simple directional commands like “left,” “right,” and “straight” to help young players focus on quick decision-making as they move through the drill.
  • Praise effort and enthusiasm rather than speed, which will motivate younger athletes to continue improving without feeling pressure to perform perfectly.

Tips for Older Athletes:

  • Emphasize the importance of precise foot placement near the cones to avoid wasted motion and to ensure maximum efficiency in direction changes.
  • Focus on the explosiveness of the first step after changing direction, which can often create separation on the field during a game.
  • Challenge players to visualize game-like scenarios as they execute the drill to enhance their mental preparedness and agility response under game conditions.
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