Quick feet, then react
Transcript
A ladder warms up your feet, but games need you to react. Here's a drill for both. Warm up first. A small trial found ladder drills no better than normal training. You need a flat ladder of ten squares, three coloured cones, and a partner. Watch. Two feet in every square, quick and light. First, quiet, quick feet, eyes up. Not this, looking down. Now your partner calls a colour as you come out. Sprint to it, touch it, come back. Then, go on the colour. Our target is two minutes of ladder, then six to eight reactions, resting thirty seconds. Then take the free test at footballreach.com.
What it trains
A short footwork warm-up on a flat ladder, then the part games need: reacting to a call. A trial in 12-year-olds found ladder training no better than normal training, and a review found reacting to a signal is a separate skill from planned turns.
Set up
- Warm up first
- Flat 10-square ladder
- 3 coloured cones
- A partner to call
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.
- Mark a flat ladder of 10 squares, about 45 cm each (chalk, flat markers or a flat agility ladder). About 4 m past the end, set 3 different coloured cones in a fan: one straight ahead and one to each side. Your partner stands to one side of the end of the ladder.
- Quick feet, about 2 minutes in all: two feet in every square, then in-in-out-out sideways (both feet into a square, both feet out, one square along each time). Walk back between runs.
- Reaction reps: run the ladder with two feet in every square. As you come out, your partner calls a colour. Sprint to that cone, touch it with your hand and come back to the end of the ladder. (The diagram shows one rep: your partner called the top cone.)
- Do 6-8 reaction reps with about 30 s rest between. Your partner mixes up the colours and the moment they call. Then swap roles.
Coaching points
- Quiet, quick feet, eyes up. Both feet land in every square, light and quick, on the balls of your feet. Look up at the cones past the end, not down at the ladder.
- Go on the colour. Wait for the call and go the moment you hear the colour, not before. Get low, touch that cone with your hand, then push back to the end of the ladder.
Not this
Looking down at your feet in the ladder. With your eyes on the cones past the end, you are ready to react the moment you come out.
Dose
- 2 min of ladder first
- 6-8 reactions, 30 s rest
Our target: About 2 minutes of ladder footwork, then 6-8 reaction reps with 30 s rest (our target, not from a study).
Harder / Easier
Harder
Your partner points instead of calling, so you have to look up to see it. They stand well past the cones, facing you, out of every running lane.
Easier
One ladder pattern only, at a steady pace, and jog the reaction until the touch and the turn feel clean.
Safety
- Flat, dry ground (grass, a 3G pitch, a playground or a sports hall), never a road or a driveway. Chalk lines, flat markers or a flat ladder only: raised rungs, or a ladder that slides, can trip you.
- Leave room to slow down past every cone. Your partner stands to one side, never in a running lane.
- The ladder is a footwork warm-up, not speed training: keep it to about 2 minutes.
- 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
- PubMed - ladder training trial in 12-year-olds (opens in a new tab)
- Int J Sports Science & Coaching - agility vs change of direction (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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