Five-yard island
Why it works
Short routes are won in one step, the break, and a full field hides that step among everything else. A five yard island with one cone strips the route down to the stem and the break, and the defender gets the matching rep: keep the cushion, then close the moment the receiver plants.
Run it
10 MINTen minutes, about eight reps per receiver, then swap with the defender. Stop when the breaks get rounded; tired legs cannot plant.
Say this
“Every route looks the same to the cone.”
If the stem changes with the route, the defender knows the route before the break.
“Sink and snap at the cone.”
Lowering the hips in the last step is what makes the break sharp instead of rounded.
“Defence, keep your cushion, then drive.”
Closing early lets the receiver run past you; closing late gives up the catch.
Good looks like
- The receiver's path to the cone is the same on all three routes.
- The break is a plant, not a curve.
- The defender is still pedalling when the receiver reaches the cone.
- The ball arrives as the receiver comes out of the break.
The mistakes
Receivers drifting toward the sideline on an out before they reach the cone. Line a second cone straight upfield from the first and make every stem touch both.
Say: “Every route looks the same to the cone.”
Running a curve round the cone instead of planting. Have the receiver touch the cone with his outside hand as he breaks.
Say: “Sink and snap at the cone.”
The defender stopping his pedal before the receiver breaks. Put a cone three yards behind him; he may only plant once the receiver has.
Say: “Defence, keep your cushion, then drive.”
Take the defender out and run only the hitch and the slant, with the coach saying go at the cone, so the lesson is the stem and the plant.
Let the defender press at the line and add a double move, so the receiver has to sell the first break before the real one.