Foot fire
Why it works
Chopping the feet raises a heart rate in about fifteen seconds with no ground needed, and the call at the end is what turns it from a fitness thing into the start of every defensive rep: moving feet, then a direction somebody else chose.
Run it
4 MINFour goes each, ten to fifteen seconds of chop before each one. Four minutes. Stop when the chop starts getting slower rather than the sprints getting faster, because that is fatigue and this period is not for that.
Say this
“Feet hot, hips low.”
The point of the chop is a loaded stance, and a player standing up straight has fast feet and nothing to push off.
“Pump the arms like you are already running.”
Arms are what carry the chop into the sprint, and still arms mean the first step has to start the whole body from scratch.
“First step forward, not up.”
Out of a chop the instinct is to bounce, and a bounce is a step spent going nowhere.
Good looks like
- Knees stay bent and the hips stay low for the whole chop.
- Arms are moving the whole time, not just the feet.
- The first step on the call goes forward and the player is at speed within two steps.
- Nobody false steps backwards before going.
The mistakes
Chopping tall with the hips up. Put a hand out at their chest height and make them stay under it.
Say: “Feet hot, hips low.”
Hands hanging or held out for balance, which costs a full step on the go.
Say: “Pump the arms like you are already running.”
Hopping on the call. Stand two yards in front of them and tell them to try to beat you to that spot.
Say: “First step forward, not up.”
Count ten out loud and then say go, so they know it is coming. At this age the win is fast feet existing, not reacting to anything.
Chop for thirty seconds, and make the call one of go, back or a direction, so the sprint is not always forwards.