Open wheel shuffle
Why it works
Three different movements joined together, which is the only way any of them get tested. A defender can backpedal beautifully on its own and still fall over the first time he has to come out of it sideways and then forwards. The long ball on the end is what stops it becoming a footwork exercise with no football in it.
Run it
8 MINFour each, alternating the side. Eight minutes, with a proper rest between reps, because a tired version of this teaches the wrong shape.
Say this
“Three gears, no stopping between them.”
The rep is one movement, not three movements with pauses.
“Shuffle, do not cross.”
Crossing the feet in the middle gear is how a defender ends up facing the wrong way.
“Hips open the whole way.”
Square hips can only go backwards; open hips can go anywhere.
Good looks like
- The three gears run together without a pause anywhere.
- No crossover step in the shuffle, at all.
- The turn comes out of the shuffle rather than after it.
- He catches the long ball at full speed, not standing under it.
The mistakes
Stopping to change direction, which is where the time goes.
Say: “Three gears, no stopping between them.”
Turning it into a run early because shuffling is harder.
Say: “Shuffle, do not cross.”
Squaring up during the shuffle, which means the turn has to start from scratch.
Say: “Hips open the whole way.”
Drop the long ball and finish on the turn. Add the catch once the three gears run together.
Point the opposite way once the shuffle has started, so he has to change gear twice.