Sharks and minnows
Why it works
It is the only drill on the list where the reps get harder as a kid gets better at it, because every pull adds a shark. It also does the thing a coach cannot do with a clipboard: after two rounds you know exactly who your quickest runners and your best pullers are, and so do they.
Run it
10 MINThree or four full games, ten minutes. End on a game somebody wins rather than on the clock.
Say this
“Sharks, go where he is going.”
Chasing the spot he is in is how a slower kid never catches anybody.
“Minnows, pick your own gap.”
Five kids at the same hole is one pull and four caught behind it.
“Hold on to every flag you pull.”
It settles arguments and it keeps the count honest.
Good looks like
- Sharks are running at the hips, not at the backs.
- Minnows spread across the whole width rather than bunching.
- The last two rounds are genuinely hard for the last minnows.
- Nobody is arguing about who got pulled, because the flags are in hands.
The mistakes
Running at the body and arriving behind it.
Say: “Sharks, go where he is going.”
The whole line running as a herd, which is what happens every first round.
Say: “Minnows, pick your own gap.”
Dropping pulled flags on the floor, which turns the last round into a debate.
Say: “Hold on to every flag you pull.”
Narrow the field so crossing is easier, and start with two sharks so the first round is not one kid against everybody.
Make the minnows carry a football, or narrow the field by two yards every round.