Shuffle then go
Why it works
Two shuffles put the runner in a stance and the chaser in a dead start, which is exactly the gap a coach watches get given away on Saturday. The chaser has to close ground he did not have to lose.
Run it
6 MINFour each way, then swap. Six minutes. Stop earlier if the chases stop being close, because a chase nobody can win teaches nothing.
Say this
“Run at the hip, not the body.”
The angle that catches a belt is tighter than the angle that catches a person.
“Go when he goes, not when he moves.”
The shuffle is bait, and reacting to it is how the chaser loses two yards before the sprint starts.
“One hand, and take the belt with you.”
A pull is a grab and a pull-through, not a slap.
Good looks like
- The chaser is still and low through the shuffles, not rocking with them.
- The first step is at the runner's hip, not at where he is standing.
- The gap closes over the ten yards rather than opening.
- The pull comes with one hand while both players are still running.
The mistakes
Chasing the shoulders, arriving level, and having nothing to reach for.
Say: “Run at the hip, not the body.”
Biting on the first shuffle. Make the runner shuffle three or four times at random until the chaser stops guessing.
Say: “Go when he goes, not when he moves.”
Two hands out and a shove in the back, which is a penalty and a hurt kid.
Say: “One hand, and take the belt with you.”
Cut it to five yards and let the chaser start level. At this age the win is reaching for a belt at all, not catching anybody.
Chaser starts two yards back and facing the other way. He turns on the whistle and has to find the runner before he chases him.