Start-line races
Why it works
Football speed is the first three steps, not top speed, and a race over ten yards is almost all first three steps. Changing the start every round makes the body solve getting up and going from a new position each time, which is what a fallen runner or a defender turned the wrong way actually has to do, and racing a partner gets full effort without a whistle.
Run it
6 MINSix minutes, two sets of six to eight races with a full walk back between each. That rest is what makes it speed work; shorten it and it turns into conditioning, which is fine as long as you mean to.
Say this
“Stay low for three steps.”
Standing up straight on the first step points the push at the sky instead of down the field.
“Drive your arms.”
The arms set the rhythm the legs follow; fast arms make fast feet.
“Run through the cone.”
A race that slows down before the line teaches the body to stop short in a game.
Good looks like
- The first three steps are short, low and fast.
- Arms drive straight forward and back.
- Both players run through the finish line at full speed.
- The walk back is a walk, so the next race is a real sprint.
The mistakes
Players popping upright the moment they get up. Hold a rope or a pool noodle at shoulder height over the first two yards.
Say: “Stay low for three steps.”
Arms flapping sideways across the body. Have them race once holding a cone in each hand, which forces the arms straight forward and back.
Say: “Drive your arms.”
Easing off a yard before the finish. Move the finish cone two yards further after they have started.
Say: “Run through the cone.”
Use only the standing and kneeling starts and race to a coach instead of a cone, so the youngest players have a person to run toward.
Start on a visual cue, a dropped ball or a hand signal, and make the finish cone change direction at the last second so the race ends in a cut.