Coach's Instructions

Drive each knee up to hip height. Foot should be dorsiflexed (toe pulled up). Arms pump in opposition. Stay on the balls of the feet — don't flat-foot.

Heel drives up to glute on each step. Slight forward lean. Quick, short steps — this is about hamstring activation and turnover, not covering ground.

Take 3 walking steps, then drop into a bodyweight squat — feet shoulder-width, hips back and down, chest tall. Hold 1 second. Stand. Repeat. Covers the whole length.

Quads, glutes, hip flexors. Wakes up the primary push muscles before any plyometric work. Also reinforces squat mechanics used in jump landings.

3 steps, then swing one straight leg forward and up to hip height (or slightly above). Opposite arm reaches to meet the foot. Keep the standing leg tall — no forward lean.

3 steps, then step into a forward lunge. Front knee directly over ankle (not past toes), back knee 1–2 inches off the ground. Torso tall. Hold 1 second. Drive through front heel to stand.

3 steps, then pull one knee up toward the chest using both hands. Balance on the standing leg for 1 full second — leg straight, hips level. Release and continue.

Glute activation, single-leg balance, hip mobility. Also builds the proprioceptive control needed for single-leg landing stability.

3 steps. Pull one knee up to hip height, then externally rotate (open) the hip — imagine stepping over a low fence. Hold briefly, lower with control. Targets the hip external rotators essential for lateral cuts.

3 steps. Balance on one leg, hinge forward at the hip while the back leg extends behind — flat back, arms reaching toward the ground. Hip-hinge, not a spine bend. Return to standing by driving the hips forward.

3 steps. Pull heel to glute, then reach the opposite arm straight overhead. Balance on the standing leg, tall posture. Combines quad stretch with overhead reach to open the hip flexor simultaneously.

Cueing the overhead reach improves balance AND deepens the hip flexor stretch — two cues in one. Make sure they're not just pulling the heel without the reach.

3 steps. Extend one leg forward with heel on ground, toe up. Hinge from the hip and scoop both hands underneath the foot. Hold 1 second. The goal is active hamstring lengthening under mild load — not just a passive hold.

Run forward continuously — this is a running drill, not a skip or march. Keep both legs straight as you move. With each stride, drive the lead leg forward and up in a straight-leg kick, aiming for hip height or above. The leg swings forward with your running momentum — don't slow down to execute each kick. Reach the opposite arm toward the rising foot. Stay tall, brisk, and fluid the whole length.

Running through the kicks at tempo trains the hamstrings and hip flexors to fire exactly how they need to in sprints and bounds. After 12 mobility drills, this transitions the body from controlled movement into dynamic running — bridging warm-up and the speed work ahead.

Short, rapid hops moving forward. Minimal knee bend — the power comes from the ankle plantarflexion only. Think of the ankle like a spring that barely loads and snaps back. Fast ground contact, quiet landing.

Ankle stiffness and reactive strength — a key component of sprint speed and jumping. Directly prepares the achilles and calf complex for plyometric work. Watch for excessive knee bend, which defeats the purpose.

Skip pattern — one foot, skip, other foot. On the "skip" foot, drive that knee up to hip height with toe dorsiflexed (pulled up). Opposite arm drives forward. Land on the ball of the foot under the hip.

Same as A-skip, but after the knee drive, extend the leg forward then "paw" the ground back underneath the hip — like clawing the ground. This mimics the ground-contact mechanics of sprinting.

Stand tall. Lean forward from the ankle (not the waist) until you feel like you're about to fall. At that tipping point, drive one leg forward explosively and sprint 10m. The lean forces proper acceleration mechanics.

Jog or stride into the start zone, then hit full speed at the 15m mark. This removes the acceleration phase and isolates max velocity mechanics. Time the 20m "fly zone" only.

These are true max-effort reps. 90 second rest minimum between each. If the athlete doesn't look significantly faster than during a jog, the rest interval is too short.

Drop to a squat position (pause — no countermovement), then explode vertically. Land on both feet simultaneously, absorb with hips and knees, STICK for 2 full seconds before the next rep.

Week 1 uses a paused squat jump to isolate concentric power and teach landing mechanics without the elastic energy that makes CMJs harder to control.

Stand tall. Quick dip (countermovement) downward — hips back, knees soft. Immediately reverse and explode up, swinging arms overhead. The dip and jump feel like one fluid motion. Land soft, knees bent, balanced.

Cue a faster dip each week. Wk 1 = controlled dip. Wk 3+ = explosive, spring-like. The faster the dip-to-jump transition, the more elastic energy is captured.

STEP off the box — do not jump off. As soon as both feet contact the ground, immediately jump as high as possible. Ground contact should be under 0.25 seconds. The goal is to teach the nervous system to store and release elastic energy rapidly.

Exaggerated running with maximum distance per stride. Drive the lead knee up aggressively while the opposite arm drives forward. Hold the peak (airborne phase) as long as possible. Land on one foot, immediately load and bound off the opposite leg.

Push off one foot laterally, driving the opposite knee across the body. Land on the outside foot only and STICK — absorb for 1 second before bounding back. Knee tracks over the second toe on landing.

Jump vertically and drive both knees toward the chest at the peak. Land soft on the balls of both feet simultaneously, absorb with flexed knees and hips. Do not land stiff-legged.

3 cones in a line, 5 yards apart. Start at middle cone in 3-point stance. Sprint 5 yards right, touch cone. Sprint 10 yards left, touch cone. Sprint 5 yards back to start. Touch every cone — no shadow cuts.

Low hips on cuts. Plant the outside foot hard, drive off it laterally. The cut happens in 1 step — not 2–3 deceleration steps. Week 1 = walk through mechanics. Wk 3+ = timed.

4 cones in a T-shape: A at start, B 10 yards ahead, C 5 yards left of B, D 5 yards right of B. Sprint to B, shuffle left to C, shuffle all the way right to D, shuffle back to B, backpedal to A. Never cross the feet on the shuffle.

Wide stance, hips lower than knees, chest up. Slide one foot out, follow with the trail foot — never let the feet touch together. Head stays level (no bouncing). Arms out, ready position. Push off the lead foot, don't drag.

Two athletes face each other in a 5-yard channel. One is the offensive player (moves freely), one is the defender (must mirror). Defender keeps their hips facing the offensive player at all times. React — don't predict.

Tell the defender to watch the offensive player's hips — not the head, feet, or shoulders. The hips don't lie. This builds the same reactive skill used in live defense.