Soccer agility drill with a competitive edge

This agility warm-up soccer drill has the added attraction of having a competitive element which will appeal to your team.

Set up the soccer drill

Two players start side by side. One player is the "runner" and the other is the "shadow." At the start of this soccer drill, the runner is only allowed to run forwards and backwards.

Over 20 metres, the runner runs at different speeds, turning only at the end, trying to make the shadow overrun them by more than two metres. If the runner stops, the shadow must stop as soon as possible. The shadow must not fall more than two metres behind the runner.

Keep this soccer coaching drill going for 30 seconds, then swap the players around.

How to develop the drill

  • Change the distances that the players can be apart.

  • Practise the drill with the runner controlling a ball to work on players' ball control skills.

  • Play "chicken," which is where the runner stops, then suddenly runs to either end of the training drill area, trying to beat the shadow there.

Soccer coaching tips


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