Let’s begin practice with a little fun!
Introduce this quick-thinking, competitive warm-up drill to your team and get training started on the right toe…sorry, foot!
Thank you to the University of Louisville for sharing a video example!
Objective: Be the first team to have three objects aligned in the tic-tac-toe grid.
Set up:
- Split your group into small teams of 2-4
- Establish a starting line (use a sideline to make the set up easier)
- Lay out a tic-tac-toe grid about 10 yards from the starting line
- Provide two sets of three different-colored objects at each grid (pinnies, cones, balls, whatever you have!)
The Drill:
- On the whistle, the players at the start of the line take off to drop their objects in the tic-tac-toe grid
- They then sprint back through the starting line and tag the hands of their teammate
- Their teammate then sprints to the grid to drop their object
- This continues until one team has their three objects aligned in the grid
- If all three objects are in the grid and there is still not a winner, the relay can continue with a tagged teammate running to the grid to move ONE of their objects to a new square
Points of Emphasis:
- Speed!
- Competitiveness!
- Strategy! Have a plan and anticipate your opponent’s choices!
Recommended:
- If you want to modify this to include stick and ball, exchange the objects for white and orange balls and have players dribble to the grid
- If you have multiple grids, make one the top grid and allow teams to move up or down based on whether they win or lose