Relay with cones

A relay with a slalom course: two teams of four, four cones and a tag on the start line. The time is not won on the straights but in how tightly a player dares to turn around a cone, and that is the coaching point right there.

8 players 7 phases ± 12 min 4 cones, the full court From U13 upwards

Phase 1 of 7Two teams of four behind the starting line, cones on the course

Two teams behind the start line Equipment Ball

This animation comes straight out of the Koach app. In the app you play it at your own pace and the positions carry your players' real names.

Open in the app

How the drill runs

What you are training

Warm-up relay: two teams sprint a slalom around the cones, tag the next player and keep the relay going.

Changing direction at speed: braking, turning and accelerating again.
Planting the outside foot in the turn instead of sliding through at an angle.
Standing ready and reacting the moment your teammate comes in.

Coaching points

Turn around the cone with your outside foot planted.

Turning on the inside foot lets the knee fall inwards, which is the number one risk position for the ACL. On the outside foot the player stays stable and gets away faster as well.

Stay low in the turn.

Turning upright means swinging wide and losing meters. Turning low is also the same posture as a defender pushing off sideways.

The next player waits on the line with one foot forward.

Half a relay is won at the changeover. And it is exactly the starting position you want to see in serve receive too.

No penalty laps for the losing team.

Punishment after a warm-up takes out the energy you have just built up. An extra round with the starting order reversed gives the same effect without the grumbling.

Variations

Easier: Fewer cones and more distance between them. Let the first round be walked through the slalom, purely on the turning technique.
Harder: Backwards on the way back, or shuffling sideways between the last two cones.
With twelve players: Three teams of four on three lanes. Every round won is a point, three points wins.
As a game: Best of three, with the teams swapping one player after every round. That way the result does not hang on that one fast runner.

Volleyball drills

4 players · 6 phases SafeVolley base round Warm-up 3 players · 5 phases Shoulder activation with band Warm-up 2 players · 6 phases Dynamic movement patterns Warm-up 5 players · 5 phases Core plank with rotation Warm-up

Read on in the knowledge base: keeping twenty players busy on one court · one practice with six different levels · training speed for volleyball players