Cut and Go

Set-up

Two cones about seven steps apart on flat, dry ground with the ball starting at the first cone and a clear few steps beyond each end. This is speed work rather than fitness work, so the rest periods are long and the number of repetitions is deliberately small — the value is in the quality of the braking and the change of direction, not the volume.

What you need

• 1 soccer ball
• 2 cones

The ground: 20 × 20 ft (about 6 × 6 m). One child can run it alone in a backyard. The space and equipment check lists every drill that fits the ground you have.

How to run it

1. Set up. Two cones about seven steps apart. Ball starts at the first one.
2. Accelerate. Full effort to the far cone with the ball. Jogging it defeats the purpose.
3. Brake properly. Three short chopping steps to stop, weight low. Not one long slide.
4. Knee over foot. On the cut the knee stays above the foot rather than falling inwards.
5. Go again. Accelerate straight back out of the turn. The exit is part of the rep.
6. Ten cuts. A minute of work then two minutes rest. Three rounds and no more — this is speed work.

Coaching points

• The braking is the half that keeps knees healthy, so it gets coached first
• Knee stays over the foot on the cut and never falls inwards
• Full effort out of every turn or it is just jogging with a ball

What to watch: The knee falling inwards on the cut. It should stay over the foot — this is the whole injury-prevention point of the drill.

Common mistakes

• One long skidding stop instead of three controlled braking steps
• The knee collapsing inwards on the cut, which is the injury risk this drill exists to reduce
• Jogging the straight sections, which removes the deceleration demand entirely
• Cutting with the body upright rather than lowering the weight into the turn
• Adding rounds because it feels easy, which turns speed work into conditioning
• Continuing once the technique has gone, when the fatigue itself has become the risk

What good looks like

A good target: 10 cuts in 60 seconds with three braking steps on each and no sliding.

Progressions and variations

Making it harder

• Level 1: Walk the pattern with no ball, rehearsing the three braking steps
• Level 2: Jog it with the ball, focusing entirely on the stop
• Level 3: Full effort on the straights with a controlled cut
• Level 4: Ten cuts in a minute with a proper stop every time
• Level 5: The parent calls which way to cut as they approach the cone
• Level 6: Widen to ten steps so the entry speed is higher
• Level 7: A passive defender to cut away from, making the direction a real decision

Alone, with a sibling, or in a group

• Solo: a phone timer and a count of cuts with a proper stop each time.
• Sibling: one works while the other counts and calls out sloppy stops.
• Co-op: pairs alternating, one working while the other recovers.

Adjusting it by age

• U14: Shorten to five steps between cones and coach the braking on its own before adding any speed. Six cuts with clean stops beats ten rushed ones, and the stopping mechanics are the part worth their patience.
• U18: Widen the cones so entry speed is higher, add a called direction and then a passive defender. Keep the volume low and the rest full — this is a quality drill, and once the knee starts falling in the session is over.

For the parent running it

• The braking matters more than the sprinting. Three short chopping steps to stop, never one long skid.

Safety

• Dry, flat ground only — cutting on a wet or uneven surface is how knees and ankles are hurt
• Stop the session the moment the knee starts falling inwards, whatever the rep count says
• Full rest between rounds; this is speed work, and fatigue makes it dangerous rather than harder

More on training safely at home: Safety at Home.

Why it matters

None