Four-Turn Circuit

Set-up

Four cones in a square about five steps a side, one ball, and enough room outside the square to accelerate a few steps after each turn. Each cone owns one turn: drag-back, inside hook, outside hook and Cruyff. Walk the player through all four once before anything is timed, because a turn learned wrong at speed takes far longer to correct than it takes to teach properly.

What you need

• 1 soccer ball
• 4 cones

The ground: 15 × 15 ft (about 5 × 5 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. Four cones in a square about five steps a side. One turn belongs to each cone.
2. Drag-back. Sole on top of the ball and pull it back behind the standing foot. Walk it first.
3. Inside hook. Inside of the foot wraps round the ball to bring it back the way they came.
4. Outside hook. Outside of the same foot takes it the other way. This is the one that needs the most repetitions.
5. Cruyff. Shape to pass and drag it behind the standing leg instead. Sell the pass with the body first.
6. Round and round. Four turns a lap, both feet, ninety seconds. Count the clean ones only.

Coaching points

• The turn and the touch out of it are one movement, not two
• Sell the Cruyff with the body before the foot does anything
• Both feet all the way round — the weak side is where the turns fall apart

What to watch: The first touch out of the turn. If the ball finishes under their feet they have turned but gone nowhere.

Common mistakes

• Turning but going nowhere, because the first touch out leaves the ball under the feet
• Rushing to speed before the shape of the turn is correct
• No body feint before the Cruyff, which is what makes a defender buy it
• Doing every turn on the strong foot and never rehearsing the other side
• Standing tall through the turn instead of dropping the weight to change direction
• Taking the ball too far from the body on the hook, so a defender could step in

What good looks like

A good target: 16 clean turns in 90 seconds using all four turns and both feet.

Progressions and variations

Making it harder

• Level 1: Each turn walked through separately with no ball pressure or timing
• Level 2: One turn at a time around the square, strong foot only
• Level 3: All four turns in a lap at a comfortable jog
• Level 4: Both feet through the full circuit
• Level 5: Timed — sixteen clean turns in ninety seconds
• Level 6: The parent calls which turn to use as the player approaches each cone
• Level 7: A passive defender at one cone so a real decision is being made

Alone, with a sibling, or in a group

• Solo: name each turn out loud before reaching the cone.
• Sibling: one calls which turn to use at each cone while the other works.
• Co-op: a lap each in relay, with the group calling the turn.

Adjusting it by age

• U14: Teach two turns rather than four, usually the drag-back and the inside hook, and let them own those before adding more. Walking pace with a correct shape is the goal, and the timing can wait weeks if it needs to.
• U18: All four turns both feet, called on the approach so the decision is live, and a passive defender at one cone. Insist on an explosive first step out of the turn — at this level the turn is only worth what the exit does with it.

For the parent running it

• Walk them through each turn once before timing anything. A turn done properly slowly beats four done badly fast.

Safety

• Grass or a forgiving surface while the turns are being learned, since the studs plant hard on a Cruyff

More on training safely at home: Safety at Home.

Why it matters

None