Recovery Run: Turn and Track

Set-up

Three cones in a straight line about ten steps apart on grass, with a fourth cone a step to one side of the middle cone standing in for the attacker. The first cone is the goal. There is no ball: this is the run a defender makes the moment the ball is lost.

What you need

• 4 cones or markers

The ground: 30 × 15 ft (about 9 × 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. Three cones in a line about ten steps apart, and a fourth cone a step to one side of the middle one as the attacker.
2. Jog out. Jog forward from the first cone toward the far one, as a full-back who has joined the attack.
3. Turn. On the call, turn on the very next step, never two more strides forward.
4. Sprint goal-side. Sprint back so the path passes between the attacker cone and the first cone, which is the goal.
5. Arrive set. Finish two steps past the attacker cone, side-on, knees bent, ready to defend.
6. Six runs. Six runs with a full walk back between each. Count the runs that arrived goal-side and set.

Coaching points

• Turn on the first step. Every extra stride forward after the ball is lost is a stride the attacker gains.
• Run back goal-side, on the line between the attacker and your goal, not straight at the ball.
• Arrive set and side-on. A defender who sprints past the attacker at full speed has to turn again and is beaten.

What to watch: The turn happens on the first step, not after two more strides forward, and they arrive side-on and balanced rather than running straight past the line.

Common mistakes

• Taking two or three more strides forward before turning
• Running straight at the attacker cone instead of goal-side of it
• Sprinting past the attacker at full speed and having to turn again
• Arriving square-on and upright instead of side-on and low
• Starting the next run before recovering, so the sprint gets slower

What good looks like

A good target: 5 of 6 runs arriving goal-side of the attacker cone, set and side-on.

Progressions and variations

Making it harder

• Level 1: Walk the route to learn the goal-side line
• Level 2: Full runs on a call, six with full rest
• Level 3: Five of six arriving goal-side and set
• Level 4: Change which side the attacker cone is on each run
• Level 5: A partner jogs as the attacker and races you back
• Level 6: Finish the run with ten seconds of jockeying in the channel

Alone, with a sibling, or in a group

• Solo: call your own turn on a count of three and time six runs, beating the total next session.
• Sibling: one jogs alongside as the attacker and the other must recover goal-side before them.
• Co-op: pairs race back from the far cone, the defender starting a step behind the attacker.

Adjusting it by age

• U14: Shorten the line to about seven steps between cones and give a full walk back between runs. The skill is turning on the first step and arriving goal-side, so count those before speed.
• U18: Lengthen the run, have a partner start as the attacker a step ahead, and finish each run by jockeying them for ten seconds without diving in.

For the parent running it

• Call 'turn' at random moments while they jog forward. Watch the first step back and the stance they arrive in, not just the speed.

Safety

• Flat grass with nothing to trip on, and a full walk back between sprints so tired legs do not turn an ankle on the turn

More on training safely at home: Safety at Home.

Why it matters

None