Elusive line running

Running hard and straight, before changing angle sharply, can wrong-foot a defence and create gaps to exploit. All players should work on this technique. Elements of this session could become part of your team’s warm-up.

Warm up time: 5
Session time: 8-12
Development time: 8-12
Game time: 8-12
Warm down time: 7

What to think about

If a supporting runner or ball carrier can run straight at a defender then he is forced into making the decision to tackle. Once he is committed to tackling the ball carrier, the ball carrier can then change his line of attack to exploit the space or release a supporting run. The runners should accelerate off their driving foot. This session builds the confidence to be moving faster in the first place, and then change direction.

set-up

1. Run straight and balanced, while looking for signs to change direction.
2. Accelerate and attack the gap, even if it closes.

What you get your players to do

Set up the cones as in the top picture. A player runs through a gate consisting of two cones and runs to an indicated cone – which can either be a coloured cone that you hold up or a colour that you shout out. He has to run over that colour of cone. Change the distances and widths to challenge and make different angles. Add more cones and make the players change direction more than once so they might go for one colour and then have to change midway through their run to go for another.