Drill4 phasesRuns 32.4 s
Injury-Prevention Warm-Up
Adapted from FIFA 11+ and similar warm-ups that lowered youth knee and ankle injuries in trials (this is not the official programme): easy running in pairs between two lanes of cones, then balance, squats and soft landings, then bounding and plant-and-cut. The tested programmes took 15-20 minutes at least twice a week; this shortened version fits in about 12 and has not been tested on its own. Keep long static stretches for after practice.
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Ages
- U12–Adult
- Minutes
- 12
- Players
- 2–16
- Balls
- 8
- Equipment
- 8Cone
Run it, tilt it, change it to fit your practice. Free to start. No account, nothing to install.
Coaching points
- Knee over toe on every landing, squat and cut; a knee that caves in is the thing to correct.
- Land softly on the balls of the feet with hips and knees bent; quiet landings are good landings.
- Quality first, then speed: start each part slowly and build up.
- Do it at least twice a week: the injury reductions came from teams that did it regularly.
- Dynamic movement before practice; save long static stretches (60 s and more) for after it.
Phase by phase
1Phase 1
Part 1, running. A and B jog up their lanes side by side. At each cone lift a knee and turn the hip out, other leg at the next cone; on the next trip turn the hip in. Easy pace, getting warm.
- A cuts
- B cuts
2Phase 2
Back down: at each cone shuffle in to meet your partner, jump sideways into a light shoulder-to-shoulder bump and land on both feet, hips and knees bent, knees not caving in.
- A cuts to the left block
- B cuts to the right block
3Phase 3
Part 2, on the spot. Stand on one leg, knee soft and over the toes, and pass the ball back and forth; 30 s each leg. Then squats and squat jumps: land quietly on the balls of the feet.
- A passes to B
- B passes to A
4Phase 4
Part 3, faster. Bound up the court with high knees and soft landings, then come back with plant and cut: a few steps, plant the outside foot, knee over toe, push off at an angle.
- A cuts
- B cuts
- A cuts to the left block
- B cuts to the right block
- C cuts to the left dunker
- D cuts to the right dunker
Variations
- Add plank, side plank and partner Nordic hamstring lowers in Part 2 when there is time (15-20 min version).
- Harder balance: pass the ball around the waist or under the raised knee, or push each other gently off balance.
- Before a game: only the running parts (1 and 3).