Football Fitness
Counter Ball Interval Fitness
Build football-specific endurance with the ball
Football Fitness
Speed & Agility
Dribbling
Counter Ball Interval Fitness is a 16-minute football fitness drill for 2-20 players, suitable for Under 12 to Adults at beginner, intermediate, advanced level. You need balls, cones. Below you will find the objective, the set-up, how to run it, coaching points, common mistakes, progressions, regressions and variations.
Back to drill libraryFootball Fitness
Speed & Agility
Dribbling
Technical Practice
Beginner
Intermediate
Advanced
Full Squad
Minimal Equipment
Youth Friendly
Adult Suitable
Fitness Type: Interval
Counter Attack
Duration
16 min
Players
2-20
Pitch size
36 x 21 yards
Ability levels
Beginner / Intermediate / Advanced
Objectives
- -Build football-specific endurance with the ball
- -Repeat high-intensity efforts with proper recovery
- -Keep technique clean when tired
Setup
- 1A shuttle course with cones at 5, 10 and 15 yards in a 36 x 21 yards area.
- 2Place two mini goals on the halfway line for the counter-attacking side to aim at.
- 3One ball per player.
Coaching instructions
- 1Players dribble out and back to each cone in turn as one rep.
- 2Work for 30 seconds then rest for 60 seconds.
- 3Six reps in total with a longer break at halfway.
- 4The team in possession starts each rep in their own half and must build forwards.
- 5Turnovers earn a direct counter at the mini goals worth two points.
Coaching points
- -Keep the touch tight even when tired
- -Turn off both feet
- -Use the rest properly
- -Counter in a straight line — the first pass forward beats the recovery run
Common mistakes
- -Pacing the work interval
- -Cutting the rest short
- -Dribbling into traffic when the counter is on
Where this drill fits
- More football football fitness drills
- More football speed & agility drills
- More football dribbling drills
- football drills for U12s
- football drills for U14s
- football drills for U16s
- Football session plans built around this theme