Combination Ladder and Ball

Objective

• -Improve foot speed and coordination
• -Link quick feet straight into a football action
• -Keep work-to-rest ratios sensible

Setup

1. 1A ladder with a ball station five yards beyond it in a 22 x 12 yards area.
2. 2Add a neutral bounce player on each side line inside a marked yard-wide channel.
3. 3One ladder, balls at the far station.

How to play

1. 1Player works through the ladder pattern then accelerates to the ball.
2. 2They complete a dribble through two gates and jog back.
3. 3Full recovery between reps — quality over volume.
4. 4The first pass must go into the bounce player before the practice opens up.
5. 5A sequence only scores when three different players have touched the ball.

Progressions

• +Demand a one-touch set from the bounce player
• +Raise the demand once the group is consistently successful

Regressions

• -Allow the bounce player unlimited touches
• -Simplify the area or the service until success returns

Variations

• -Bounce players can join the attack once per round
• -Run the practice on the opposite side of the pitch

Common mistakes

• -Ladder work at jogging pace
• -No rest between reps
• -Two players combining over and over while the third stands still