Speed & Agility

Continuous Reaction Sprint Pairs

Sharpen reaction speed off a cue

Speed & Agility
Football Fitness
Transition
Premium

Continuous Reaction Sprint Pairs is a 12-minute speed & agility drill for 2-20 players, suitable for Under 5 to Adults at beginner, intermediate, advanced level. You need cones, balls. Below you will find the objective, the set-up, how to run it, coaching points, common mistakes, progressions, regressions and variations.

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Speed & Agility
Football Fitness
Transition
Technical Practice
Beginner
Intermediate
Advanced
Full Squad
Minimal Equipment
Foundation Phase
Youth Friendly
Adult Suitable
Repetition

Duration

12 min

Players

2-20

Pitch size

24 x 12 yards

Ability levels

Beginner / Intermediate / Advanced

Pitch diagram

Pitch set-up: Continuous Reaction Sprint Pairs12C24 x 12 yards

Continuous Reaction Sprint Pairs — Pairs facing each other · 24 x 12 yards

Step 1 of 5Coach cue releases one player to sprint and the other to chase.

  1. 1. Coach cue releases one player to sprint and the other to chase.
  2. 2. The winner takes a touch and finishes at the target.
  3. 3. Alternate who starts as the chaser.
  4. 4. As soon as one sequence ends, the next server plays in without waiting.
  5. 5. Run 4-minute blocks and count total completed sequences as a squad score.
  • Ball
  • Pairs working across a marked lane
  • C = coach / server
  • Solid arrow = pass, thick = shot, dashed = run / dribble

Objectives

  • -Sharpen reaction speed off a cue
  • -Develop the first three steps
  • -Add a football action after the sprint

Setup

  1. 1Pairs facing each other over a start line with a target 15 yards away in a 24 x 12 yards area.
  2. 2Load a ball at each starting station so the next rep can begin immediately.
  3. 3Balls on the target line.

Coaching instructions

  1. 1Coach cue releases one player to sprint and the other to chase.
  2. 2The winner takes a touch and finishes at the target.
  3. 3Alternate who starts as the chaser.
  4. 4As soon as one sequence ends, the next server plays in without waiting.
  5. 5Run 4-minute blocks and count total completed sequences as a squad score.

Coaching points

  • -Low first steps out of the start
  • -Drive the arms
  • -Stay relaxed at top speed
  • -Reset fast — the value is in the volume of good reps

Common mistakes

  • -Standing tall on the first step
  • -Too many reps without rest
  • -Long queues while balls are collected

Where this drill fits

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