Speed & Agility
Counter Reaction Sprint Pairs
Sharpen reaction speed off a cue
Speed & Agility
Football Fitness
Transition
Counter Reaction Sprint Pairs is a 12-minute speed & agility drill for 2-20 players, suitable for Under 9 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.
Back to drill librarySpeed & Agility
Football Fitness
Transition
Technical Practice
Beginner
Intermediate
Advanced
Full Squad
Minimal Equipment
Youth Friendly
Adult Suitable
Counter Attack
Duration
12 min
Players
2-20
Pitch size
28 x 16 yards
Ability levels
Beginner / Intermediate / Advanced
Pitch diagram
Counter Reaction Sprint Pairs — Pairs facing each other · 28 x 16 yards
Step 1 of 5Coach cue releases one player to sprint and the other to chase.
- 1. Coach cue releases one player to sprint and the other to chase.
- 2. The winner takes a touch and finishes at the target.
- 3. Alternate who starts as the chaser.
- 4. The team in possession starts each rep in their own half and must build forwards.
- 5. Turnovers earn a direct counter at the mini goals worth two points.
- Ball
- Pairs working across a marked lane
- 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
- 1Pairs facing each other over a start line with a target 15 yards away in a 28 x 16 yards area.
- 2Place two mini goals on the halfway line for the counter-attacking side to aim at.
- 3Balls on the target line.
Coaching instructions
- 1Coach cue releases one player to sprint and the other to chase.
- 2The winner takes a touch and finishes at the target.
- 3Alternate who starts as the chaser.
- 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
- -Low first steps out of the start
- -Drive the arms
- -Stay relaxed at top speed
- -Counter in a straight line — the first pass forward beats the recovery run
Common mistakes
- -Standing tall on the first step
- -Too many reps without rest
- -Dribbling into traffic when the counter is on
Where this drill fits
- More football speed & agility drills
- More football football fitness drills
- More football transition drills
- football drills for U10s
- football drills for U12s
- football drills for U14s
- football drills for U16s
- Football session plans built around this theme