Mobility Cool Down

Objective

• -Bring heart rates down calmly
• -Work through hip, groin, hamstring and ankle mobility
• -Create two minutes to review the session

Setup

1. 1Players in a circle with plenty of space.
2. 2One ball in the middle for the review questions.
3. 3Flat, safe surface away from goals.

How to play

1. 1Two minutes of easy jogging and walking, then controlled mobility holds.
2. 2Work through calves, hamstrings, hips, groin and quads.
3. 3Pass the ball to the player answering each review question.

Progressions

• +Progressive Tempo: add a fourth maximal round
• +Ball For Every Player: shrink the working area
• +Reaction Start: two cues, one a decoy
• +Add a competitive scoreline for the last round

Regressions

• -Progressive Tempo: stay at the first two tempos only
• -Ball For Every Player: bigger area, share a ball between two
• -Reaction Start: coach counts players in
• -Simplify the area or the service until success returns

Variations

• -Progressive Tempo — Three rounds: 60% pace, 80% pace, then match pace with full recovery between.
• -Ball For Every Player — Every player works with their own ball so no one waits in a queue.
• -Reaction Start — Every repetition begins from a visual or audio cue rather than a set count.
• -Partner Race — Players work in matched pairs and race each repetition, best of five.
• -Mobility Focus — Each round finishes with a controlled mobility hold for the hips, groin and ankles.
• -Change Of Direction — Add a 90 or 180 degree turn into every repetition before the finish.
• -Team Target — The whole group works to a shared score target and repeats the round if they miss it.
• -Flip the practice to the opposite side of the pitch

Common mistakes

• -Skipping the cool down to save time
• -Aggressive stretching straight after hard work
• -Talking over the players instead of asking questions