Speed & Agility
Reaction Gates Speed Work
Accelerate and decelerate on a cue
Speed & Agility
Dribbling
Reaction Gates Speed Work is a 10-minute speed & agility drill for 2-20 players, suitable for Under 5 to Adults at beginner, intermediate level. You need balls, cones, poles. 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
Dribbling
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Foundation Phase
Youth Friendly
Adult Suitable
Quick 10 Minutes
Reactions
Duration
10 min
Players
2-20
Pitch size
20 x 15 yards
Ability levels
Beginner / Intermediate
Pitch diagram
Reaction Gates Speed Work — Marked area · 20 x 15 yards
Step 1 of 3Player sprints on the coach's arm signal to the matching gate.
- 1. Player sprints on the coach's arm signal to the matching gate.
- 2. Second round: dribble the ball to the signalled gate.
- 3. Six reps each round with full recovery.
- Cones mark the area
- Ball
- Poles to dribble / run through
- Solid arrow = pass, thick = shot, dashed = run / dribble
Objectives
- -Accelerate and decelerate on a cue
- -React to a visual signal rather than a whistle
- -Sharpen change of direction with the ball
Setup
- 1Start cone with three coloured gates 10 yards away.
- 2Ball placed at the start cone for the second half of the drill.
- 3Coach standing behind the gates.
Coaching instructions
- 1Player sprints on the coach's arm signal to the matching gate.
- 2Second round: dribble the ball to the signalled gate.
- 3Six reps each round with full recovery.
Coaching points
- -Low body position on the first three steps
- -Eyes up on the coach, not the floor
- -Plant the outside foot to change direction
- -Ball touch pushes you towards the gate, not sideways
Common mistakes
- -Anticipating the signal and guessing
- -Slowing down before the gate
- -Big, slow steps when changing direction