Football Conditioning Drill | Reactive Stretch Cord X Drill
Today, more than ever, to be a competitive football player requires, change of direction and speed from sideline to sideline. The resisted and assisted change of direction movements in this football conditioning drill, named The Reactive Stretch Cord X Drill, will help maximize lateral quickness, explosive sprint speed, and change of direction. Athletes will begin to see dramatic increases in these football skills if teams or individuals regularly practice this football conditioning drill.
This is a very taxing drill so coaches and partners need to concentrate on a few things. Be sure the athlete is keeping good running form and has correct footwork during the change of direction. Be sure to watch the athlete’s intensity, ample rest needs to be given between sets of the exercise.
Football Conditioning Setting Up The Drill
To set up the football conditioning drill you will need: 4 Speed and Agility Cones, a Reactive Stretch Cord and an anchoring partner. The Speed and Agility Cones will be placed evenly 6-8 feet apart in a square. The athlete will place the Reactive Stretch Cord snuggly around their waist, allowing the ring to rotate completely around their body.
The anchoring partner will place the safety harness around their wrist. Anchoring partner begin 7-8 feet away from athlete performing the football conditioning drill. Anchors need to stand off to the side of the same Speed and Agility Cone as the athlete performing the football conditioning drill. The final cone will also be through the same Speed and Agility Cone that you begin with. Anchors need to be active during football conditioning drill to give optimal resistance/assistance during the Reactive Stretch Cord X Drill.
Football Conditioning Drill Execution And Tips
Athletes will begin the football conditioning drill at the bottom left Speed and Agility Cone. The athlete will perform an explosive resisted sprint to the top right (or diagonal) Speed and Agility Cone. Anchors be sure to give proper resistance during sprints, so athletes can keep good form through the resisted sprint. Arriving at the second Speed and Agility Cone athletes will break their feet down and go right into an assisted lateral shuffle to the top left Speed and Agility Cone. Be sure to keep good form on the lateral shuffle and use good footwork when changing directions at the Speed and Agility Cones.
Arriving at the top left Speed and Agility Cone, athletes will open up their hips and take a drop step towards the bottom right Speed and Agility Cone (Cone diagonal to your position). The side resistance received in this movement is excellent for improving center of gravity and balance. In the final movement athletes will use good footwork to change directions, then perform an explosive assisted sprint for 10-15 yards, through the beginning Speed and Agility Cone. Be sure to perform the football conditioning drill, evenly in alternating directions.
How Many Sets For the Football Conditioning X Drill
Anchoring partners play a pivotal role in this football conditioning drill. When an athlete is moving away from the anchor’s position proper resistance must be given. This helps emphasize acceleration and explosion throughout the football conditioning drill. Proper assistance must be provided when the athlete is moving towards the anchor. This helps to implement overspeed training into the football conditioning drill, which forces the athlete to move faster than their body is accustomed. Proper resistance/assistance at each Speed and Agility Cone, when athlete is changing directions, is a crucial part of the football conditioning drill. The resistance and assistance during each change of direction helps each athlete work on their center of gravity and balance.
Athletes will perform 8-10 repetitions (4-5 per side) of this exercise at a time. Be sure to alternate sides each repetition. This allows athletes to develop explosiveness and mobility to both sides of the field. This football conditioning drill needs to be performed at full speed on each repetition. This means enough rest to keep good form and explosion throughout the football conditioning drill. No more than 2 minutes of rest should be given between each set of the Reactive Stretch Cord X Drill. This football conditioning drill should be performed in small groups of 4-6. This cuts down on the time an athlete will spend waiting before performing the football conditioning drill again. If other speed and agility work is planned for the same training session, repetitions should be cut down to 4-6 repetitions (2-3 per side).
Increase Change of Direction and Explosive Speed
Athletes looking to make serious improvements in their game, through training, should check out other items and workouts at KbandsTraining.com. Check out other great football drills, purchasing information for the Reactive Stretch Cord, and other great products to help increase mobility and sideline-to-sideline speed.