Figure Eight Drill
Setup
Setup two circles of cones to indicate the boundaries of the figure eight. Make sure that there is a gap in between each of the circles so that that players have a path to run through the middle of the figure eight portion. You will need to ensure that there are enough cones to make the path curved so that there are no sharp angles.
Purpose
Most agility drills focus on making hard cuts with sharp 90 degree angles. The Figure Eight drill, however, focuses on a very rounded type of agility. This specific type of agility prepares football players for a turning footwork maneuver that they will need to utilize throughout the course of a football game.
Drill Description
Players go through this drill one at a time starting at the bottom end of the figure eight. As they spring around the cones, players should make the turns as close as possible to the cones without knocking any of them over. Throughout the course of these two full circles, the players will encounter two full 360 degree turns in order to improve that ability to make gradual turns on the football field.
Make sure that a player in line does not start the drill too early in order to avoid collisions in the middle of the figure eight.
To add a sprinkle of fun to this drill, you could time each player and declare their time to the team in order to encourage players to give this drill all of their effort in the name of competition.
