Week 3 Conditioning Drill: Tic-Tac-Toe

Location: Indoor or Outdoor

Equipment: 6 toilet paper rolls (bean bags or alternative), 1 (or more) footballs, chalk or tape

People: 2+

Targeted Skill: Thinking on the run

Sport Rationale: In football, players must make decisions quickly on the run

Drill:

• Using chalk/tape or other, create a large tic-tac-toe board on the ground
• Have the participants line up 5-10 yards away
• Have the first participant on each team attempt to throw a football at a designated target, once successful that individual will run to the tic tac toe board and place their bean bag in a square
• They then run back and attempt to hit the target with the football again before placing their next bean bag
• Participants cannot place a bean bag without successfully hitting the target first
• The object of the game is to get three bean bags in a row
• If all the bean bags have been placed but no winner has been decided, the next person to run down can move one of their own bean bags to a new square
• This continues until one team wins. Then the teams reset and try again.

Modifications: If more than 2 people, you can create teams and alternate turns hitting the target and placing the bean bag.

Coaching Tips & Terms:

Teamwork: Remind players that they need to work together in order to be successful.

Thinking on the Run: Players should be thinking where they should be placing the bean bag as they run towards the hoop.

Active Arms: Tell the athletes when they are sprinting to have active arms because this will help with increasing speed.