EXPLANATION OF THE ROUTINE
The routine consists of varies fundamental movement skills, such as change of direction and agility. In this routine the players are going to run, tap cones, chase or escape from the opponent within three different levels. The end is defined by player A being tagged or player A reaching player’s D baseline.

PREPARATION

  • Place 16 cones (4 lines – 2 squared field) along the side-lines.

EXECUTION OF THE ROUTINE
In this routine, the primary context is an outdoor sports area where football coaches regularly perform the practice sessions at a club. The routine can be used as warming-up for different types of goals in football (i.e. make space dribbling, fake movements, defending, attacking, scoring, etc.) or as a core exercise in a training session. In this routine the players are going to run, tap cones, chase or escape from the opponent within three different levels. Players need to score points by passing from one side to another without being touched by the defender, who will interfere with this happening after that both players have tapped (or crossed over) the given cones

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: HOW DO WE REACH OPTIMAL MOTOR LEARNING AND APPLY SELF-DETERMINATION?

  • Decision making will stimulate adaptive motor control: Multidirectional skills in an open unpredictable environment are incorporated, defender/attackers must anticipate/react depending on quick changes in the environment (e.g. other players, cone colour change, ball, space and time restrictions).
  • Implicit motor learning: This is stimulated with the external focus / analogy examples of instructions/feedback to improve body posture while changing directions.
  • Challenge/Fun: Beating the opponent (challenge) to collect a winning point (fun/gamification by making this a tag game). This means agility/changing direction is practiced with some pressure (i.e. time pressure or earning points). The unanticipated landings and cutting movements make it challenging and context specific. Picking own material also makes it fun for the players.
  • Motivation: Enhanced by providing autonomy and replicating various realistic in game situations (tasks, goals, scores, defender/attacker) stimulating a safe challenge between players (e.g.: give a point when successfully defended will increase the competition between players).
  • Autonomy: Make the players choose or control different aspect of the play (e.g.: role attacker/defender, which sequence of cone to be tapped, practice with or without a ball, practice with a rugby- or a tennis ball, ).
  • Competence: Feeling of competence is created by giving the player option to choose a variation of the exercise (by means of level or material).
  • Relatedness:Feeling of relatedness is created by the sport specificity with their peers + by feeling most related to which option they have chosen from.
  • Differentiation (age/difficulty): The routine is made in order to be easily adapted by the coach for various players ‘

POSSIBLE VARIATIONS

  • Coach can let the players move around the cones instead of tapping.
  • Coach can give the attacker/defender the opportunity to stop at one cone between 1 to 3 seconds. 
  • Players can determine the number of seconds autonomously; the others will then be stimulated to react faster (inhibition-anticipation) (increases challenge-increased fun). 
  • Make ‘moving optimally’ a game. That means players can get points by landing correctly (in terms of cutting technique for the prevention goal – coach will observe).
  • Adding balls: players have to tap the cones, reach a ball (displaced around the area) and pass it to the teammate at the starting position before crossing the opponent’s sideline (see playground standard level and level up).
  • Adding balls: place one ball on the defenders side of the field. Attacker needs to pick up the ball while running and dribbling with the ball towards the opponents
  • Adding time pressure: whoever/which team scores most goals (point) within that time?
  • He doesn’t have to tap any cone anymore.
  • Now, the attacker (player A) has just to reach and cross the opponent’s (player B) baseline on the other side.
  • With fake moves he must get and stay away from the defender.
  • The attackers (A) plays against the defenders (D). Each player will start from a baseline position.
  • Player A will touch two cones (one for each side), before accelerating to the other side of the field.
  • Before trying to tap player A before s/he is crossing the opponent’s baseline, player D must first mirror player A and tap the cone on the same side.
  • As soon as player A starts the game, player D will also immediately start.
  • Then player A must try to avoid being touched by player D, while running towards player D’s side (starting line).
  • Player D now can autonomously decide which cone to touch first.
  • Player A will react and touch the corresponding cone on the other sideline.
  • Both players run towards their finish line.