Land on one
An evasion and footwork warm-up for U9 and up, with where the cones go, how it runs and what to say when it is not working.
Free to read with no account. It works at a pitch with no signal too.
- Age grades
- U9, U10, U11, U12
- Time
- 6 minutes
- Players
- 6 to 24
- Space
- 10 x 10 m
- Kit
- 2 cones per player
- Pitch
- Fine on hard ground
- Indoors
- Fits a small space
Setting it up
A pair of cones each, four metres apart. Everybody has their own pair.
How it runs
Hop from one cone to the other on one foot, land, then hold it still for three seconds before you go back. Five each leg. Then the same thing sideways. An ankle or a knee gives way in the second the foot lands, so this is the bit of the warm-up that is actually about staying on the pitch until Christmas. It is quiet and it is boring and it takes four minutes.
What to watch for
- Land with a soft knee bent over your toes, never locked straight
- Knee over the middle of your foot, not falling inwards
- Freeze for three. If you have to put the other foot down, hop shorter
Make it easier
- Two metres apart
- Land on two feet and hold that first
Make it harder
- Land with your eyes shut
- A partner gives you a gentle nudge as you land
What it looks like when it is going wrong
What you can see from the touchline, then the one thing to say about it.
- The knee falling inwards towards the other leg as they land
- Knee over your toes. Point it where your foot points
- Landing stiff legged with a thump you can hear
- Bend as you land. Quiet feet, like you are landing on ice
More like this
The grades that can do it
What U9 rugby allows is the rule this sits under. Regulation 15 is reissued every summer, so the RFU's own rules of play are the ones to read for this season rather than a copy on somebody else's website. Ours included. Read against the RFU's 2026/27 appendices in August 2026.