Three corner sprint
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 or more
- Space
- 15 x 15 m
- Kit
- 4 cones
- Pitch
- Fine on hard ground
- Indoors
- Fits a small space
Setting it up
Three cones in a triangle, about ten metres a side. Waves of three or four.
How it runs
Jog the first lap, stride the second, then run it properly with a hard turn at every cone. Three laps each with a walk between. Turning hard at pace is a skill and doing it cold is how ankles go, so this comes after the movement prep rather than before it.
What to watch for
- Small steps into the turn, big steps out of it
- Drop your hips as you turn, do not stay upright
- Push off the outside foot
Make it easier
- Wider triangle
- Jog all three laps
Make it harder
- Carry a ball
- Turn the other way round the triangle
What it looks like when it is going wrong
What you can see from the touchline, then the one thing to say about it.
- Running wide round the cone rather than turning at it
- Little steps in. Turn tight
- Staying upright through the turn and losing all the speed
- Drop your hips. Lean into it
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.