Traffic lights
An evasion and footwork warm-up for U7 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
- U7, U8, U9, U10, U11, U12
- Time
- 5 minutes
- Players
- 6 or more
- Space
- 20 x 20 m
- Kit
- 4 cones
- Pitch
- Fine on hard ground
Setting it up
A square. Everyone inside it, jogging.
How it runs
Green means jog, amber means walk, red means freeze. Then add your own calls. Down means on the floor and up again, turn means change direction, sprint means five hard steps. Build the calls up so by the end they are reacting without thinking. Good for a cold morning because it gets warm quickly and needs no kit.
What to watch for
- Freeze means still. Wobbling is not still
- Land soft on the change of direction, do not skid
- Head up so you do not run into each other
Make it easier
- Three calls only
- Walk everything
Make it harder
- Say one colour and mean another so they have to listen
- Everyone carries a ball
What it looks like when it is going wrong
What you can see from the touchline, then the one thing to say about it.
- Freezing with a bit of a wobble and a shuffle
- Still means still. Hold it until I say
- Skidding into the turn on straight legs
- Bend your knees. Land quiet
More like this
The grades that can do it
What U7 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.