Push Up Ball Drill

This is a great drill for training core stability, shoulder strength, and reaction time by incorporating a reactive element. Athletes get into a push-up position in the middle of three cones, ideally of different colors. The coach provides a verbal input, such as a color, and the athlete must quickly move a tennis ball from one cone to the designated cone, for example, from yellow to blue. Athletes are encouraged to use different arms for different movements to work both sides. Coaching points include maintaining a strong core and stable shoulders, avoiding excessive hip opening or leaning to one side during the movement. The drill continues until the coach says "go," at which point the athlete explodes out of the position, driving through one leg without taking a massive amount of time to get out of the push-up stance.