Coach Queue Reaction

The cognitive reaction drill is a great exercise to warm up both the mind and body. To set up, have all your athletes in lines facing the coach; if you have many athletes, you can use two separate lines, or one line if you have fewer. The coach gives verbal or non-verbal cues, such as "left" or "right", or even a clap, which can correspond to specific movements like shifting the hips. You can vary the cues and movements and even assign names to the directions, like "yellow means right" or "lion means left". Athletes typically start in an athletic stance, perhaps with a foot fire. A "go" call means they explode to one side, and you can make it more challenging by having them go where you point rather than where you say. This exercise is preferably done at the beginning of a session and is a fun way to engage a new team at the start of a season.