10 Fun and Easy Activities perfect for junior sport! Adapt each activity with equipment specific to your sport.
Cone Dribbling:
– Set up a series of cones or markers in a zigzag pattern. Players practice dribbling a ball (e.g., soccer ball, basketball, or tennis ball) through the cones, focusing on ball control and agility.
Relay Races:
– Organise relay races with teams of players. Use simple handoffs, passing, or carrying an object (e.g., baton or ball) to the next player. This drill enhances teamwork, coordination, and speed.
Obstacle Course:
– Create an obstacle course with various challenges like jumping, crawling, and weaving through cones. This versatile activity improves agility, balance, and coordination.
Mirror Drills:
– Pair players up, and one mimics the movements of the other. Add a ball, or other equipment to challenge participants. This drill improves body awareness, teamwork, and helps players develop a better understanding of spatial relationships.
Mini-Games:
– Create small-sided games with simplified rules. This approach is adaptable to various sports, promoting competition and fun while focusing on specific skills.
Agility Ladder Drills:
– Use an agility ladder to practice footwork and coordination. Players can perform various ladder drills to improve agility and quickness, beneficial for many sports. Add passing, catching or other skills into the drill to challenge participants.
Target Shooting:
– Set up targets (e.g., hoops, nets, or scoring zones) at different distances. Players take turns shooting, passing or serving a ball into the targets to score points, promoting accuracy and target focus.
Sports Bingo:
– Create bingo cards with sports-related actions or equipment (e.g., “dribble a ball,” “hit a target,”). Players mark off the actions as they complete them during practice, adding a fun competitive element.
Team Keep-up:
– Work together as a team to keep a volleyball, tennis ball or soccer ball of the ground. Use different skills for each sport, and add adaptive rules to keep the exercise fun.
Change-of-Direction Drills:
– Incorporate drills that require players to change direction quickly. For example, set up cones in a zigzag pattern and have players sprint through them, changing direction at each cone. This improves agility and lateral movement.
