Griffith Technical Fitness Ladder
By Keith Scarlett
This exercise is a great way to have your players put in some quality fitness work while also garnering a large number of touches on the ball at the same time. All team members can take part in this activity at the same-time. This is a fast paced and high intensity activity that will put a tremendous amount of strain on your player’s bodies and thus is recommended that it only be done twice a week maximum and also allowing at least 48 hours to elapse between each time this activity is run. This activity will help develop players’ fitness base; ability to change both pace and direction; acceleration and speed while moving forward, backward and lateral both with and without the ball. It will also help develop tight touches, handling the ball in tight spaces, turning with the ball, running with the ball at speed and control of the ball during acceleration and deceleration.
Set-Up and Directions
This exercise is set-up as shown below with all players beginning behind the start cone. There are two rows of cones; one straight in front of the starting cone and a second 10 metres to the right of the first row. Each row should have no more than 10 total cones each (include the start cone in the total count of 10) and each cone should be spaced 10 metres apart from each other. The first cone in the second row should be placed 5 metres in from where the first cone would normally lie so each proceeding cone in that line would form a zig-zag formation, per the diagram, when spaced 10 metres apart from the first.
The first player takes off and accelerates to a full-sprint for the first 10 metres before reaching the first cone where they now must