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Plant and Cut Steps

Three steps, plant and cut inside a taped square: the footwork that makes a route sharp.

By Coach Evan Waechtler Youth coach (U11, Cache Valley, Utah) and founder of SSTracker Updated October 30, 2026

Set up

Tape a small square about 3 steps across.

Core: Jog. Beat your own best.

Ages
7 and up
Time
8 min
Players
Just you
Space
Small room
Bring
Tape
Level · skill
Beginner · Route Running

The steps

How it works

  1. Tape a small square about 3 steps across.
  2. Take three quick steps to a corner.
  3. Plant your outside foot and turn sharply toward the next corner.
  4. Do 10 cuts each way, walking pace first.

Coaching point

Sink the hips, plant, go.

Safety: Land softly with knees over toes on a non-slip floor. Stop if your knees or ankles hurt.

Make it fun

Play it, don't drill it

Game version

Route cards: a partner calls a route (post, slant, out), you run it and catch the pass, then swap. The pair counts routes completed.

Challenge

Pick a level: Less (walk the route), Core (jog), More (add a quick change of speed). Beat your own best.

Story

You are following a treasure map with an X at the end.

My best

Beat your own count

Beat your own best. Only your own number counts: today against last time.

Practice makes progress

Print it now, or save it free

Free for families and teams

Save this drill to your child or team, free

Sign up and the free flag football week for this age opens in your child's planner, kept to healthy limits. A coach can send this drill to the whole team as homework, and parents see every session logged.

14 days free for a family, no card · Running a team is always free

Does your child's coach know about this?

An email from you to the coach, with the words ready. Nothing is tracked and nobody is rewarded.