Animal Warm-Up

◆Why this drill works

Adult warm-ups (jog, dynamic stretches, ladder drill) bore U7s in 90 seconds. Engagement at this age is everything — a disengaged kid in a warm-up arrives at the main session distracted, and the rest of the hour is harder. This drill replaces 'warm up' with 'pretend to be animals'. Bears (bear crawl, hands and feet), frogs (squat jumps), crabs (crab walk on hands and feet, belly up), penguins (waddle), kangaroos (two-foot bounds). Every animal hits a different muscle group — and crucially, every animal looks silly, so kids commit fully. By the end of 8 minutes, every U7 has activated quads, glutes, shoulders, and core, AND they're laughing, AND they're ready to engage with the main session.

▦The drill in three phases

▶How to run it

1. Set up two cones 14 yards apart. Players line up at one cone (or spread along it if many).
2. Round 1 (90 sec) — BEARS: hands and feet on the ground, walk forward. Hits shoulders, core, hip flexors. Walk back to start (recovery).
3. Round 2 (90 sec) — FROGS: squat down, jump forward, land in squat. Three big jumps to cross the distance, then walk back. Hits glutes and quads.
4. Round 3 (90 sec) — CRABS: feet flat, hands behind, belly facing up. Walk sideways or backwards. Hits triceps, glutes, hamstrings, core.
5. Round 4 (90 sec) — PENGUINS: heels together, toes pointed out, waddle. Then KANGAROOS: two-footed bounds forward. Both add ankle and calf activation.
6. Final 2 minutes — animal mix-up: coach calls a new animal every 15 seconds. 'BEAR... FROG... CRAB... KANGAROO... BEAR'. Quick changes test coordination AND keep them laughing.

✓Equipment checklist

✦Coaching points