The 'M' Drill for defense

Provided by Coach Bill Cranston
For Active.com

Purpose: The M drill is primarily a defensive drill. You will need 5 cones to set this up.

Setting up the drill

The shape of your cones will eventually form an 'M.' Numbers 1-5 represent the different turns in the M shape, with one and five being the starting and stopping points if you were actually writing the capital M. The distance between cones 1 and 2 should be roughly ten yards. The distance from cones 2 to 3, and cones 3 to 4 should be five yards. Finally, the distance from 4 to 5 should be ten yards.

Quick turns

All cones are set at an angle to provide quick acceleration forward to quick hip turns in the back pedal. On a coach's whistle, a player will begin his movement around the cones. From Cone 1, the athlete will back pedal to 2. Next, they are to run to 3 while turning their hips towards 4 (facing towards coach). As the player reaches cone number 4, coach throws ball to player with player returning ball at full speed to cone 5.

A valuable tool

This drill is good for technique but also is a valuable tool in DB communication before and after an interception. Coaches should always check for hip turns at cones 2 and 4. This drill can and should be run in reverse.