Lateral Shuffles

Step 1

Starting Position: Set out cones approximately 5 yards apart, stand at the far left cone in an athletic ready position: feet hip-width apart, knees bent with your weight back in your flexed hips.  Engage the abdominals (bracing) to maintain spinal stability throughout the exercise.

Step 2

Maintain the athletic ready position with your hips bent, your chest over your knees and your nose over your toes with your weight balanced between being up on the balls of your feet and back in your hips; shift your weight towards your right and pick up your right foot while explosively pushing your left foot into the ground to start moving to your right.

Step 3

Maintain the athletic ready position while continuing to move to your right, picking up the right foot and placing it to the right while pushing the left foot into the ground to generate the force and momentum for the sideways movement.  Your feet should remain parallel with one another with the toes facing foward and your weight on the balls of your feet (keep the whole foot on the ground, but your weight should be forward over the front of your feet); the emphasis of this drill should be on rapid, quick foot actions for the sideways (lateral) shuffling.

Step 4

At the far cone maintain the athletic ready position while shifting your weight over your left leg and push off with the right foot to begin shuffling back to the original starting point.  As you shuffle back to your left, pick up the left foot and place it to the left while pushing offer with the right foot.  Ensure that your feet remain parallel with your toes pointing forward and focus on rapid, quick foot actions for the duration of the movement.

Step 5

Exercise Variation: Work with a coach or training partner to provide either visual cues: by signaling which direction to move with a hand gesture, e.g. pointing to the left to shuffle to the left; or verbal cues: by stating which direction to shuffle, e.g. stating "right" to shuffle to the right. 

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