Ankling, B-Skips, and Straight-Leg Bounds
A running-form progression built around active foot strikes under the hips: ankling, A-skips, B-skips with a pawing action, and straight-leg bounds. It builds ankle stiffness, short ground contact, and leg recovery before speed or jumping work.
How to play
- Set up 5 lanes of 20 m and make groups of 5. Jog 2 min; key idea: the foot lands under the hips and paws the ground back.
- Ankling (2 min): tiny, quick steps using only the ankles, knees nearly straight, landing on the balls of the feet and pushing the ground; 2 trips.
- A-skips (2 min): knee up to hip height, toes pulled up, active landing under the body with coordinated arm swing; 2 trips.
- B-skips (2 min): same as the A-skip, but after the knee comes up, the leg extends forward and claws down and back like a paw; 2 slow trips.
- Straight-leg bounds (2 min): run with the knees almost locked, pulling each leg down from the hip with fast contacts; 2 trips.
- Carryover (2 min): 2 trips of 20 m starting with 5 m of the drill of your choice, then flowing into an 80% run with the same foot strike.
Rules
- Quality first: if the form breaks down, stop and repeat it slower.
- A line starts only when the one before has passed the 5 m cone.
- Shoes tied tight and a surface free of sand or puddles to prevent slipping.
- Walk back on the outside of the lane to recover.
Variations
Easier
Walk the B-skip (B-march) and practice ankling in place before moving down the lane.
Standard
Do each drill twice over 20 m with a walk-back recovery.
Harder
Place cones every 1.8 m to set the A-skip rhythm and finish with a 30 m flying run.
Adaptations
- Limited mobility: practice the pawing action in place with one hand on the wall using whichever leg moves, or practice the arm swing seated.
- Deaf or hard of hearing: demonstrate each drill visually and start each rep with an arm signal instead of the whistle.
- Advanced students: act as a lane coach and correct one single detail per trip.
Learning goals
- Perform the ankling, A-skip, and B-skip sequence with active foot strikes under the hips.
- Identify short ground contact and a flexed ankle as keys to an efficient stride.
- Transfer drill technique into fast running.
Equipment for a class of 25
- cones: 10
Teacher tip
The common B-skip error is kicking the leg out and landing on the heel; keep cueing 'sweep the ground back.' In pairs, one runs while the partner watches only the landing foot.
PatioLab has "Ankling, B-Skips, and Straight-Leg Bounds" and 3999 more activities ready to drag into your lesson and run from your phone in the gym.
More activities like this
More warm-ups for High School
2v2 Plus One Keep-Away Grids
A short keep-away game in 10 x 10 yard grids: two pairs compete for the ball while a neutral player always plays with the team in possession.
30-Second Partner Passing Record
In pairs, students count how many good passes they complete in 30 seconds using different basketball passes and try to beat their own record on every attempt.
4v1 Warm-up Rondo
4v1 rondo in an 8×8-meter square: four players keep possession with passes along the ground while one player in the middle tries to win the ball.
5-10-5 Pro Agility Reaction Duel
In pairs, on three cones 5 m apart, one student reacts to a partner's signal, sprints to the side shown, touches the line, crosses 10 m to the far side and returns to…
5-4-3-2-1 Shake-Out
A quick drama and creative movement warm-up in which the group shakes arms and legs while counting down out loud from 5 to 1, faster each time.
5v2 Technical Warm-up Rondo
A 5v2 rondo (keep-away) to warm up with the ball: five players around the outside of a square keep possession while two in the middle try to win it.