Arrowhead Drill: A Complete Guide
Quick Intro
Arrowhead Drill is a cutting drill performed by setting up three cones in an arrowhead shape, sprinting to the first cone, cutting sharply to round the second cone and sprinting through the third cone to finish, working both directions of the shape as part of the same exercise. It’s dosed by attempts with rest between them and is built around a single, sharp change of direction taken at speed, rather than a weave-and-return around the middle cone.
Equipment Needed
Arrowhead Drill needs three Training Cones, set out in an arrowhead shape a consistent distance apart.
Why Arrowhead Drill Matters
The initial sprint to the first cone calls on the glutes (gluteus maximus) and front of the thigh (quadriceps, rectus femoris) to accelerate hard from a standing start, driven by the hip flexors (iliopsoas) cycling the legs through every stride. At the sharp cut around the second cone, the outer hip (gluteus medius) and inner thigh (adductors) redirect the body’s momentum in one decisive motion, and the side of the waist (obliques) braces the trunk through that single aggressive change of direction. The back of the thigh (hamstrings, biceps femoris) decelerates the body into the cut itself. The calf (gastrocnemius) manages the quick ground contacts through both sprints, and the muscle along the outside of the hip and thigh (IT band, TFL) stabilizes the legs through the cut.
Agility is the main demand and a maximal one here, the product of a single sharp cut taken at full sprint speed. Speed is right behind it.
When to Do It
This drill fits well once straight-line acceleration already feels solid, since it asks that acceleration to survive one aggressive, unrounded cut, with acceleration already in place. It also works well paired with other three-cone agility tests in the same session, given how directly it isolates the cutting skill those other drills also demand.
Anyone with a current ankle, knee or hip issue should approach this carefully, since attacking a sharp cut aggressively concentrates load on all three at the exact moment of the direction change.
Getting Ready
A few minutes of easy jogging followed by a couple of build-up strides and a handful of isolated cutting steps, changing direction sharply from a jog, rehearses the specific action this drill depends on. A slow walkthrough of the full arrowhead shape previews the sequence before pace is added.
Step-by-Step Instructions
1. The setup. Take a position at the first cone, squared up toward the second, weight ready to drive forward.
2. The first sprint. Drive out hard and accelerate toward the second cone.
3. The cut. Plant aggressively and cut sharply around the second cone, attacking the direction change instead of rounding it.
4. The second sprint. Sprint hard through the third cone to finish.
5. The reset. Reset and run the same shape leading with the opposite break direction.
How Many, How Often
Arrowhead Drill is dosed by attempts with full rest between them, run in both break directions to train each side of the cut evenly.
| Level | Where you’re at | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Beginner | New to a sharp, full-speed cut | Arrowhead Drill — Left Break or Arrowhead Drill — Right Break, 3 to 4 attempts per direction, focused entirely on attacking the cut cleanly. |
| Intermediate | The cut stays sharp at a moderate pace in both directions | 4 to 5 attempts total, split evenly between directions, with full rest between each. |
| Advanced | Both directions hold together at speed | 5 to 6 attempts total, or move toward Arrowhead Drill — Reactive once both directions feel explosive. |
Attacking the cut aggressively, never rounding it passively, matters more here than raw sprint speed on either side, since the sharp change of direction is the point of the drill.
Modifications and Variations
Arrowhead Drill has three variations: two single-direction splits and one reaction-based harder version.
For a more focused entry point, Arrowhead Drill — Left Break and Arrowhead Drill — Right Break each isolate a single cutting direction, a reasonable way to build one side’s technique before training both together.
For a different kind of difficulty, Arrowhead Drill — Reactive removes the fixed break direction and adds an external cue that determines which way to cut, layering a reaction-time demand on top of the same physical pattern.
Progression path: each break direction gets learned on its own first, since isolating one side makes the cut easier to feel and correct; running both directions together then proves the pattern out symmetrically, with the reactive version as the final test of whether the same cut survives an unpredictable cue.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Rounding the cut instead of attacking it. A passive, rounded turn around the second cone wastes distance and time compared with a sharp, decisive plant, making the rounded turn the clearest thing to fix. Committing fully to the cut, even at some cost to control at first, builds the skill this drill depends on.
Decelerating too early before the cut. Slowing down well ahead of the second cone protects the direction change but sacrifices the sprint speed the drill is meant to test under. Holding sprint speed as long as possible before committing to the cut, even if the cut itself takes more practice to control at that pace, is what this drill is built to develop.
Only practicing one break direction. Training just the more comfortable side leaves the other direction undertrained, and most sports ask for cuts both ways. Splitting attempts evenly between Arrowhead Drill — Left Break and Arrowhead Drill — Right Break closes that gap directly.
After Your Set
The hips and trunk take on a concentrated load through one sharp, aggressive cut, so a few minutes of easy movement is worth taking before stretching. A standing side-on hip stretch, crossing one leg behind the other and leaning the hips toward the wall, releases the outer hip (gluteus medius) that redirected the body through the cut. A seated groin stretch, soles of the feet together and the knees eased down toward the floor, opens the inner thigh (adductors) that stabilized the leg through the direction change.
Going Deeper
This drill shares a three-cone, sprint-cut-sprint shape with L-Drill, and the two ask for almost the same qualities, but they aren’t the same skill: this drill’s middle cone is a single decisive cut continuing forward, while L-Drill’s middle cone is a weave around and back before the second sprint even begins.
Progress here tends to stall on decelerating too early, not on the cut itself: an athlete can execute a technically sharp cut and still lose time by slowing down well before reaching the second cone. Holding sprint speed later into the approach, even if the cut feels less controlled at first, tends to build a faster overall time than backing off early for a cleaner-looking turn.
Someone new to this drill generally needs several sessions before both break directions feel comparably explosive, and continues sharpening how late the deceleration happens over the following weeks once the cut itself feels reliable.
How to Know You’re Improving
- Sprint speed holds later into the approach before the cut begins
- The cut itself stays sharp and decisive, without rounding into a passive turn
- Both break directions feel comparably explosive, without one side lagging behind
- The full sequence holds together at speed across multiple attempts
Sprint speed held deep into the cut, not a cautious, rounded turn, is what marks progress here.
Muscles Worked
- Gluteus Maximus (the largest glute muscle, holding speed through one sharp cut and out the far side)
- Rectus Femoris (a front thigh muscle that crosses both the hip and knee, taking the single hardest braking step of the run)
- Biceps Femoris (a muscle at the back of the thigh, firing immediately after the cut to rebuild speed)
- Gastrocnemius (a calf muscle, planting once hard at the middle cone)
- Gluteus Medius (a smaller glute muscle at the side of the hip, stopping the hip giving way on that one plant)
- Obliques (the muscles along the sides of the waist, swinging the trunk onto the new line)
- Adductors (the inner thigh muscles, bringing the plant leg back under as the sprint resumes)
- Iliopsoas (the deep hip flexor, driving the first knee out of the turn)
- IT Band and Tensor Fasciae Latae (a band of connective tissue running down the outside of the thigh, taking a single large load at the cut)
FAQ
Can this drill be timed like the L-Drill and T-Drill? It can be timed informally with a stopwatch, but its harder version is built around reacting to a cue, not a recorded test (see Modifications and Variations above).
Is the middle cone here weaved around like L-Drill’s, or is it something different? Something different: this drill uses a single sharp cut that continues forward, not a weave-and-return, which is the distinction from L-Drill despite the two asking for almost the same qualities (see Going Deeper above).
Why do the obliques work so hard on one cut? A single aggressive cut demands firm trunk bracing to redirect the body’s momentum in one decisive motion, a demand the straighter or more gradually curving cone courses don’t place on the trunk to the same degree (see Why It Matters above).
Should I train both break directions in the same session, or focus on one at a time? Either works, though splitting attempts evenly between Arrowhead Drill — Left Break and Arrowhead Drill — Right Break in the same session is a direct way to keep both directions developing at a similar pace.
Part of the cone drill family, alongside 4-Corner Agility Drill, Cone Slalom Sprint, L-Drill, Star Drill and T-Drill.