ExercisesCoordination & Neuromuscular Training
Number Cone Drill — 6 Cones: A Complete Guide
Quick Intro
Number Cone Drill — 6 Cones is a reaction drill performed standing, sprint-touching whichever of six numbered cones spread across a wider grid a coach calls out.
Equipment Needed
Number Cone Drill — 6 Cones needs six numbered training cones spread across a wider grid than the standard drill, and a coach or partner to call them out. The extra cones and the extra ground to cover are both part of what raises the difficulty here.
Why Number Cone Drill — 6 Cones Matters
A couple of extra cones sounds like a small addition, but each one adds to the options the eyes have to hold in mind at once while still moving. Scanning the whole grid rather than fixating on one likely cone is what this wider layout specifically demands, since the extra options need faster visual processing to keep up with.
The calves (gastrocnemius), shin muscle (tibialis anterior), quadriceps (rectus femoris) and outer hip (gluteus medius) drive the longer bursts across the wider grid, the hip flexors (iliopsoas) help cycle the legs and the side core (obliques) braces the trunk through the extra ground covered.
Coordination is the main demand, with reaction time and agility close behind, since six options have to be scanned while the legs are already moving. Compared with Number Cone Drill, the deciding is harder, because there are more cones to hold in mind and more ground between them.
When to Do It
Given the wider grid and greater ground covered, this fits best early in a session or as a dedicated conditioning-and-reaction block, with a little recovery before the next session that pushes it hard.
Anyone with a current ankle, knee or hip issue that limits repeated sprinting and cutting over a wider area should wait until it heals. Number Cone Drill’s standard grid is the more natural starting point for anyone who hasn’t already built a reliable base version.
Getting Ready
A few easy sprints between two of the six cones, without a call involved yet, confirm the footwork feels solid across the wider layout before the full reactive version begins.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Stand at the center of the six-cone grid in a ready stance, eyes scanning the entire layout rather than settling on any one cone.
React the instant a number is called, sprinting to that cone and touching it.
Return to the center and keep scanning the whole grid.
How Many, How Often
Number Cone Drill — 6 Cones is dosed by clean reactive touches per set, not total distance, since responding correctly and quickly across a wider set of options is the skill being trained.
| Level | Where you’re at | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Beginner | Learning to scan and react across six options | 3 sets of 6 calls, with a full reset between each one. |
| Intermediate | Scanning the wider grid feels less overwhelming | 3 sets of 8 calls, at a steadier pace. |
| Advanced | Scanning and sprinting both feel sharp and automatic | 3 to 4 sets of 10 calls, called at a quicker, less predictable pace. |
Scanning the whole grid while moving matters more here than fixating on any single cone, since the extra options in this version demand faster visual processing, not just more running.
Modifications and Variations
This exercise has one direct relative: Number Cone Drill, the standard-size grid this drill expands.
Progression path: Number Cone Drill — 4 Cones grooves the basic call-and-react pattern first, Number Cone Drill builds the standard grid size, then Number Cone Drill — 6 Cones and Number Cone Drill — Sprint Pace each raise the difficulty from there.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Fixating on one or two likely cones instead of scanning the full grid. Narrowing attention down to a smaller subset of the six options leaves the body slow to react whenever a less obvious cone gets called. Keeping the eyes moving across the whole layout is what keeps every call a fair test.
Letting the extra distance turn into a straight-line sprint mentality. Committing to top-end speed toward a guessed cone before the call is confirmed often means a wasted step or a wrong-cone touch, which costs more time than a slightly more careful start. Reading the call correctly before committing to a direction is what saves time over the course of a set.
After Your Set
The hips, groin and legs take on a lot of work through a set of these, more than the smaller grid demands. A wide-stance groin stretch and a kneeling hip flexor stretch settle the legs afterward.
Going Deeper
This belongs early in a session, before general fatigue sets in, since a tired body both scans and covers ground less cleanly, and both halves of the drill suffer together.
Progress here comes down to how quickly and accurately each call gets answered across the wider set of options, not how many cones get touched in total. Someone who’s sprinting fast but missing calls from the less obvious cones hasn’t mastered the wider scanning demand this version adds, even if their overall pace looks impressive. Once every one of the six cones gets read and answered with equal confidence, the reaction has become sharper.
Most people need a good number of sessions before scanning six options while sprinting stops feeling noticeably harder than the smaller grid.
How to Know You’re Improving
- All six cones get answered with roughly equal speed and accuracy
- There’s no lingering bias toward scanning only the nearer cones
- Scanning the wider grid while sprinting stops feeling like it slows the legs down
- Ready to try Number Cone Drill — Sprint Pace’s added top-end speed demand
Even accuracy across all six cones is a better sign of mastery here than raw sprint speed toward the easier, nearer ones.
Muscles Worked
- Gastrocnemius (a calf muscle, covering longer distances between calls)
- Tibialis Anterior (a muscle along the front of the shin, holding the ankle over a wider grid)
- Rectus Femoris (a front thigh muscle that crosses both the hip and knee, braking harder after a longer run-up)
- Gluteus Medius (a smaller glute muscle at the side of the hip, handling cuts across a bigger spread of cones)
- Iliopsoas (the hip flexor group at the front of the hip, driving the knee through on each restart)
- Obliques (the muscles along the sides of the waist, turning the body toward one of six possible targets)
FAQ
Why do a few extra cones make such a difference? Every extra cone adds to the options the eyes have to track at once while still moving, which demands faster visual processing, not just more distance covered (see Why It Matters above).
What’s a common mistake specific to this wider version? Narrowing attention down to only the nearer or more obvious cones, which leaves the body slow to react whenever a less expected cone gets called (see Common Mistakes to Avoid above).
Should I start with fewer cones first? Yes, if six feels overwhelming. Number Cone Drill’s standard grid or Number Cone Drill — 4 Cones are the more natural entry points before this wider layout.
Part of the number-cone family alongside Number Cone Drill, Number Cone Drill — 4 Cones and Number Cone Drill — Sprint Pace.