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Lateral Shuffle Tag

4 minute read

Quick Intro

Lateral Shuffle Tag is an agility game. Two people face each other inside a marked lane and shuffle side to side, changing direction as they go. Whenever you are close enough, you may try a light tag on your partner’s hand. The first to an agreed number of tags wins, and stepping outside the lane costs a point.

How to shuffle well, low and quick without crossing the feet, is covered at Lateral Shuffle. This guide covers the game. Of all the tag games it depends most on changing direction cleanly, which matters more than raw speed.

What You’ll Need

  • A clear, non-slip floor.
  • Cones or floor tape to mark a lane about two metres wide, side to side.

How to Play

  1. Mark the lane: two lines about two metres apart, which are the limits you shuffle between.
  2. Agree the tag target, such as five.
  3. Stand facing each other inside the lane in an athletic stance: feet a little wider than the hips, knees bent, weight on the balls of the feet.
  4. On “go”, both shuffle side to side, each following and dodging the other’s direction changes.
  5. When close enough, you may try a light, open-handed tag on your partner’s hand.
  6. Each clean tag scores a point. Stepping outside the lane loses a point.
  7. First to the target wins.

What Counts

A tag counts when:

  • it is an open-handed touch on your partner’s hand;
  • both your feet were inside the lane when you made it.

A point is lost when any foot lands outside the lane line.

Grabbing, shoving or blocking to force your partner out of the lane is not allowed. If someone is pushed out, they do not lose the point.

The Game Is the Change of Direction

Both people are moving the same way most of the time, since you face each other and react to each other. The tag chances come when one person changes direction and the other is a beat late. Fast feet help, but a clean change of direction, low hips, a short plant and an immediate push the other way, helps more. Watching your partner’s hips, which move before the feet, gives you a head start on their changes.

Making It Fair

A less agile partner can use a wider lane, with their own boundary lines set further out, which gives them more room and more time to react. Agree the width before starting. If they start winning comfortably, bring their lines in a little. More on fair contests is in Training With a Friend.

Staying Safe

  • Use a non-slip floor with nothing in or near the lane.
  • Watch the ankles. Rolling an ankle on a sharp direction change is the main risk. Stop at once if either person’s ankle looks unstable on a change.
  • Keep tags light. No shoving, and no grabbing to drag someone out.
  • Agree to contact on the hands before starting.

Common Mistakes

  • Standing upright. A tall stance makes direction changes slow and wobbly. Stay low.
  • Crossing the feet. Crossing one foot over the other while shuffling is how people trip. Keep the feet apart.
  • Watching the hands. The hands move last. Watch the hips.

Fitting It Into a Session

This is a fast, intense game, and it needs fresh legs and attention. Play it early in a session, after a thorough warm-up, in short rounds with rest between.

Getting Better Over Time

Play best of three and keep a tally across weeks. As both of you get quicker, narrow the lane a little so mistakes cost more, or add a rule that a tag only counts straight after a change of direction. Both make the game more about clean footwork and less about reach.

FAQ

How wide should the lane be?

About two metres, side to side, for most pairs. Narrower makes it harder to stay in and easier to tag; wider gives more room.

Does stepping on the line count as out?

Agree before starting. A simple rule is that a foot fully past the line is out, and a foot on the line is in.

Can we both tag at once?

Yes. If both tags land together, both score.

Related to Lateral Shuffle, Mirror Lateral Shuffle and Skater Jump.