Benchmark Night

A phone timer, a tape measure and a bag of cones — baseline the whole squad in one night and own the numbers you'll retest in eight weeks.

Gaelic football
Minor–Adult
75 min
16–30 players
3 coaches
Effort 4/5
Half pitch, one flat 20m strip essential
fitness testing
benchmarks
preseason
conditioning
adult

The PitchPlans coaching teamGAA Award 1 & 2 coaches

Kit: 30 cones, a measuring tape, two phones with stopwatch apps, a clipboard or shared phone sheet per station, 6 footballs for the warm-up

Warm-up12 min

The Standard Warm-Up

Setup: A 40×20m channel. Players in pairs, one ball between four for the early rounds. Write down tonight's warm-up order — the retest in eight weeks must copy it exactly or the numbers lie.

How it works: Three minutes easy jogging with hand-passing across the channel. Dynamic circuit, twice through: walking lunges, leg swings, hip openers, heel flicks, high knees, two inchworms. Then the priming builds: two runs at half pace, two at three-quarters, two at 90 per cent with a walk-back — nobody tests cold and nobody sprints for the first time in the test itself. Finish with three practice starts over five metres, standing start, both stances, so the sprint test isn't anyone's first rep.

What to say

“Same warm-up at the retest — that's part of the test.”
“Build the speed in stairs, never in one jump.”
“Practice starts count — find your front foot now.”

Easier

Returning-from-injury players stop at the three-quarter builds and test only the jump and endurance stations.

Harder

None — the warm-up is the warm-up; save the heroics for the timers.

Activity18 min

Speed & Power Stations

Setup: Two stations side by side. Sprint lane: a flat, measured 20m with a cone at 0, 10 and 20, a timer at the 10 and another at the 20. Jump station: tape measure pegged flat to the grass along the ground, take-off line marked with a cone. Squad split between stations, swap halfway.

How it works: 20m sprint: three attempts each from a standing start, front foot behind the line, go on your own first movement — timers clock the 10m split and the 20m full. Rest is the walk back plus one full queue cycle; record the best of three. Broad jump: stand at the line, swing and jump, stick the landing — measure to the back of the nearest heel. Any fall-back or hop after landing is a redo. Three attempts, best recorded. Every player calls out their own numbers to the recorder and repeats them back — owned numbers get chased in eight weeks, mumbled ones get forgotten.

Rounds: 3 attempts per test, best of three recorded — sprint 10m split, sprint 20m, broad jump

What to say

“Go on YOUR move — no guessing the timer's whistle.”
“Drive the first five steps low; don't stand up out of the start.”
“Jump: big arm swing, land stuck, hold it a beat for the measure.”

Easier

Two attempts instead of three; jumps can step out of the landing.

Harder

Add a flying-10 run (jog 10m, sprint through 10m timed) for the pacey ones chasing a real top-speed number.

Activity20 min

The Engine Test

Setup: The classic shuttle layout: two cone lines 20m apart for the running, plus a third line 5m behind the start making a recovery box. Whole squad tests together in one line across the pitch, a spotter per six players.

How it works: Interval shuttle test: on each beep of the coach's whistle-and-phone cadence, run 20m down and 20m back, then walk the 5m recovery box and back before the next rep starts. The cadence tightens every two minutes — level called aloud each time it rises. Miss the line twice and you're out; your score is the last level you completed, shouted to your spotter and written down. Play it straight and honest: this number is nobody's judgement, it's just where the engine idles today. Spotters watch lines like hawks and cheer like supporters.

Rounds: Cadence rises every 2 min · two missed lines = out · record last completed level

What to say

“Pace the early levels — they're free if you don't sprint them.”
“Turn tight on the line, push off the outside foot.”
“Out is out — bank the number, own the retest.”

Easier

A capped version for returners: run to level 8 and step out with a completed score, no failures.

Harder

The last five standing finish with a bonus max effort: one 4×20m shuttle flat out, timed.

The rest of this session is free — along with 3 more this week.

PitchPlans coaching team

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