4 corners drill

The 4 corners drill test is a commonly used agility test in the world of sport and training, quite simple to do and requiring very little material to perform. With this test the subject’s acceleration, speed and his/her ability to make changes of position and direction can be measured. All these factors are considered determinant from a performance point of view in most sports.

• Required Material: A flat non-slip surface, four cones and marks to delimit the course of the circuit, a tape measure and a stopwatch.

• Procedure: Four cones are placed in a square of 9 metres on each side. The aim of the test is to complete the course (A-B-C-D-A) in the shortest possible time. The subject must go around the outside of the four cones and avoid making shortcuts. Any attempt in which he/she passes over a cone instead of skirting it on the outside will be considered void. The subject starts the test with a foot behind the starting cone (A) in a sprint start position and at the signal of the evaluator he/she starts the route at maximum speed until completes it in the shortest possible time. During this test, the participant must alternate the type of displacement in such a way that he/she always follows this pattern.  
  • A – B: front running
  • B – C: lateral running (facing the evaluator)
  • C – D: backwards running
  • D – A: lateral running (his/her back to the evaluator)

The test finishes when the subject reaches the finish point (cone A) with any part of his/her body. There the stopwatch will be stopped and the elapsed time will be registered.

• Assessment: It is measured in seconds (sec) and the subject has a maximum of 3 attempts. (En Fisicalcoach,) The lowest time, as well as the mean and the median can be recorded.

• Remarks: Since in exercises that require changes of direction, performance depends on the angle and speed during execution, different tests should be considered and the most specific and appropriate one should be chosen in each case. Fisicalcoach has a large set of tests available to perform.