Once a month, pick a calm day and take four measurements. Not a session — a check. The only player you’re measuring against is you, last month.
Juggling — best of three. feet only, count until the ball drops. three tries, keep the best. when feet-only stops being the limit, switch to the ladder: foot, foot, thigh, thigh, head, and back down — how far do you get?
The gate minute. from passing gates: clean passes through the gate in sixty seconds, five big steps out. same gate, same distance, every month — the number only means something if the test doesn’t change.
The weak-foot test. thirty-two balls: a partner serves sixteen to each side, or play them off a wall at an angle. first touch with the near foot, pass back through a gate. count the clean ones — and count the left-foot share separately. that second number is the one to watch.
The hop. single-leg hop for distance — three tries on each leg, keep the best of each. land stuck, or it doesn’t count. if a number that’s been climbing suddenly dips, that’s not failure — it’s usually growing. ease the jumping work for a while and watch it come back.
Write all four down somewhere you’ll find them next month — and every few months, add your height next to them. fast-growing stretches are exactly when the numbers wobble, and knowing that is the point.
progression. the test doesn’t progress — that’s the point. you do.