Players often lose accuracy when making longer passes, especially at young ages. This game progresses passing at pace, building confidence in long passing and finding the receiver.
Set-up
Start with four cones 1m apart with a player on each, an end player holding a ball. At 10m intervals ahead, place four cones 2m, 3m and 5m apart (picture 1).
These distances are only suggestions and you can have your cones further apart if desired.
The rules
On your call of “Go! I’m timing you”, players pass the ball laterally from cone to cone without moving (picture 2).
Once the ball has reached the far end, they run to the next set of cones and pass down the line again. They repeat this until they reach the end cones then they turn and sprint back (picture 3).
Race teams against each other on other squares.
Scoring
First team to cross the line wins.
Race against the clock to find the fastest team.
Tell them
“Ball across the body, arms pointing at the target after release.”
“Hands towards the ball while waiting for a pass.”
Coaching tips
There are times when a longer pass is needed, especially when running a miss move or looking for a player in space out wide.
While we want players to carry the ball in two hands more, they are plenty of times when one-handed carries are important. But the hand has to be more dominant than the body and here’s why… MORE
Develop better handling skills by forcing the players to manipulate the ball with one hand in and around the contact area. This session picks out some one hand contact situations for players to find solutions. MORE
Hold defenders to retain space for receivers to move into. Here are the key points to fixing defenders which should help young and developing players to improve this skill. Generally, defenders want to chase the ball carrier, but their mind is always on whether to stay on the current ball carrier or move onto potential... MORE
Use this blocked attack game (one team attacks for a period of time) to challenge players to apply the principles of play under pressure. The attacking team get extra “lives” for good support when they score tries. MORE
During a match, 3 v 2s happen more times than you think. Yet, each situation can be different, with defenders and attackers arriving from different angles and starting close or far apart. You need to challenge yourself to replicate these scenarios in training. MORE
Scenarios offer a great way of engaging your players in games. By putting the players in a specific point of a well known match, they get the opportunity to develop their game management. For younger players, scenarios give them the opportunity to be their favourite players of their favourite teams. For older players, scenarios give them the opportunity to challenge their decision making with regards to the score-line and also how to deal with specific threats or weaknesses in future opposition. MORE
