Use this activity to improve players’ ability to scan what’s in front of them. It will allow the players to develop their footwork options before contact or in open play.
All the targets are in front of the ball carrier, so they will need to go forward but still avoid the defender.
ACTIVITY
Put a ball carrier about 3m behind a gate of cones. Put a defender in front of the gate, from 3-5m away. Stand behind the defender.
Have the ball carrier come forward, through the gate of cones and aim to run to either cone at the side – whichever you indicate.
The defender can only move side to side and no further than the cones either side of him.
GAME
Put a line of attackers about 3-5m away from one corner and a line of defenders around 3-5m from the edge of the box.
Have one attacker run through the gate in front of him and then aim to score at one of the corners. He gets 1 point for a score at the nearest two corners and 2 points for the far end.
In the meantime, the defender runs through the gate in the middle before aiming to two-hand touch the ball carrier or tackle him.
Give the ball carrier about 5 seconds to score before calling a halt. Release the next set of players quickly.
TECHNIQUE
Look up and so stay balanced. Drive off one foot to get to the target.
Attack one space hard and then change direction with conviction.
Use parent stations to allow you to run lots of activities with a parent overseeing each activity.
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Should an attack be successful at a 2 v 1 every time? At the top level, most of the time you would have thought, yet you would be surprised how often they fail.
Add in another attacker and defender, or even two attackers and one defender, and that ratio of success drops very quickly.
But it is still a golden opportunity to make ground and even score. So, you need to increase the success rate, and you do this by creating as many scenarios as you can. MORE
Dropped balls or loose kicks mean that the ball is on the ground and needs recovering. Use this session to work on the skills and decision-making around this situation.
It’s not a natural action to fall on the ball. Help the players understand how to develop this technique as smoothly as they can. MORE