No player likes to be tackled when carrying the ball, so arm them with evasion skills. This game promotes fast feet by changing stride patterns at pace while working on passing and communication.
Set-up
Eight players and four balls in a 15m square with four agility ladders placed randomly within. If you do not have ladders, use channels of cones or poles (picture 1). Set up as many squares as players/ equipment permit.
The rules
When you blow a whistle, four players pick up balls and run through a ladder at pace (picture 2), stepping through every rung.
The other players jog around the square then run to a ladder for a pass before running through a ladder themselves (picture 3). Keep going for one minute.
Scoring
Add up the number of ladders completed and compare team scores.
Tell them
“Heels off the ground, low centre of gravity, ball close to chest when going through a ladder.”
“Keep your head moving constantly, listen for calls and make quick, catchable passes.”
“Loud calls for passes.”
Coaching tops
Avoiding a tackle as long as possible means more ground gained, more momentum and more time for support to arrive and keep things moving.
“The defender keeps themselves light on their feet, head up and marking a potential break, coming forward to close down an attacker when they move forward” MORE
Players must win the race to the best space when attacking. In defence, players must work early, scan early and look to close space to force errors.
Attackers seek space, defenders take it away. This is also true over the ball.
Run this game over a series of sessions to gain the most benefit as the players develop their understanding of the tactical implications. MORE
Here’s a series of super-quick activities to set up and use to mix up your training to keep all your players occupied. Ideal to hand out to your co-coaches and aimed at a range of core skills in game-like contexts.
Here. is a series of what I’ve called Quick Coach. They are mini-activities aimed at four to six players. The aim is to provide you with a bank of breakout exercises you can run during your session. They should only last around five minutes, but the key is that they are very quick to set up and can be run by any coach in your group. They can even be run by one of the players if appropriate. MORE
