“An attacker tries to get the ball onto a cone before they are touched by a defender. Defenders can only run around the perimeter of the shape.”
SET UP
Up to six cones and a ball.
HOW TO PLAY
Put a ball carrier in the middle of a shape of five cones, about 3m apart (adjust to suit the players as the game progresses).
Put three defenders on the perimeter of the cones. They are not allowed inside the cones.
The ball carrier aims to put a ball down on a cone without being touched. They have 30 seconds to do this as many times as they can. The defenders move to stop this.
Shout out each score and keep the game active for that 30 seconds. Rotate players and repeat.
DEVELOPMENTS
Add more cones or put them slightly further apart.
Put down three cones in a triangle (5m apart). Have two attackers and two defenders. The attackers aim to pass to put down the ball on a cone. They are not allowed to run with the ball.
NUMBERS
Works well with any number, just add in cones to suit. After a couple of goes, ask the players to adjust the size of the box.
“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
“Two attackers run down the corridor. If the attacker is two-hand touched, he has two seconds to pass the ball. Defenders come forward when the ball carrier comes into their box.” MORE
