Use this game to raise the heart rate, develop finding space, footwork and practise applying skills under increasing degrees of difficulty.
SET UP
Within the pitch (say 30m by 30m), position five small boxes. Normally, I put one just off each corner and one in the middle.
Middle box scores 5 points and outer ones 1 point.
HOW TO DO IT
Attackers, on “go” enter the pitch with ball and aim is to score as many points within three minutes by running into the small boxes with the ball.
If an attacker is touched in possession, they must stand still and pass. Passes can be in any direction.
Defenders play within the pitch but cannot go into the boxes.
If defender intercepts pass, they must leave the ball on the ground and allow the attackers to continue. Defenders can defend the boxes but cannot stand in the box.
Swap teams. The team with highest points wins.
PROGRESSIONS
When an attacker has scored, they cannot enter the same box again to score and must find another box to score in. Attacker must pass if touched
FURTHER PROGRESSIONS
When an attacker has scored, they must pass to another player for the next score. That is, they cannot run into the next box to score, the score must come from another player.
If the receiver gets touched, they cannot pass to the person that has just passed the ball and must instead pass to another teammate, encouraging support.
BOSS LEVEL
Play with all the progressions as before but if ball is dropped or intercepted then the attacking team lose all of their points but can continue to attack within their timeframe. They can also kick but must be to hands (no bounce and catch).
These progressions also make the defenders work harder as pressure can force attacking errors and their tactics will be centred around applying pressure and defending the boxes.
“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