Practice Activities/Games

Practice Activities/Games

The following are example of games you can use in your warm-up or within your session. Some of these games will be used in the sample training sessions.

Red Rover/Sharks and Minnows

All players start in a line at one end of the grid, while coach is in the middle. Coach calls Red rover, red rover, send everybody over (everybody can be substituted for boys, girls, or shirt colors if big numbers). The coach tries to tag players, who in turn try to reach the other side of the grid safely. If they do they turn around and wait for the coach to call again. If they are tagged then they are it in the middle with the Coach. Can progress to having the kids each with a ball (get them to attempt to look up while dribbling!)

Red Light, Green Light

Start all kids on one sideline of a grid. The objective is to be the first to the other side. When you (the coach) call green light they move as fast as they can towards the other line. When you call red light they must stop keeping their ball under control. If they still move or their ball is more that 1-yard from their feet they go back to the start line!

Make it fun if they move their face muscles (coach tries to make them laugh) they have to go back also.

Blob/Link Tag

Coach is it; all the players have a ball in a grid. If the coach tags someone or their ball (usually get the best dribbler first to allow the weaker kids to get more touches), that players ball is knocked out of the grid and then the two link arms and try and get somebody else. Game continues until everyone is the blob.

Pac-Man

One player starts with a ball in a grid (usually one of the better players). All the others start in the grid without their balls (placed just outside the grid within easy reach). On command the player with the ball has to dribble the ball under control while attempting to tag others. If he does then they also get their ball and attempt the same.

Freeze Tag

Every player starts with a ball in a grid except two taggers (in different colored bibs). After 3 seconds, the taggers are free to tag anyone with a ball. If tagged, they have to freeze with their legs apart and ball by side. They can be unfrozen by another free player dribbling their ball up to them and passing their ball through the frozen players legs. Swap taggers after 1 minute or if they freeze everybody!

This can also be played without the ball, just as a tag game. To be unfrozen, free players crawl through the legs of the frozen players.

Hospital Tag

Lay out an appropriate sized grid, with a small square in the middle (the hospital). Make 2 players taggers, who have to chase others. If tagged on the shoulder for instance, the player has to hold the shoulder with one hand until they can run into the hospital to free them selves. Game gets amusing if player is tagged 2-3 times in the open!

Everybodys it!

Every player starts with a ball in a grid. On command they can hunt each other down and if they can touch their ball against somebody elses then they score a point. This teaches them to be creative, fake to get a view of someones ball or in turn shield their own ball from attack