Use the numerical advantage

Organisation

• Split the players into two teams and arrange them into pairs along a central line
• Set up three coloured cones
• Show a colour that the pairs have to race to
• Vary the players’ starting positions and the ways in which they can move
• Award points to the players who reach the cone first
• Rotate players so that they get to challenge themselves against other players
• Introduce running with/dribbling the ball

Ways to make the exercise easier

• To start with, allow the players to run by themselves, instead of racing against other teams

Ways to make the exercise harder 

• Move the cones further away from the central line
• Ask the players to run to more points
• Allow the players to move in different ways
• Challenge the players to do the exercise with a ball at their feet or in their hands

Great questions to ask the players 

• Can you react quicker than your opponent when you see the colour?
• Can you move your arms quickly as you accelerate away?
• Can you take small steps as you begin to accelerate?

Safety tips 

• Create a safe space to play

Organisation

• Organise three playing areas and two teams
• Assign players from the attacking team to each pitch to play 1v1, 2v1 and 4v2. Play for three minutes and see how many goals the attacking team can score before rotating the teams to see which team can score the most goals in the allocated time
• Adjust the number of players on each pitch according to the total number of players you have

Ways to make the exercise easier

• Allow for an excess of attackers on each pitch

Ways to make the exercise harder 

• Challenge the players’ defensive skills by putting fewer attackers than defenders on each pitch

Great questions to ask the players

• Which pitch did you find to be the most challenging? Which was the most fun? Are these the same?
• As a team, can you work out the best way to be successful?
• Is it easier to prevent or score goals?

Safety tips

• Create a safe space to play

Organisation

• Organise two teams with goalkeepers and start with six or seven players per team
• Play with normal rules, but when a team concede a goal, they lose a player. The teams must quickly choose the player to leave the pitch and try even harder to make sure they score the next goal. Explain that the game should be fun for everyone and so the decision about which player should leave the pitch should be made in a respectful and fair way. Give the players time to brainstorm ideas if possible
• The game continues until one team have no players left
• Repeat the game but rotate the players within the teams or give the same teams the chance to exact revenge

Ways to make the exercise easier 

• Allow one team to start with more players

Ways to make the exercise harder

• Give one team fewer players to start with

Great questions to ask the players 

• How important is it to score the first goal(s)?
• When your team have fewer players, can you still find a way to score the next goal(s)?

Safety tips

• Create a safe space to play
• Be mindful of how the teams choose which player to remove first. If the same players always end up sitting out, it may be necessary to intervene and help the teams to understand how to make the situation fairer