Small team exercises

Organisation

• Make a point of asking the players to set up playing areas and to retrieve equipment at the end of the activity
• Create areas for three or four players in each, and begin with a throw-and-catch sequence, challenging each group not to drop the ball
• After every pass, the passer must move to another position
• Introduce a blocker in each area and then challenge each team to see how many passes it can make without the blocker winning the ball
• Repeat the above, but now the players pass with their feet instead of their hands

Ways to make the exercise easier

• Make the space bigger

Ways to make the exercise harder

• You can have more than one blocker in the middle
• The players have to volley the ball to each other

Great questions to ask the players

• Can you always move to a position where the person with the ball can see you?
• Can you call for the ball when you want to receive it?
• Can you show me a way to disguise your pass?

Safety tips

• Create a safe space to play

Organisation

• Make a point of asking the players to set up playing areas and to retrieve equipment at the end of the activity
• Create teams of equal numbers, ideally no more than 4v4
• Each team plays towards an end zone, where there are targets to knock down
• Teams can play throw and catch or normal football
• The objective is to get the ball into a shooting position and knock down the targets – the first team to knock down all the targets is the winner
• Rotate teams if you have multiple pitches and make a tournament

Ways to make the exercise easier

• Use bigger targets
• One team can have more players

Ways to make the exercise harder

• Use fewer or smaller targets
• One team can have fewer players

Great questions to ask the players

• When your team has the ball, can you find a position to receive the ball?
• Can you call for the ball when you are in a good position?
• Can you try to intercept the other team’s passes?

Safety tips

• Create a safe space to play

Organisation

• Make a point of asking players to set up playing areas and to retreive equipment at the end of the activity.
• Organise your players into even teams and create mini-pitches for games of 3v3 (have three teams per pitch). Two teams play, one team rests 
• The team that is waiting can also complete a mini-skills challenge to keep active – ball-juggling etc.
• Swap teams on pitches every six minutes to provide new opposition
• Just let your players play – after each goal, the team that concedes swaps with the waiting team
• Learn through play and different challenges presented by new opposition
• Let the players referee their own games
• Teams keep count of how many times they win a game

Ways to make the exercise easier

• A team can have an extra player or players if you have uneven numbers or a weaker team

Ways to make the exercise harder

• You can limit the number of touches
• You can place conditions on the game –
• You can make the winning team’s goal one metre larger every time it wins

Great questions to ask the players

• Can you try to support your team-mates when they have the ball?
• Can you dribble with the ball when you are 1v1?
• When your team does not have the ball, can you get between the ball and your own goal as quickly as possible?

Safety tips

• Create a safe playing area