Warm up: Winning the ball back

WHY USE IT

This practice gives players a chance to work on their reactions to losing the ball, both as an individual and as a group. This practice acts as a warm-up and an introduction to the topic.

SET UP

Set up a rectangular area suitable for your players. Split it in half and put players into two teams. Each team is then allocated a specific half. One team starts with the ball.

HOW TO PLAY

Once the team with the ball makes their first pass, two players from the other team can enter their opponents half and look to win possession. If they win the ball they either pass it or travel with it, back to their half of the area. On doing so, their team now looks to retain possession of the ball, while two players from the other team attempt to win it back. The first team that completes a set number of passes wins the game.

COACHING POINTS

Players should react quickly to losing possession. First, they should try and prevent the two opponents who win possession from getting the ball back to their own half. If they can’t do this, then the two players entering their opponent’s half need to work together as a pair and identify an opportunity to win the ball back.