Pop-Up Partners
Pairs play 1v1 through whichever coloured doors the coach calls open, with instant turnovers.
Goals face every which way, each with a red or yellow disc beside it; pairs dribble through whichever doors are open.
Set up
- Cone out 25 m by 20 m.
- Scatter the goals facing different ways.
- Put a red or yellow disc by each goal.
- Pair the children with one ball.
8 to 12 children in pairs. 25 m by 20 m.
How to play
- The coach calls Red doors open! or Yellow doors open!
- The child with the ball scores by dribbling through any open door.
- After a goal, the ball goes straight to the partner, who attacks at once.
- If the defender wins the ball, they attack straight away.
- Change the colour call every 20 seconds.
- After 90 seconds, Move One.
Keeping everyone moving
Every pair plays at once. There is no pass-in and no restart line.
Make it easier
- Open all the doors.
- The defender walks.
Make it harder
- Doors change colour mid-attack.
- Score only after a fake.
Three things to say
- Look up to find an open door.
- Change direction away from the defender.
- Burst through.
Words that work: "Brave, you ran straight at them!", "Great hard work getting back!", "Lovely high five for your partner!"
Colts habit
Work hard straight after losing it.
Both feet
Go through a door with the practice foot.
Heads up
Find the open colour.
For your birth year
Pick a birth year to show the tweak for that group.
- 2020 to 2021
- Use Sleeping Giant.
- 2018 to 2019
- 6 doors, 60-second rounds.
- 2016 to 2017
- 8 doors, and a shot into a pop-up goal counts only from inside 2 m.
Safety: Leave space around the goals. Teach look before you cross so pairs do not collide.
Keeping score: Doors I tried in 90 seconds: beat your own number next week.