Pop-Up Partners
1v1 in pairs: dribble through any door whose colour the coach has called open.
At a glance
- Pairs, one ball each, in 25 m by 20 m. Set out 6 to 8 doors: two cones 2 m apart, with a red or yellow disc beside each.
- The coach calls Red doors open! or Yellow doors open! Dribble through any open door, from either side, to score.
- After a goal, the ball goes straight to the partner, who attacks at once. If the defender wins it, they attack straight away.
- The coach changes the call every 20 seconds. After 90 seconds, swap partners with the nearest pair.
- Progress 1: Change the colour call in the middle of an attack, so the attacker has to spot a new door.
- Progress 2: A goal only counts after a fake.
If it's not working: Open all the doors.
- attacker
- defender
- Ccoach
- dribble
- 1in this order
Every pair at once, two of them drawn with five of the six to eight doors (two cones each). The coach calls Red doors open! and the child with the ball dribbles through a door with a red disc beside it while the partner chases. In the other pair a goal has just gone in through a red door, so the partner now has the ball and attacks another red door at once.
Full details: set up, how to play, tips and age tweaks
Set up
- Cone out 25 m by 20 m.
- Set out 6 to 8 doors round the area, each two cones 2 m apart, facing different ways.
- Put a red or yellow disc beside each door.
- 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, from either side.
- 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, swap partners with the nearest pair, so everyone has a new partner.
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, step by step
- Change the colour call in the middle of an attack, so the attacker has to spot a new door.
- A goal only counts 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 after a goal your next goal must be through a different door.
Safety: Leave space around the doors. Teach look before you cross so pairs do not collide.
Keeping score: Doors I tried in 90 seconds: beat your own number next week.