Carnmoney Colts Academy badgeCarnmoney ColtsAcademy Join

Practice games

Rats and Rabbits at Home

Also called Rats and Rabbits

Back to back in the middle. Call Rabbits! or Rats!: the one named runs for their line and the other turns and chases.

At home 10 min 1 to 2 players Garden Park With a grown-up With brothers, sisters or friends Under 5s and 2016 to 2021

Moving Well Work hard

At a glance

  • Two lines of 2 markers, 8 big steps apart. Stand back to back in the middle, each facing your own line, your child with the ball.
  • Your child is Rabbits and you are Rats. Call Rabbits!: they dribble to their line, and you turn and chase them.
  • Call Rats!: you run to your line, and they turn and chase you with the ball. Mix up the calls.
  • Progress 1: Start sitting down, back to back, then go on the call.
  • Progress 2: Same, with the opposite rule: Rats! sends your child, and Rabbits! sends you.

If it's not working: The chaser counts to 3 before they can chase.

Rats and Rabbits at Home: set-upGchild's home lineG's home line1231 Rabbits!, 2 dribble to their line, 3 G chases.
  • your child (Rabbits)
  • Ggrown-up
  • run
  • dribble
  • 1in this order

Two lines about 8 big steps apart. You and your child stand back to back in the middle, each facing your own line. On Rabbits!, your child dribbles to the line they face and you turn round and chase.

Full details: set up, how to play, tips

Set up

  • Put down two lines of 2 markers, about 8 big steps apart.
  • Stand back to back in the middle, each facing your own line. Your child has the ball at their feet.

Garden, park.

How to play

  • Your child is Rabbits and you are Rats. You call one of the names.
  • Rabbits!: they dribble to the line they're facing, and you turn round and chase, trying to tag them before they get there.
  • Rats!: you run to the line you're facing, and they turn round and chase you with the ball, trying to tag you before you get there.
  • Mix up the calls. Then let them do the calling.

Make it easier

  • The chaser counts to 3 before they can chase.
  • Move both lines closer to the middle, so the run home is short.

Make it harder, step by step

  1. Start sitting down, back to back, then go on the call.
  2. Same, with the opposite rule: Rats! sends your child, and Rabbits! sends you.

Three things to say

  • Listen, then go. Big touches on the sprint.

Colts habit

Work hard: little and often beats one long go.

Both feet

Do a round with the practice foot only.

Heads up

Look up between touches.

For your birth year

Pick a birth year to show the tweak for that group.

Under 5s
The child is always the rabbit, carrying the ball home on Rabbits! The grown-up chases on tiptoe, never quite catching them.

Safety: Pick a clear, flat space, look out for traffic and hazards, and stop if anything hurts. Soft ball indoors.

My best

Escapes: times they got home without being tagged. Last time and this time. Only ever compared with their own earlier go, never with anyone else's. Saved on this device only.