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Practice games

Freeze Frame

On the colour call, each free player in that colour takes one pass, then hands their bib to the passer.

Practice 12 min 8 to 12 players Cage Half pitch 2016 to 2019

Pass, Receive, Heads Up Lift each other

At a glance

  • In a 20 by 25 m area, two thirds dribble a ball. The rest are free players holding a bib: half one colour, half another.
  • The coach lifts one colour of bib and calls Freeze Frame! Each free player with that colour calls and holds up a hand.
  • Each player with a ball picks a free player of that colour that nobody else is passing to. The rest keep dribbling.
  • The receiver hands their bib to the passer and dribbles off. The passer is now a free player in that colour.
  • Progress 1: Lift the bib without calling Freeze Frame!, so players have to spot it.
  • Progress 2: Two players put down their ball and defend, trying to win a pass.

If it's not working: Use one bib colour only, so every free player is a target.

Freeze Frame: set-upgreen bibC1231 green called, 2 one pass per green, 3 give the bib, go20 m by 25 m
  • dribblers
  • green free players
  • grey free players
  • Ccoach
  • dribble
  • pass
  • 1in this order

Everyone moves at once; six children drawn here. Free players hold a bib in one hand, in two colours: green, and grey here for the other colour. The coach lifts the green bib and calls Freeze Frame! Each green free player takes one pass, each from a different passer, and the child with a ball and no green left keeps dribbling. Each receiver hands their bib to their passer and dribbles off; the passer is now a green free player.

Full details: set up, how to play, tips and age tweaks

Set up

  • Mark a 20 m by 25 m area.
  • Two thirds of the children have a ball. The rest are free players, each holding a bib in one hand: half in one colour, half in another.

8 to 12 children. 20 m by 25 m.

How to play

  • Everyone moves around the area.
  • The coach holds up a bib colour and calls Freeze Frame!
  • Each free player in that colour takes one pass. Players with a ball pick one nobody else is passing to. Free players call and show a hand.
  • If two balls reach the same free player, they keep the first. Anyone without a free player keeps dribbling, ready for the next call.
  • The receiver hands their bib to the passer and dribbles off with the ball. The passer is now a free player in that colour.

Keeping everyone moving

Roles change after every pass, so nobody stays without a ball for long. Nobody is out.

Make it easier

  • Use one bib colour only, so every free player is a target.
  • Give players a few seconds to find a pass.

Make it harder, step by step

  1. Lift the bib without calling Freeze Frame!, so players have to spot it.
  2. Two players put down their ball and defend, trying to win a pass.

Three things to say

  • Look up when the call comes.
  • Receiver moves into space and calls.
  • First touch away.

Words that work: "Brilliant call, you showed for it!", "Brave to take it on the move!", "You found a new friend!"

Colts habit

Pass to someone who has not had the ball.

Both feet

Bonus cheer for a practice-foot pass.

Heads up

The colour call means looking up.

For your birth year

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

2018 to 2019
One colour, 25 m by 25 m.
2016 to 2017
Play with the two defenders from the start.

Safety: Stop dribbling fast on Freeze and check for collisions.

Keeping score: Each child counts their own passes that reached a friend and tries to beat it next time.