Reaction squares for space

WHY USE IT

Fire up players’ minds to look around for spaces. The better they get, the more balanced they will be as they move to find space.

set up

A 10m square with 1m squares in each corner and five balls. You will need eight cones and a ball for the game.

HOW TO PLAY

GAME: Start with five balls inside the box. Five players run around the sides of the box. When you shout “Go!”, the players have to run into the box, gather the ball and put both feet into a box before anyone else. It will mean that one player will miss out. If you have six players, one player stands out and replaces the ‘losing’ player. Set up more squares if you have more than 10 players.

ACTIVITY: Two defenders start about 3m behind three gates of cones. An attacker starts 2m behind a ball, which in turn is 3m in front of the gates. When you shout “Go!”, the defenders run to stand inside one of the gates. The attacker has to pick up the ball and go through the empty gate.

COACHING POINTS

• Look up and run hard for space.
• Keep upright, unless close to other players, then lean forward.