Possession game · 18 seconds, two zones
Hunt in Packs
A two zone transfer possession game for twelve players, six against six, with nine of them active at a time. Two squares are marked out one on top of the other, as big as the space allows, and each one gets three mini goals: one on its outer end and one on each side, level with the middle. The team in possession keep the ball with all six in their zone, and the other team release any three across the join to press while their other three wait in their own zone. Eight passes is a point, and on the eighth pass the ball is transferred across to the team waiting in the other zone; the three who were pressing recover back to join them, and three fresh players go the other way to press. The three who press are different every time, so the legs doing the hunting are always fresh and nobody presses twice in a row. If the pressing three win the ball they have twenty seconds to score in any of the three goals in that zone for a point, and the team that lost it restarts in its own zone. The clip shows a full cycle: six against three in the near zone, the count to eight, the transfer across the line, the switch of both groups, the press winning it back, and the finish into a side goal. Twelve players, no keepers, six mini goals, fifteen to twenty five minutes.
Instructions
- In possession it is six against three, so there is always a spare player: scan and find them before you receive
- Support the ball at angles, not flat, so whoever has it always has a short option either side
- Count the passes out loud; on eight, look to transfer the ball across to the other zone straight away
- The three pressers go together and press as a unit, screen the easy pass and force play one way, do not dive in
- Rotate the pressing three, send a different three across each time so the press stays sharp
- Win the ball as a presser and go straight for the nearest of the three goals in that zone before they recover
Variation
- Start with a lower target, five or six passes for a point, then build up to eight once they keep it. Limit the team in possession to two touches, to speed the ball up and make them scan earlier. A point for the pressers only counts if they score within a few seconds of winning it, which rewards the quick counter. Make the transfer travel through one of the two side goals in the other zone to count, so they switch play with purpose. Play first team to a set number of points, losers do a forfeit, to raise the intensity.
Building lineups in seconds
Set your team sheet, plan your substitutions, and share it with the parents before you leave the car park.
