2 Team Keepaway Soccer Drill Game

No Lines Soccer Drill that is a Practice Game

Comment:
This game is much more fun than regular keep away or "Monkey in the Middle", set-up is easy, there is constant movement & many touches. My team loves this game.
Teaches:
  • This is a great game that is a lot of fun. It teaches teamwork, passing, support, movement off the ball, defensive pressure, quick transitions from offense to defense, and is a good way to teach wall passes, "channeling" attackers to the side line, & talking.
Set-up:
  • Use cones to outline a field about 20 steps wide x 30 steps long (smaller for U-8 and larger for U-14; adjust the size according to your teams age & ability and the number of players; it should be large enough so they can spread out to create space, but not too large)
  • Divide into 2 teams (if you have over 5 players per team an odd number is okay, otherwise the Coach or a spectator plays).
  • Have the teams start on opposite sides of the field
  • Give each team 1 ball for every 2 1/2 to 3 players (e.g., 5, 6 or 7 players per side get 2 balls, and 8 or 9 players get 3 balls). (It isn't as much fun if there are too many balls). If there are 4 per side, you can let one team start with 2 balls and the other team with one ball.
The Game:
  • On "Go", each team tries to keep their balls & steal the other teams balls
  • The team with the most balls at the end of 2 minutes wins.
  • If a ball goes "out of bounds", play it in with feet or throw in (the coach decides which for each game)
  • Play three 2-minute games. If necessary, after each game, even up the teams so they are competitive.
Tips:
  • Players with the ball should work in pairs or 3's
  • If a player has a ball but no "support", he should call someone by name to come to support him
  • Encourage talking to teammates & to call teammates by name & to be specific (e.g., "John, support!" or "John, man on").
Note:
  • This game (and many others described herein) will also work indoors & in most cases you can use the lines on the gym floor instead of soccer cones.

Comments:

Whether children continue to play soccer will have a lot to do with whether it is fun at early ages. SoccerHelp Practice Games are designed to be fun, to teach important skills and concepts, and to keep players active. We don't use "knock-out" or elimination games which leave kids standing on the sideline and we don't use games such as "Crab Soccer" which are fun but have many kids crawling on the ground instead of learning to play soccer. There are thousands of drills on the Internet, but most are not well thought out, efficient, effective or fun. Most drills and games do not provide enough touches on the ball or the activity level is too low (i.e., there is too much standing around) to meet SoccerHelp standards. SoccerHelp Practice Games are selected from hundreds we have tried and less than 5% of the games we evaluate are selected for SoccerHelp Premium. We believe in positive motivation and don't believe in punishing a child who has tried their best but lost a Practice Game. Thus, we do not recommend punishing the losers or making the losers leave the game.