Crazy corral
Why it works
The one kid who beats everybody is beaten by three kids who arrive from three places, and youth defenders never work that out on their own because every drill they run is one against one. This is the first drill where the right answer is somebody else's angle.
Run it
8 MINEverybody runs once. Eight minutes. If the runner escapes every time, shrink the box rather than adding a defender.
Say this
“Squeeze, do not chase.”
Closing the space is what a group does; chasing is what an individual does.
“Talk. Say what you have.”
Three silent defenders cover the same ground twice.
“Nearest man slows him, the others arrive.”
The first defender's job is not the pull, it is the delay.
Good looks like
- The three of them arrive from three different angles, not one.
- You can hear them before you see the pull.
- The space the runner has gets smaller every second, visibly.
- The pull usually comes from the second or third defender, not the first.
The mistakes
All three running at the ball, which leaves three sides open and one very happy runner.
Say: “Squeeze, do not chase.”
Nobody saying anything, which is what happens for the whole first round every time.
Say: “Talk. Say what you have.”
The nearest defender lunging, missing, and taking himself out of it.
Say: “Nearest man slows him, the others arrive.”
Shrink the box to ten yards so the squeeze happens quickly and they can feel it working.
Two runners at once against the same three, so the defenders have to choose and talk about it.