Find and flip
Why it works
Two things have to happen in the right order and kids do them in the wrong one. Turning to find the ball is what loses the man; running with the man is what earns the right to turn. Doing them side by side is the only way to feel which comes first.
Run it
10 MINSix each side, then swap roles so everybody covers and everybody catches. Ten minutes.
Say this
“Stay on the hip until you feel him look.”
The receiver tells you the ball is coming; you do not have to guess.
“Find it late, then flip.”
The head turns after the hips are already going where the ball is.
“Receivers, this ball is yours or nobody's.”
A receiver who lets a defender catch it has done worse than drop it.
Good looks like
- The two run genuinely together for the first five yards.
- The defender's head comes round last, after the hips.
- Nobody stops running to catch. The catch happens at full speed.
- No clean interceptions, because the receiver would not allow one.
The mistakes
Turning to look for the ball on his own, which costs a stride and gives up the outside.
Say: “Stay on the hip until you feel him look.”
Flipping the hips and the head together, which stops the feet for a beat.
Say: “Find it late, then flip.”
Watching the interception happen. If the defender is going to get it, the receiver knocks it down.
Say: “Receivers, this ball is yours or nobody's.”
Throw it early and soft so the ball is in the air before the turn is needed. The point is the order, not the contest.
Give the receiver a two step head start, so the defender has to make it up and still find the ball.