Ultimate football
Why it works
Take running away and every player has to solve getting open, not just the two who usually do. It is the best finisher on the list because it is a real game with real stakes that happens to be ninety per cent catching practice, and nobody notices.
Run it
12 MINFirst to five, or twelve minutes, whichever comes first. This is the finisher, so let it actually finish.
Say this
“Move the second you have thrown.”
A player who throws and watches is a player nobody can throw back to.
“Get open behind them, not next to them.”
Space away from a defender is worth more than space near your thrower.
“Throw it flat and early.”
A floated ball gives the defense time to arrive.
Good looks like
- The ball moves upfield in three or four throws, not ten.
- Nobody stands still after throwing.
- Receivers are breaking away from defenders rather than toward the ball.
- Turnovers come from good defense rather than from bad throws.
The mistakes
Standing still admiring the pass, which is what half of them do for the first two minutes.
Say: “Move the second you have thrown.”
Everybody crowding the ball, which is what makes it a scrum.
Say: “Get open behind them, not next to them.”
Waiting for somebody to be perfectly open, which never happens and loses the ball to a stall.
Say: “Throw it flat and early.”
Allow three steps after the catch and make the field shorter. Pure no-steps is frustrating at this age.
Add a five second count on the thrower, or say every player has to touch it before a score counts.