Academy 2 - Session 1
Put your players into partners or teams and assign them a Home Zone this is where they must go when they have the ball and must remain to score a point. The objective of the exercise is for the players to have a ball in their HOME ZONE at the end of the activity. Every player that has a ball in their HOME ZONE wins a point for themselves or for their team, the team with the most points wins. In this example the blue player are starting with the ball in the blue home zone they must try and keep the ball in the blue half of the playing grid. The green players must go and steal one of the blue players balls and get ot back to the green side of the playing grid.
If a player has the ball at the end of the activity but is not in their HOME ZONE they do not score a point for their team. If a player dribbles the ball outside of the grid you must give the ball to the player who forced you out of the grid.
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The four players on the outside of the square aim to maintain possession of the ball. The lone defender tries to intercept the ball. The +1 player assists the team in possession, effectively creating a 5v1 scenario.
The players on the outside (and the +1 player) aim to complete a certain number of passes (e.g., 5 consecutive passes) while avoiding the defender. If the defender intercepts the ball or forces it out of play, they swap roles with the player who lost possession. The neutral player always supports the team in possession, adding an element of numerical superiority.
Size of your playing area is key. For beginners you want to make the square large enough to give the players some time and space to have success, you want to be careful not to make the square too big that they players are struggling with making a long pass across the Rondo. You will want to make your square bigger than you would for just a 4v1 rondo so that there is more room for the 1v1 in the middle. You want to encourage the 1v1 and the players on the perimeter combining with the player in the middle.
Inside your playing area you will have a 2v1 match up with. The objective of the activity is for the two players in possession to keep the ball and play to one of the target players at either end of the playing area. You can make this game a 3v2 or 2v2 with a neutral players depending on your numbers and ability levels.
Once they have played to one of the target players they must get the ball back and try to score by playing the ball to the target player at the other end of the playing grid. As long as they keep the ball they continue to try to get the ball to the target players in an alternating fashion. If the defender steals or blocks a pass they get 2 points. Play for 2 minutes then rotate the players positions in the game.
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Put your players into balanced teams you can play this game with any number of players you want. Variations can also include adding a neutral player in the middle who will go on the team in possessions side. You can also add two sideline neutrals who can be used by the team in possession (See video example)
Each of the teams is playing to one of the end-zones. To score a point the team must make a pass to one of their team mates who is inside the end-zone.
Once a team scores a point by making a pass to a team mate inside the end-zone the other team gets possession of the ball and tries to go score in the end-zone at the other end.