---
title: "Cat and Mouse"
description: "Two players chase round a small square that neither may cross: the cat reads which way the mouse will turn, and the mouse keeps the square between them."
canonical: https://hobbit.football/drills/cat-and-mouse
language: en
publisher: Hobbit (https://hobbit.football)
---

# Cat and Mouse

> Two players chase round a small square that neither may cross: the cat reads which way the mouse will turn, and the mouse keeps the square between them.

U4 to U11 · 2 to 3 players · 5 × 5 m · 8 min

Also called Individual Tag.

![Diagram of Cat and Mouse](https://hobbit.football/api/game-library/diagram/cat-and-mouse)

## How to play

1. For every pair, mark a square 5 metres by 5 metres with four cones. Set up as many squares as you have pairs, so everyone plays at once.
2. The two players start outside the square, on opposite sides. One is the cat; the other is the mouse and has a ball at their feet.
3. On the coach's signal, the cat chases the mouse round the outside of the square. Nobody may cut through it.
4. The cat has 15 seconds to tag the mouse on the shoulder. A tag is a point for the cat; still free when time is up, a point for the mouse. Then they swap roles.
5. With an odd number, one square takes three: the third player stands in the middle of the square as a barrier that blocks the view across it, and the three rotate after every chase.

## The decision it trains

Neither player can take the short way, so the game is won by reading, not by speed. The cat watches the mouse across the square and decides which way to run, and when to stop and turn back: a few steps one way and then a sharp change can win the metre a tag needs. The mouse has to keep the square between them, so the mouse never stops watching the cat. When the cat turns, the mouse turns too, and with a ball at the feet that turn has to be one quick touch, not a wide loop. It is marking at its smallest: watch your opponent, read the next move, and get there first.

## Make it harder or easier

- **Too hard:** if the cats hardly ever make a tag, shrink the square to 4 metres, so the gap between the two is shorter.
- **Too easy:** if the mice are caught within a few seconds, make the square 7 metres, or give the cat a ball to dribble as well.
- **Younger players:** start with no ball at all, then let the mouse carry the ball in the hands, and only then put it at the feet.

## What to ask at the breaks

- "Cats: how did you get the mouse to run the wrong way?"
- "Mice: what did you watch to know the cat was about to turn?"
- "When did you decide to stop and change direction, and when did you keep going?"

## Where it comes from

The FA documents it in its England Football Learning sessions as "Cat and mouse": in 2024 as a Play Phase game for 4 to 6 year olds, and in 2025 as the opening activity of two marking sessions shared by Vinny Halsall, an FA PE officer. No source names who created it.

## Documented by

- The FA (United Kingdom): Cat and mouse
- Canada Soccer (Canada)
- Irish FA (Northern Ireland) (United Kingdom)
- US Youth Soccer (United States)
- Ontario Soccer (Canada): Individual Tag

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