---
title: "Defend the Castle"
description: "Four attackers with a ball each try to knock over the skittles inside a round castle, and four defenders must stop them without leaving it."
canonical: https://hobbit.football/drills/defend-the-castle
language: en
publisher: Hobbit (https://hobbit.football)
---

# Defend the Castle

> Four attackers with a ball each try to knock over the skittles inside a round castle, and four defenders must stop them without leaving it.

U5 to U9 · 6 to 10 players · 16 × 16 m · 10 min

Also called Guard the Castle, Pirates and Lifeguards, Hütchen-Schießen.

![Diagram of Defend the Castle](https://hobbit.football/api/game-library/diagram/defend-the-castle)

## How to play

1. Mark a 16 by 16 metre square with a circle 8 metres across in the middle: the castle. Stand four skittles or tall cones inside it, about 2 metres from the centre.
2. Four defenders stand in the castle and may not leave it. Four attackers start outside the circle with a ball each and may not go in.
3. The attackers pass or shoot to knock the skittles over. Each skittle that falls is a point, and a defender stands it back up straight away.
4. Play rounds of 90 seconds, then the teams swap roles. Compare the two scores, mix the teams and play again.

## The decision it trains

The attacker with the ball looks for the skittle nobody is guarding and has to strike before a defender slides across: shoot now from a narrow angle, or move round the circle to a better one. With four balls coming in from all sides, the defenders decide who covers which skittle, and when to leave their own to help a teammate: the moment the attacker in front of them has just shot.

## Make it harder or easier

- **Too hard:** two defenders against four attackers, so there is more open space to shoot through.
- **Too easy:** the attackers share two balls and have to pass round the circle to pull the defenders across before they strike.
- **Younger players:** the defenders hold hands in pairs, so they have to agree before they move.

## What to ask at the breaks

- "Which skittle did you go for, and why that one?"
- "Defenders: when did you leave your skittle, and what happened?"
- "Where were you standing when you knocked one over?"

## Where it comes from

No origin is documented. The French federation's U7 games in Haute-Marne include Défendre son château: four defenders who may not leave a round castle protect skittles from four attackers with a ball each. A school booklet from Ardèche plays Défendre le château with the defenders holding hands. In the United States, SoccerXpert describes Guard the Castle, where three attackers pass round one defender to knock a ball off a cone.

## Documented by

- French FA (FFF) districts (France): Défendre son château
- French national education (school PE) (France): Défendre le château
- Japan's Ministry of Education (MEXT) (Japan)
- German regional FAs (Bavaria, Hamburg, South Baden) (Germany): Hütchen-Schießen
- FIFA Training Centre (International)
- Ontario Soccer (Canada): Pirates and Lifeguards
- SoccerXpert (United States): Guard the Castle

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