Goalie Wars

1. Mark a pitch 15 metres wide and 20 long with a goal about 4 metres wide at each end (pop-up goals or two poles) and a halfway line. One player in each goal. Set up as many pitches as you have pairs: everyone can play, not only your keepers.
2. Each player stays in their own half. Save with your hands; score by throwing, kicking from the hands or shooting off the ground, always from inside your own half.
3. Release the ball within six seconds of winning it, or it goes to the opponent. A rebound that comes back to you is yours to play again.
4. Games of 3 minutes, one point a goal. Then winners move up a pitch and losers move down, so every round brings an opponent of a similar level.

The player who has just saved decides at once: shoot fast while the other is still off their line, or set the ball and pick a corner. A throw, a volley and a shot along the ground each beat a different position. Then the roles swap in a second, and the same player must get back to the middle of the goal, read the shooter's body and choose where to stand. A player who rushes the shot often leaves their own goal open.