Channel Interceptors: A Passing Lanes Game for U8 to U14

How to set it up

• Mark two channels, each about 15 metres long and 5 metres wide, with a 5 metre gap between them.
• Passers work in pairs, one on each long side of a channel, outside it.
• One interceptor per channel, inside it.
• One ball per pair.

How to play

• The pairs pass to each other across the channel; passes must be played and received outside it.
• The interceptor moves inside the channel and tries to intercept.
• Every completed pass scores a point for the pair; every interception scores a point for the interceptor.
• Two-minute rounds; swap the interceptor after each round.

Why it works

The channel is narrow, so there is no safe pass that ignores the interceptor. Passers have to look before they pass and move along the line to open a new angle.

The interceptor learns the other side of the same skill: reading the passer's body and stepping into the lane at the moment the ball is struck.

What to coach

• Look at the interceptor before the pass, then pass away from them.
• Move left or right along your side to make a new line for your partner.
• Pass firmly; a slow pass gives the interceptor time.
• Mix the passes: inside, outside, a stop then a pass, one touch.

Questions to ask

• "Where was the interceptor when your pass got through?"
• "What did you do to help your partner when you did not have the ball?"
• "As the interceptor, when did you decide to go for the ball?"

Make it easier, make it harder

• Easier: a wider channel for the passers to use, a passive interceptor who can only move sideways.
• Harder: two interceptors in one channel; one-touch passes; the interceptor scores double for a ball won and dribbled out of the channel.

How to adapt it by age

• U8 to U9: one interceptor, stops allowed, a wider gap between passers.
• U10 to U12: a firm pace, mix of passes, rotate after every interception.
• U13 to U14: one touch, two interceptors, and a rule that a pass must be played within three seconds.