---
title: "Recovery Race"
description: "The attacker dribbles through a gate and on to goal while the defender chases from a marker they picked themselves: how big a head start can you give away and still make the stop?"
canonical: https://hobbit.football/drills/recovery-race
language: en
publisher: Hobbit (https://hobbit.football)
---

# Recovery Race

> The attacker dribbles through a gate and on to goal while the defender chases from a marker they picked themselves: how big a head start can you give away and still make the stop?

U8 to U14 · 2 to 3 players · 10 × 20 m · 12 min

Also called Recover and stop, Cats and Dogs, Chase the Dribbler.

![Diagram of Recovery Race](https://hobbit.football/api/game-library/diagram/recovery-race)

## How to play

1. For each pair, mark a channel 10 metres wide and 20 long with a mini goal in the top right corner. Put a start marker in the middle, 6 metres from the bottom, and a 2 metre gate 5 metres in front of it, over on the left.
2. Two metres to the right of the start, put three markers: 1, 3 and 5 metres back. The defender picks one and stands on it. The attacker stands on the start with the ball.
3. The attacker goes whenever they like: through the gate, then on to goal. The defender may go the moment the ball moves, and has to win it or knock it out before it goes in.
4. A stop from the nearest marker is worth 1 point, from the middle one 2, from the furthest 3. A goal is worth 1 to the attacker. Then swap roles and walk back with the ball.
5. Set up a channel for every pair, side by side, and mirror every second one (goal top left, gate on the right, markers on the left) so defenders chase from both sides. Change channels every 3 minutes. With an odd number, three share a channel and rotate.

## The decision it trains

The first decision comes before anyone moves. The defender looks at the attacker and chooses a marker: too close and the stop is worth little, too far and they never catch up. Once the ball moves, the attacker has to go through the gate and the defender does not, so the defender who follows the ball loses; the one who runs to where the attacker is going, towards the goal side, gets there first. Arriving is the second choice. Come in at full speed and the attacker cuts past; slow down a few steps early, get between the ball and the goal, and pick the moment to tackle, when the touch runs too far or the attacker looks down. The attacker decides how fast they can go and still keep the ball, and when to put their body between the ball and the chaser.

## Make it harder or easier

- **Too hard:** if even the nearest marker never gets a stop, lengthen the channel to 25 metres, so the chase is longer.
- **Too easy:** if defenders stop everything from the furthest marker, add a fourth one 7 metres back, worth 4, or pair them with a quicker attacker.
- **Back to goal:** both start on the marker with their backs to the goal. The attacker dribbles away from it through a gate, then turns for goal; the defender runs round a marker of their choice (the further, the more a stop is worth) and races back to challenge.

## What to ask at the breaks

- "Which marker did you pick, and what made you choose it?"
- "When you chased, where did you run to?"
- "When you caught up, how did you decide when to tackle?"

## Where it comes from

The FA documents it in its England Football Learning sessions as "Recover and stop" (2022), a carousel of four 1v1 stations shared by Mark Swales, women's national coach developer. This game is its first and fourth stations, where the defender chooses their own start, with the third as a variation. No source names who created it.

## Documented by

- The FA (United Kingdom): Recover and stop
- Football Australia (Australia): Chase the Dribbler, Run With It
- Swiss Federal Office of Sport (mobilesport.ch) (Switzerland): Verfolgungsrennen
- Royal Belgian FA (Belgium)
- Danish FA (DBU) (Denmark): AFSLUTNING PÅ CUTBACK, Friløber med pres, Hvem kommer først?
- AYSO (American Youth Soccer Organization) (United States): Cats and Dogs
- German regional FAs (Bavaria, Hamburg, South Baden) (Germany): 1 gegen 1 seitlich
- Swedish FA (Sweden)
- FIFA Training Centre (International)

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