---
title: "Rob the Nest"
description: "Teams dribble eggs from the nest to their own base, then raid each other's bases past a guard. Which base, and when do you go?"
canonical: https://hobbit.football/drills/rob-the-nest
language: en
publisher: Hobbit (https://hobbit.football)
---

# Rob the Nest

> Teams dribble eggs from the nest to their own base, then raid each other's bases past a guard. Which base, and when do you go?

U5 to U11 · 9 to 15 players · 25 × 25 m · 10 min

Also called Treasure Island, Treasure collection, The Golden Egg.

![Diagram of Rob the Nest](https://hobbit.football/api/game-library/diagram/rob-the-nest)

## How to play

1. For 9 to 15 players, mark a 25 by 25 metre area with a circle in the middle as the nest, holding one ball per player. Make three or four teams, each with a 5 by 5 metre base, the bases spread around the nest at the same distance.
2. On "go", players dribble balls from the nest to their own base, one ball per trip. Dribble only, no kicking.
3. When the nest is empty, raid the other bases. Each team keeps one guard inside its base, and only guards may tag. A raider tagged inside a base puts the ball back and goes home empty-handed.
4. Play 2 to 3-minute rounds. The team with the most balls in its base at the whistle wins. Change the guard every round.

## The decision it trains

The first rush to the nest is a race with little to decide; the game starts when the nest is empty. Then every player chooses which base to raid (the one whose guard is busy or facing away is the best bet) and when to go in. A raider with a ball has to get out past the guard, so they pick the moment and the way out. The guard decides whom to chase, knowing a second raider may be right behind.

## Make it harder or easier

- **Too hard:** play the first rounds with no guards, as in Football Federation Australia's version, so raiding is about picking the richest base and the quickest route.
- **Too easy:** the guard may chase a raider out of the base and tag them anywhere until they reach their own base.
- **Younger players:** play with two teams and the bases at opposite ends, so there is only one base to watch.

## What to ask at the breaks

- "How did you choose which base to raid?"
- "When was the best moment to go in?"
- "Guards: who did you chase, and why?"

## Where it comes from

No origin is documented. New Zealand Football's game cards and US coaches call it Rob the Nest, and Football Federation Australia's skill manual calls it Empty the Nest. In France the FFF's Haute-Marne district has a similar game, Le déménageur, and Voetbal Vlaanderen in Belgium has Schattenjacht, with the balls in the centre circle and four pirate boats as the bases. The versions differ on guards: in the Australian one, robbing cannot be stopped.

## Documented by

- Football Australia (Australia): Empty the nest, Rob the Nest, Feather the Nest
- French FA (FFF) districts (France): Le déménageur
- Royal Belgian FA (Belgium): Schattenjacht, Kom snel naar huis, LES DÉMÉNAGEURS
- US Youth Soccer (United States): Keeper’s Nest
- AYSO (American Youth Soccer Organization) (United States): Bank Robbery, Rob the Nest
- German regional FAs (Bavaria, Hamburg, South Baden) (Germany)
- Irish FA (Northern Ireland) (United Kingdom)
- Japan FA (Japan): 混雑ドリブルゲーム
- FIFA Training Centre (International): Go and get the diamonds, Bases game, diamond hunt
- Massachusetts Youth Soccer (United States): Steal the Treasure
- Ontario Soccer (Canada): The Golden Egg, Treasure Island, Treasure collection
- Fencibles United AFC (New Zealand): Rob the Nest, Survival
- Sport Session Planner (United Kingdom): Rob the Nest

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