How to play
- Mark a pitch 20 by 30 metres with a goal and a keeper at each end, and play 4v4. With more players, run two pitches side by side.
- Play a normal game with one rule: a pass may only go sideways or backwards. The ball goes forward only when a player dribbles it.
- A forward pass gives the ball to the other team where it was played. The keepers' throws and passes are the one exception.
- When the ball goes out, restart with a dribble in. Change keepers every 4 minutes.
The decision it trains
The player on the ball is the only way forward, so he chooses: keep driving at the defender, or stop and lay the ball back or across to a teammate who can drive into new space. Teammates choose where to stand: ahead of the ball they are no use, so they support from behind and beside, at an angle and distance that keep a pass on. Defenders know every attack comes through a dribbler, so they decide when to step in and when to delay.
Make it harder or easier
What to ask at the breaks
"When you could not go forward, where was your best pass?"
"Where did you stand to help the dribbler?"
"Defending, how did you stop a dribbler without diving in?"
A free account plans 2 sessions and talks to Hobbit 5 times a month; after that, Pro.
Who documents it
4 sources · each opens the originalIt borrows rugby's law that the ball may not be passed forward. No inventor is documented, and the research found it only in English-speaking countries: Canada Soccer's Fundamentals coaching toolkit, a US coach's session plan, and Soccer Coach Weekly in the UK, whose version starts with the ball in the hands and rugby passing before moving to feet.
Canada SoccerCanadacalls it Soccer Rugby
German regional FAs (Bavaria, Hamburg, South Baden)Germany
Sport Session PlannerUnited Statescalls it soccer rugby
Soccer Coach WeeklyUnited Kingdomcalls it Rugby football