Three-Ball Hunt

1. Mark an area 20 metres wide and 25 long. Two teams of 4 to 6 in two colours, and three balls. With more players, set up two areas side by side.
2. There are no goals. A team has a ball when one of its players has it at their feet, and each player can keep only one ball at a time. Pass, dribble and tackle as in a match.
3. The moment one team has all three balls at once, the coach shouts "Freeze!" and that team scores a point.
4. The team that scored rolls two of the balls to the other team, and play goes straight on.
5. A ball that leaves the area goes to the other team, who dribble it back in from where it went out. Play blocks of 3 to 4 minutes with a short break between them.

With three balls, a team is never only attacking or only defending. With one ball you are hunting two; with two you are protecting two and hunting the last one. The players without a ball decide whether to go after that last ball or stay close to a teammate under pressure, so there is a pass to give. The player on the ball chooses between shielding, dribbling away into space and passing to a free teammate, and because pressure can come from any side, they have to look around before it arrives. The team that is short decides which carrier to go for: the one with their head down, the one stuck near the line, and often two players on one ball rather than one on each.