3v3 with a Catch-Up Player

1. Mark a pitch about 18 metres long and 12 wide with a mini goal at each end. No goalkeepers.
2. Make teams of four: three on the pitch, one beside its own goal. After every goal, each team swaps its outside player in.
3. When the ball goes over a goal line, the team restarting from that line gets a free start: the other team drops back to the halfway line until the ball is played.
4. The catch-up rule: when a team falls three goals behind, its fourth player comes on straight away, and the team plays four against three for as long as it is still three or more goals down.
5. Play games of six minutes, then change opponents. With twelve or more players, run two pitches side by side.

In three against three the ball is never far away, so every child is in every attack and every defence, choosing each time between a shot, a pass to one of two teammates, or a dribble. The catch-up rule adds a second problem. The trailing team has an extra player and has to find them, because one of the four is always free. The leading team, a player short, has to choose: drop back and protect the lead, or keep attacking and risk the comeback.