A drill to practice decision making and finding space between defenders.
Set up a line of three defenders with tackle shields (roughly 2m apart), with one defender 2/3m behind the middle defender (blue - see diagram).
Roughly 5m opposite the defenders set up three attackers, one opposite the middle defender with the ball and one either side of the ball carrier (red - see diagram).
When the ball carrier starts running towards the defenders the defender behind moves in to fill one of the defensive gaps. The attackers must successfully select the space and pass the ball to the player to run through the gap and score.
PROGRESSION:
Defenders put more pressure on attackers.
All players must touch the ball. The third attacker must get through their space as a support player.
The ball starts on one side instead of in the middle and players have to call whether the space is the first gap or the second gap, in which case the ball carrier should through a miss-pass.
Identification and communication of space between players.
Decision making - watching where the defender is moving and passing the ball accordingly.
in more ways than one
sportplan_netball
in more ways than one
sportplan_rugby
The 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup featured a record 32% female coaches - more than double 2021 figures. Here's what this growth means for the sport.
Matches are won by the team that makes better decisions under pressure. Learn how to develop game intelligence and manage critical moments.
The 50:22 law has transformed tactical kicking, rewarding accuracy to the corners and punishing narrow defensive positioning. Here's how to exploit it.
