Girls aged 10 chasing their partners on defence and not watching the ball?

Janet Coach, Australia

Hi Vanessa, this seems a little unusual so maybe too much focus on defense at training has given them the idea that they can't take their eyes of their players even when they should be attacking?

You say they have recently started chasing players so it would not yet be habit and should be easy to change with the right encouragement.  At this age learning to throw, catch, land safely, meet the pass, lead into space and, of course, eyes up at all times should be encouraged.

There are many simple drills on Sportplan to help work on these and have fun at the same time.  Good luck.

Allie CollyerCoach, Australia

A very simple drill for defending is having one in front, one behind. The player behind has to move along a line from side to side, the defender needs to face forward and have their eyes up but be also watching side on for the movement behind. It is almost like a shuffle side to side but it does give a good start. You can then introduce the ball.

Have a look at some of the simple defence drills on this site for some more that you can build on. Explain to them as well that they can't possible win possession for their team if they don't have eyes for the ball. Stress how important defence is to winning a game sometimes little ones just think that scoring is the main thing and D isn't so important.