Playing Wide Out of the Back

Two teams of four play to stick goals, but nobody attacks until the ball has escaped through a wide channel first.

Playing wide out of the back — the habit a goal kick starts — is where players find time and space, and it clears dangerous play out of the center of the field.

Ages 9+Two teams of 4 (4v4)20 minCones, pinnies, balls, practice sticks

Set up · 3 actions · before the kids arrive

Grab: Cones, pinnies, balls, and practice sticks — two sticks for each goal.
Build: Build a grid about 40 by 25 yards, make a small stick goal on each end line, and cone off a 7-yard channel along each side of the field at the center line.
Place: Split into two teams of four, each defending a goal.

Show me the setup picture

A 40-by-25 grid with a two-stick goal on each end line and a 7-yard channel coned along each side at the center line.

One thing to remember: Getting out of the back by going wide — opening up the moment the ball is won, switching the point of attack, and thinking a step ahead of the play.

How it runs — the whole game in one sentence

Win the ball in your own half, get it wide through a channel, then go score — nobody attacks until the ball has traveled through a channel first.

1Organize the players▾
Coach does
Split into two teams of four and give each team a goal to defend.
Coach says
Two teams of four. That's your goal — protect it.
2Show the jobs▾
Coach does
Walk the two rules — a goal counts only when the ball is won in your defensive half and played wide through a channel before going in, and nobody goes forward until the ball is passed or dribbled through a channel.
Coach says
Win it in your half, get it wide through a channel — then you can go score.
3Play▾
Coach does
Play 4v4 and hold the rules firmly — the channel is the only door forward. Push the team that wins the ball to keep possession and get out of the back by going wide.
Coach says
You won it — open up! Get it wide and out of the back.
Look for: Bodies opening up the moment the ball is won — that's what makes the quick switch wide possible.
4Switch and repeat▾
Coach does
Run new rounds with the channel rule changed — one round the ball must be passed through the channel, the next it must be dribbled through.
Coach says
New round — this time it has to be passed through the channel!

If it's not working

If the ball never gets out of the back, go 5v3 — stack one team until playing wide works, then walk it back to 4v4.

Want to go deeper? Optional — not needed to run the game.

Why are we doing this?

The channel rule makes wide the only way forward, so players discover for themselves that the outsides of the field are where the time and space live — and that going there relieves the center of dangerous play. It builds the playing-out-of-the-back pattern a goal kick starts, as a habit instead of a lecture.

What are they learning?

Getting out of the back by going wide — opening up the moment the ball is won, switching the point of attack, and thinking a step ahead of the play.

How can I change it?

Easier: Make the field bigger.

Harder: Limit the number of touches, or add a second ball.