Dribbling with Pressure on the Back
The ball shoots through your legs from behind — find it fast and dribble it to the far side of the grid while your partner chases and tries to take it.
Protecting the ball with a defender on your back is its own skill — this builds the awareness, quick reactions, and body positioning that keep possession under pressure.
Set up · 3 actions · before the kids arrive
- Grab: Cones and a ball for every pair.
- Build: Build a grid 20 by 15 yards.
- Place: Pairs spread out — each dribbler in front with legs spread wide, each defender directly behind holding the ball.
Show me the setup picture
One thing to remember: Ball protection under pressure — shielding, body positioning, keeping the ball close — plus instant reactions, scanning, and choosing when to turn, shield, or accelerate into space.
How it runs — the whole game in one sentence
On your call the defender passes the ball through the dribbler's legs — the dribbler finds it fast and fights it to the opposite side while the defender hunts it, then the jobs flip.
1Organize the players▾
Coach does
Split into pairs with one ball each, spread out in the grid. Front player is the dribbler — legs spread wide, eyes forward. Partner stands directly behind with the ball.
Coach says
Partners! One in front, legs wide, no peeking. One behind with the ball — wait for me.
2Show the jobs▾
Coach does
Walk it — on your command, the defender passes the ball through the dribbler's legs. Without looking back first, the dribbler must locate the ball quickly and dribble for the opposite side of the grid while the defender applies pressure and tries to win it — shielding and protecting the whole way.
Coach says
When I shout, it comes through your legs. Find it, shield it, get it across — your partner is coming for it.
3Play▾
Coach does
Run the crossings. Watch for the dribbler's body kept between ball and defender, the ball kept close, an instant reaction the moment they see the ball, defenders pressuring realistically without fouling, and the right choice between turning, shielding, and accelerating into space.
Coach says
React — go find it! Body between, keep it close!
Look for: The shield on the move — body kept between ball and defender the whole way across, not just a footrace.
4Switch and repeat▾
Coach does
Reaching the far side flips the roles, and play runs back the other way. Keep it going for your set time or number of rounds so everyone gets equal turns. For later rounds — the pass can go slightly left or right instead of through the middle, or a dribbler who loses possession becomes the defender in the next round automatically.
Coach says
Made it? Trade jobs — back the other way. This time the pass might not come straight!
If it's not working
If the defender wins it every single time, freeze it and ask the dribbler — where was your body? Let them say it — between the ball and the pressure — then run it again.
Want to go deeper? Optional — not needed to run the game.
Why are we doing this?
What are they learning?
How can I change it?
Harder: Put 5 to 7 seconds on the crossing, restrict the dribbler's touches, or go weak-foot only.