Shooters and Shaggers
Pairs team up — one shoots for no-bounce goals around an arc of five cones while their partner shags balls behind the goal — and the first three shooters through the arc win.
Shooting on target, leg strength, and the instep drive — struck with the shoelaces — are exactly what a goal that can't bounce demands.
Set up · 3 actions · before the kids arrive
- Grab: Cones and balls — no keeper for this one, so the goal stays empty.
- Build: Build an arc of five cones in front of the goal — about 10 yards out for younger players, 18 and beyond for older, more skilled groups.
- Place: Shooters start at the first cone; each shagger waits behind the goal, shagging only for their own shooter.
Show me the setup picture
One thing to remember: Shooting on target, leg strength, and the instep drive — striking with the shoelaces.
How it runs — the whole game in one sentence
Score in the air with no bounce and you move to the next cone; bounce it or miss, and your shagger feeds you back to try the same cone again — first three through all five cones win.
1Organize the players▾
Coach does
Pair the players up — one shooter and one shagger per team, and shaggers only chase their own shooter's balls. Shooters line up at the start cone; shaggers head behind the goal.
Coach says
Find your partner — one shoots, one shags. Shaggers, behind the goal — you only chase your shooter's ball.
2Show the jobs▾
Coach does
Walk the rule — at each cone, the shot has to fly straight into the goal without touching the ground. A bounce or a miss means the shooter gets the ball back from their shagger and shoots again from the same cone; a clean no-bounce goal moves them on to the next cone.
Coach says
In the air, no bounce — that's the only goal that counts. Make it, move on. Miss it, same cone, go again.
3Play▾
Coach does
Let shooters take turns around the arc — the first three to score from all five cones win. It seems slow to start; stick with it, because as it gets going the players work hard and friendly competition takes over. Watch the strike itself.
Coach says
Good angle to the ball, plant beside it, lock that ankle — drive it!
Look for: The plant foot — set beside the ball, not too close and not too far, with the ankle locked through the strike.
4Switch and repeat▾
Coach does
When the round ends, switch — shaggers shoot and shooters shag. To get everyone shooting at once, drop the shaggers — every player keeps their own ball, half starting at the finish cone and working backward while the other half works forward.
Coach says
Trade jobs — shaggers, you're shooting now!
If it's not working
If they can't lift the ball, change the goal — hard shots with real pace count — and keep the arc moving.
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?
Easier: Let younger shooters score with hard, driven shots instead of no-bounce finishes.
Next: Shooting Warmup — the same in-the-air finishing, now a three-team race with a crossbar round.