8v8 on Three Goals

Two teams of eight line up in full formation — one builds the attack from its goalkeeper while the other presses as a team to win the ball in the opponent's half.

Win the ball in the opponent's half by pressuring as a team — you're close to their goal when you do.

Ages 9–11Two teams of 8 in 1-3-1-3 (built for 16)Up to 30 minCones, pinnies in two colors, balls, three goals

Set up · 3 actions · before the kids arrive

Grab: Cones, pinnies in two colors, a supply of balls, and three goals.
Build: Mark out a 50-by-55-yard field with the three goals placed as the diagram shows.
Place: Two teams of eight, each lined up in a 1-3-1-3 from its starting positions — the building team's goalkeeper starts with the ball.

One thing to remember: Keeping the team compact, pressing with pressure, cover, and balance, and reading the passes that trigger the steal.

How it runs — the whole game in one sentence

One team builds the attack from its goalkeeper and the other defends as a team to win the ball; play runs until a goal is scored, then everyone resets and the building team's goalkeeper starts the next attack.

1Organize the players▾
Coach does
Set the field and the three goals, split the teams, and line both up in their 1-3-1-3 starting positions.
Coach says
Two teams of eight — line up in your shape. Reds, you're building. Blues, you're winning it back.
2Show the jobs▾
Coach does
Walk the loop — Red's goalkeeper starts the attack and Red builds; Blue defends as a team and tries to win the ball in Red's half. Play runs until a goal, then both teams return to their starting positions and Red's goalkeeper restarts.
Coach says
Stay compact, move with the ball. Pressure, cover, balance — attack the ball.
3Play▾
Coach does
Run it with two breaks, the source's own way — at the first break, ask the guided question and let them keep playing to discover the answer; at the second, they share answers with you and each other.
Coach says
How often did you win the ball in the opponent's half? What do you need to do to win the ball more often? Keep playing — show me.
Look for: The whole team defending high up the field — compact, waiting for a pressing signal, then putting pressure on together.
4Switch and repeat▾
Coach does
After every goal, both teams reset to their starting positions and Red's goalkeeper starts the next attack. Switch variants when the level is wrong — that is the design, not a failure.
Coach says
Reset! Back to your starting spots — Reds, keeper starts the next one.

If it's not working

Too hard? Same game, but the defending team only defends two goal lines. Too easy? The attacking team attacks 9v7 on three goal lines. Spend the thirty minutes either way.

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

Why are we doing this?

Pressure, cover, balance is the source's own key-words phrase, and the model answers hand the whole-team press to your players in their own language — don't be afraid to defend high up the field, get compact and stay compact, wait for the signals to start pressing, and work together to put pressure on opponents. The signals are square passes, passes that go behind their receivers, passes to outside defenders, and forward passes into our formation.

What are they learning?

Keeping the team compact, pressing with pressure, cover, and balance, and reading the passes that trigger the steal.

How can I change it?

Easier: 8v8 on Two Goal Lines — same setup, except the defending team only defends two goal lines.

Harder: 9v7 on Three Goal Lines — same setup, except the attacking team attacks 9v7 on three goal lines.

Next: 2v2 on End Zones — the same pressure-cover-balance work at its smallest, now defending your own half.