Powerball!

WHY USE IT

This fun activity, based on the game of the same name in the UK TV game show Gladiators, allows players to practice their 1v1 attacking and defending skills, as well as close-range finishing under pressure.

Set-up

Mark out an area relative to the number, age and ability of your players. Place four mini goals back-to-back in the centre. Around these, mark an area in which defenders cannot enter. 

Mark an area in each corner and place in them an equal number of balls. Ideally, these will be different colours for each team.

HOW TO play

Select two-to-four defenders (known as ’Gladiators’), who will protect the goals, but aren’t allowed into the marked area or corner zones. Divide players into two teams, who split equally between their two corners. 

One player at a time, from each corner, takes a ball (‘Powerball’) and tries to score in any mini goal for a point. If the Gladiators win the ball, they can kick it out. 

When the ball goes out of play, or a goal is scored, the next player from that corner can go. The team with the most goals after 90 seconds wins.

progressions & aDAPTATIONS

You can reduce or increase the number of Gladiators to make it easier or harder to score. The game can also progress to a team game, to bring passing and receiving skills in. 

To make it easier to start with, instead of using balls, players can tuck bibs into shorts and try to drop the bib into the centre area without Gladiators stealing it.

Gladiators can also get a point for dribbling the ball out of the area if they win it.

COACHING POINTS

• Be creative and brave.
• Use skills and change of speed and direction to unbalance the defender.
• Use different parts of your foot to score – power versus placement.
• Defenders should keep their body between the ball and goal.