Doctor doctor

WHY USE IT

This fun game can be used as a warm-up or a practice with younger players to work on dribbling and running with the ball.

Set-up

Mark out an area relative to the age, ability and number of players. Within the area, set out three ‘hospitals’. Select two players to be ‘doctors’, and two to be ‘viruses’. Every player needs a football.

HOW TO play

Players dribble around the area, while the ‘viruses’ aim to tag them. If a player gets tagged, they must go to the nearest ‘hospital’ and wait to be healed by a ‘doctor’. Doctors can heal players by swapping footballs with them.

progressions & ADAPTATIONS

You can start by playing without footballs to introduce the game or to use it as a warm-up. Footballs can then be introduced for all players except the doctors, before advancing to all players having a ball. You can also add different challenges, such as while players are waiting in the hospitals, they have to do toe-taps or keepy uppys. You can also advance the game so viruses have to kick the players’ balls out of the area to send them to hospital.

COACHING POINTS

Encourage players to keep their heads up and check around them as they are dribbling. If players are in space, they can take bigger touches, but encourage them to take smaller touches if they are in a busy area.