Combination Escape Square Dribble

Objective

• -Protect the ball under real pressure
• -Use turns and shielding to escape tight areas
• -Keep the head up in traffic

Setup

1. 1A square with four exit gates, one on each side in a 22 x 22 yards area.
2. 2Add a neutral bounce player on each side line inside a marked yard-wide channel.
3. 3Balls for the dribblers, bibs for two ball-thieves.

How to play

1. 1Dribblers keep the ball alive in the square while two thieves try to kick it out.
2. 2A dribbler can escape through any gate and re-enter on the opposite side.
3. 3Thieves swap in every 90 seconds.
4. 4The first pass must go into the bounce player before the practice opens up.
5. 5A sequence only scores when three different players have touched the ball.

Progressions

• +Demand a one-touch set from the bounce player
• +Raise the demand once the group is consistently successful

Regressions

• -Allow the bounce player unlimited touches
• -Simplify the area or the service until success returns

Variations

• -Bounce players can join the attack once per round
• -Run the practice on the opposite side of the pitch

Common mistakes

• -Dribbling into the busiest corner
• -Panicking and hitting the ball away
• -Two players combining over and over while the third stands still