Rained Off, Still On

The pitch is a lake and the texts are flying, but a hall, a bag of soft balls and no studs turn a washout into one of the sharpest skills nights of the year — because indoors there is nowhere to hide a bad first touch, and that is exactly the point.

Gaelic football
Any age · Indoor
55 min
10–24, scale to your hall
2 coaches
Effort 3/5
Indoor hall
indoor
wet-weather
hall
any-age
games-based
skills

The PitchPlans coaching teamGAA Award 1 & 2 coaches

Kit: soft or indoor footballs, 30 floor spots or cones, bibs in two colours, tape for lines if the hall has none — and absolutely no studs

Warm-up10 min

Hall Feet

Setup: Mark a working area with floor spots so studs are never missed and nobody skids into a wall. Leave a clear safety margin around the edges. No balls for the first few minutes.

How it works: A polished floor rewards good feet and punishes wild ones, so we warm up the feet first. Movement patterns across the hall — side shuffles, quick heel-toe steps, controlled changes of direction, gentle skips — all at a pace the surface allows, because indoors you accelerate and stop differently than on grass. Then add a soft ball each: jog and control it in the hands, weaving between spots, no bursts. The safety habits get set here and stay set all night: eyes up for walls and people, controlled turns not slides, and a hall voice rather than a pitch roar. Sharp, quiet, controlled — that is indoor football.

What to say

“Tell them: 'short controlled steps — the floor punishes wild feet.'”
“Tell them: 'eyes up for walls and each other — turn, don't slide.'”
“Tell them: 'indoor voice — we can all hear each other in here.'”

Easier

Bigger spacing and walking pace so beginners feel safe on the surface before any speed.

Harder

STEPR: add reaction starts and sharper cuts around the spots so agile players are tested by the demands of the hard floor.

Activity12 min

Quiet Hands

Setup: Pairs, one soft ball, spaced along the hall using a wall or a partner. Floor spots mark a small target square for each pair.

How it works: Indoors is a handling clinic in disguise. Pairs work rapid hand-passing with soft, controlled catches — the ball is quick off a hard floor, so a loose catch is instantly obvious and instantly fixable. Progress from short static passing to passing on the move between spots, then to a two-touch rhythm where the catch and release must be clean and calm. The phrase for the night is quiet hands: no snatching, no slapping the ball around the hall, just controlled give-and-take. If you have wall space and a soft ball, let pairs use the wall as a partner for rebound catches. Every player gets hundreds of clean touches in twelve minutes.

What to say

“Tell them: 'soft hands — catch it quiet, the floor makes it quick.'”
“Tell them: 'give a target — two hands up where you want it.'”
“Tell them: 'clean and calm beats fast and loose in here.'”

Easier

Larger, softer ball and shorter distance; catch off one bounce so nobody chases a spilled ball into a wall.

Harder

STEPR: weak hand only, or a two-touch time limit, or add a third player so the pair becomes a quick-moving triangle.

Activity13 min

Indoor Touch

Setup: A taped or spot-marked court with a small target zone at each end, teams of four or five in bibs, a soft ball. Keep a spare-ball rule so play restarts instantly and nobody dives for a runaway.

How it works: A touch-football game built for the hall: hand-pass only, no contact whatsoever, and a score made by a teammate receiving a pass inside the end zone. The no-contact and hand-pass rules are not just for safety — they force the exact skills that win games outdoors, quick heads-up passing and clever movement into space. Because the space is tight, players must move the instant they release and read the game two passes ahead. Interceptions turn the game over immediately, so hands and anticipation matter. It is fast, skilful and genuinely tiring without a single tackle, which is precisely what a wet night needs.

What to say

“Tell them: 'hand-pass and move — the second you release, go again.'”
“Tell them: 'no contact at all — win it by reading, not by bumping.'”
“Tell them: 'tight space means think early — where's the pass after this one?'”

Easier

Bigger zones and allow a bounce; more players per team so there is always an easy option nearby.

Harder

STEPR: shrink the court, add a two-second hold limit, and make an interception worth a point so anticipation is rewarded.

The rest of this session is free — along with 3 more this week.

PitchPlans coaching team

Free on PitchPlans — new sessions weekly.