Touch It, Give It, Go

Camogie at the speed of thought — first touch into space and the legs already moving

Camogie
U12
60 min
12–24 girls
2 coaches
Effort 3/5
Quarter pitch
first-touch
support-play
movement
passing

The PitchPlans coaching teamGAA Award 1 & 2 coaches

Kit: Hurleys and helmets, a sliotar between two plus spares, 28 cones, 12 bibs (2 colours)

Warm-up8 min

Give-and-Go Grid

Setup: 15×15m grids, four girls and one ball per grid, helmets on from the first pass.

How it works: Hand-pass and FOLLOW your pass — give it, then run to a new patch of grass, never stand admiring it. After two minutes the pass may be a short flick off the hurley. Then add the second ball so two are moving at once and the talking starts by itself. Final round: receiver must be moving when the ball arrives — a pass to a statue is a do-over, called cheerfully by the passer.

What to say

“Tell them: 'pass, then GO — your legs are part of the pass.'”
“Tell them: 'show a target hand early — help her find you.'”
“Tell them: 'two balls means heads on swivels — look before you want to.'”

Easier

One ball, walking pace, catches allowed with two hands.

Harder

Both balls flicked off the hurley only; grid shrinks a metre a minute.

Activity13 min

First Touch Traffic

Setup: Pairs, one ball, in 12×12m boxes with a single 'defender cone' wearing a bib draped over it in the middle of each box. Partners start on opposite sides of the box.

How it works: A strikes a kind ball in to B. B's first touch must take the ball AROUND the defender cone — control on the bas or to the grass, but out of her feet and past the cone's shoulder — then she lifts and strikes back to A, who has moved to a new side of the box. The cone is a pretend corner-back: touch straight to your feet beside it and you're 'tackled'. Count clean escapes per pair per minute. Swap striker and receiver each minute. Last three minutes: the cone becomes a real walking defender from a neighbouring pair, and suddenly the touch has consequences — celebrate the escapes twice as loudly.

Common mistakes

Controlling the ball dead underneath her feet — the cone 'tackles' her; touch happens out in front, moving.
Watching the touch instead of the space — eyes flick up the instant the ball is tamed.

What to say

“Tell them: 'first touch OUT of your feet, into the space the defender isn't.'”
“Tell them: 'decide before it arrives — left of the cone or right, never neither.'”
“Tell them: 'soft bas angled back — kill it kind and it obeys you.'”

Easier

Feeder rolls the ball in along the ground; two touches to control before the escape.

Harder

STEPR: feeds arrive as low strikes with bounce; walking defender from the start; escape must finish with a strike inside three seconds.

Activity13 min

Triangles with a Twist

Setup: 12×12m boxes, 3v1 in each — three in bibs on the outside of a cone triangle, one defender inside. One ball per box, spares at the corner.

How it works: Keep-ball with the twist that built every good camogie forward: the receiver must be MOVING when the ball arrives. Hand-pass or short flick between the three; five passes make a point; a pass caught standing still is a turnover even if the defender never touched it — the passer calls it herself. Attackers may travel along their two sides of the triangle, so someone is always appearing at a new angle. Defender swaps out on any interception or every forty-five seconds, whichever comes first, and the girl coming off picks the next defender. Two boxes can merge late into 6v2 across a double grid for chaos and roaring.

What to say

“Tell them: 'move BEFORE your teammate needs you, not after.'”
“Tell them: 'one fake buys a yard — show left, give right.'”
“Tell them: 'a still receiver is a tackled receiver — this rule is just the truth with a whistle.'”

Easier

4v1 with catches allowed; still-receiver rule warned twice before it costs.

Harder

STEPR: 3v2; two-touch limit; the fifth pass must be a flicked pass off the hurley to count.

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

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