A whole night on the punt pass — laces, targets and moving men, until kicking it is the easy choice.
Special Delivery
- Gaelic football
- U12
- 60 min
- 12–22 players
- 2 coaches
- Effort 3/5
- Half pitch
- kick-passing
- punt-pass
- accuracy
- weak-foot
Kit: 10 footballs, 26 cones, 12 bibs (2 colours)
Paper Round
Setup: 25×25m square with four cone letterboxes (2×2m squares) on the edges, numbered 1 to 4. Ball each, soloing and bouncing inside.
How it works: Everyone moves with their ball, heads up. Coach calls a number — deliver your paper into that letterbox with a short punt from wherever you are, then sprint on and collect a DIFFERENT ball from any box. A paper that lands in the box on the full is a perfect delivery; call out who got one. Speed the calls up as they warm, and start calling two numbers so they must choose the closer box.
What to say
- “Know where every box is before I call it — that's what heads up means.”
- “Short punt: drop it onto the laces, don't toss it.”
- “Deliver and move — the round is never finished.”
Easier
Walk pace, hand-deliver into the box from three steps.
Harder
Weak foot on even numbers; a delivery on the full lets you shout the next number yourself.
Golden Gates
Setup: Pairs, one ball, 15m apart, a 2m cone gate halfway between each pair. Lay the pairs side by side with 5m between lanes so wild kicks don't cross.
How it works: Punt pass to your partner through the gate. Through on the full is 3, through along the ground is 1, and a clean catch at the far end adds 1 more. First pair to 21, then step both players back two paces and play again — same target, longer kick. Keep one lane as the weak-foot lane and rotate every pair through it.
Key details
- Hold the ball at hip height with the far end slightly down — a flat drop makes a flat kick.
- Contact is boot-laces on the bottom half of the ball, head steady over it.
- Power comes from the follow-through, not from leaning back.
Common mistakes
- Tossing the ball up before the strike — every kick lands somewhere different.
- Leaning back and ballooning it — chest over the ball keeps the pass flat and catchable.
What to say
- “Ball across your body, dropped flat onto the laces.”
- “Standing foot points at the target — the ball follows it.”
- “Follow through at your partner's chest, not at the sky.”
Easier
Move to 10m, widen the gate to 3m, let the ball bounce once before the catch.
Harder
Both players kick on the move along their line; gate scores only count off the weaker foot.
Moving Target
Setup: Groups of four: one kicker with three balls, one receiver inside a 5×5m cone box 20m away, two collecting behind it. Two boxes per group if numbers allow.
How it works: The receiver jogs corner to corner inside the box and never stops. The kicker punts to lead them — the ball should arrive where the receiver is going. Clean catch on the move is 2, caught after a bounce is 1, a pass the receiver never had a chance at is the kicker's fault and scores nothing. Five kicks, then everyone rotates one job around. Second time through, the kicker uses the weaker foot from 15m.
What to say
- “Kick to where they're going, not where they are.”
- “Receiver — change pace into the catch, hands up early as a target.”
- “Weak foot: shorter drop, same laces, same follow-through.”
Easier
Receiver walks; shrink the distance to 12m.
Harder
Receiver cuts and doubles back to lose an imaginary marker; kicker must hit them inside three seconds of the previous catch.
Two Islands
Setup: 40×25m pitch with a 5m island zone at each end. Two teams of 6–8 in bibs, keeper-style restarts from the end line.
How it works: Score by a teammate catching a KICK pass on the full inside the island — hand-passes into the island score nothing. Nobody camps in the island; run in as the kick travels. Everything else is normal football with your usual solo and bounce limits. A weak-foot delivery that is caught counts double. Restart fast after every score so the kicks come thick.
What to say
- “First look is long — is the island run on before you solo?”
- “Time the run late and catch it in stride.”
- “Nothing on? Recycle, switch sides, ask again.”
Easier
Bigger islands, and a catch after one bounce still scores.
Harder
Only kicks from outside a 20m arc count; the kicker must move on after kicking or the score is wiped.
Two Widths and a Wish
Setup: Walk two widths, then circle stretch — quads, hamstrings, hip flexors and calves, 15 seconds each side. Kicking legs get the longer holds.
How it works: While they stretch, go around with the question. Then every player names their wish — the one kick they want by summer — out loud. Write none of it down; just asking makes them practise.
What to say
- “Stretch the kicking hip properly — it did the work tonight.”
- “Own your answer — 'my left foot' is a great one.”
- “Balls counted into the bag before anyone leaves.”
Ask the players: Ask: which foot let you down tonight, and what is one kick you will practise against a wall before next week?
Next week builds on this: Golden Gates comes back weak-foot only — warn them now, it softens the moaning later.
PitchPlans coaching team
Free on PitchPlans — new sessions weekly.