Chase, Carry, Giggle

Fifty minutes of games where every girl carries a ball, nobody stands in a line, and the fundamentals sneak in behind the laughing.

Ladies football
U8
50 min
12–24 girls
3 coaches
Effort 2/5
One third of a pitch or an indoor hall
u8
fun games
ball carrying
movement
first nights

The PitchPlans coaching teamGAA Award 1 & 2 coaches

Kit: A light football per girl (size 2 or 3), 30 cones, 8 bibs, 4 hoops or spot markers

Warm-up8 min

Puppies and Bones

Setup: A 20×20m cone square. Every girl has her own ball (share in pairs if you're short). Helpers spread around the edges, not in a huddle at one corner.

How it works: The balls are bones and the girls are puppies minding them. They carry their bone anywhere in the square while you call moves: TROT = jog hugging the ball, SNIFF = walk with the ball held out low, DIG = put the ball down, run a circle around it, pick it back up, HOME = freeze with the ball hugged to the chest. Every 90 seconds add a sillier call. Keep the calls coming quickly so nobody switches off.

What to say

“Two hands hug the ball — squeeze it like you love it.”
“Look at me, not at your bone, when you trot.”
“Little steps to stop — no crashing into other puppies.”

Easier

Walk-only round first; make the square bigger so there's no traffic.

Harder

On DIG they must pick the ball straight up off the ground with two hands — the ladies football pick-up, from their feet, no kneeling.

Activity10 min

Squirrels' Nests

Setup: Four hoops (or cone circles) in the corners of the square — the nests. All the balls piled in a hoop in the middle. Split into four squirrel teams of 3–4, one team standing at each nest.

How it works: On GO, every squirrel races to the middle, takes ONE ball, carries it back and drops it in her nest. Keep going until the middle is empty. Round two: squirrels may now take one ball at a time from OTHER nests — no guarding your own nest, no grabbing a ball out of someone's hands. Play 60 seconds, whistle, count nests together out loud. Play three rounds. Everyone is moving the whole time, so keep the rounds short and the counting loud.

What to say

“One ball, two hands, run it home.”
“Pick a quiet nest — look before you run.”
“Drop it in gently so it stays — no throwing.”

Easier

No stealing round — just empty the middle. Roll the balls instead of carrying if the pick-up is a struggle.

Harder

Squirrels must bounce the ball once on the way home; add a fifth nest in the middle so the map keeps changing.

Activity10 min

Cone Town Couriers

Setup: Scatter 10 cone gates (two cones about 2m apart) all over the square — these are the doors of the town. Every girl has a ball.

How it works: The girls are couriers delivering parcels. They carry their ball through as many different doors as they can in 45 seconds, counting out loud each time. Rest 30 seconds while they tell a helper their score, then go again and try to beat it. Round three: deliver in pairs — one carries, one runs ahead and points at the next door, swap after each delivery. Nobody queues, nobody waits.

What to say

“Find an empty door — don't follow the crowd.”
“Count it loud so I can hear your score.”
“Point with your whole arm so your partner sees the door.”

Easier

Make the doors wider and cut it to 30-second rounds so scores stay high.

Harder

A bounce in every doorway before you go through; two helpers wander the town as sleepy guards to dodge.

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

PitchPlans coaching team

Free on PitchPlans — new sessions weekly.