Have some fun with Jailbreak

By David Clarke

Jailbreak is a great game to give your players a bit of fun on training night. It gets them using skills and techniques to shield and hold the ball, improve quick passing and develop the art of closing down opponents to win the ball.

How to set it up and play

• Set up so you have three pairs in a 20-yard square.
• Each pair has a ball they pass between them. One of each pair is A, the other B.
  
• You need three outside players who are in “jail”. They are the Cs.
  
• Tell the Cs to jog around the outside of the square in any direction. When you shout “Jailbreak” they must run around the cone on the corner of the square in front of them and enter the area to try and win a ball off one of the pairs.
• If one of the balls is won fairly, all of the players are out of jail and the Cs swap with the A players. The As go to jail outside the box and you start again.
• On your call of “Jailbreak”, As try and win a ball. If they do, the As swap with the Bs. And so on.
• Jailbreak players must act independently, so each player tries to win a ball – they cannot double team any of the pairs.
  
• The pairs must move around the square passing to each other and use skills like shielding, turning and passing into space.
• Play for a couple of minutes. If no one wins a ball, the players go back to jail.
• It’s a fast game with a fitness, skill and fun angle.