Catch and turn
A handling and passing drill for U7 and up, with where the cones go, how it runs and what to say when it is not working.
Free to read with no account. It works at a pitch with no signal too.
- Age grades
- U7, U8, U9, U10, U11, U12
- Time
- 7 minutes
- Players
- 6 to 18
- Space
- 10 x 10 m
- Kit
- 1 ball per pair
- Pitch
- Fine on hard ground
- Indoors
- Fits a small space
Setting it up
Pairs, five metres apart, one ball each pair.
How it runs
Throw it up above their head so they have to reach. They catch, turn, put the ball on the floor behind them, pick it up, throw it back. Twenty each. Reaching for a high ball with both hands is a habit and this is how you build it without anybody feeling tested.
What to watch for
- Reach up for it. Do not wait for it to come down to your chest
- Fingers spread, thumbs together on a high one
- Watch it all the way in
Make it easier
- Closer together
- Throw it chest high
Make it harder
- Throw it slightly to one side so they have to move
- Catch it above your head
What it looks like when it is going wrong
What you can see from the touchline, then the one thing to say about it.
- Waiting with the arms tucked in for the ball to arrive
- Reach up and meet it. Take it at the top
- Palms flat so the ball bounces off
- Spread your fingers. Thumbs together, make a W
More like this
The grades that can do it
What U7 rugby allows is the rule this sits under. Regulation 15 is reissued every summer, so the RFU's own rules of play are the ones to read for this season rather than a copy on somebody else's website. Ours included. Read against the RFU's 2026/27 appendices in August 2026.