Under pressure hands
A handling and passing drill for U9 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
- U9, U10, U11, U12
- Time
- 10 minutes
- Players
- 8 to 20
- Space
- 20 x 20 m
- Kit
- 4 cones, 2 balls
- Pitch
- Fine on hard ground
Setting it up
Two teams in a square. One team has both balls.
How it runs
Keep the ball for ten passes to score a point. Defenders can touch the carrier. A touch means the ball goes down for the other team to pick up. Two balls at once so nobody hides. Four minute games. Hands go to pieces under pressure, which is exactly why you practise them under pressure.
What to watch for
- Move after you pass. A stood still player is no use
- Pass before the touch, not as it lands
- Talk. Tell them where you are
Make it easier
- Five passes
- One ball
- Defenders start two steps back
Make it harder
- Eight passes instead of ten so it is quicker
- Smaller square
What it looks like when it is going wrong
What you can see from the touchline, then the one thing to say about it.
- Standing still once they have passed
- Move after every pass. Nobody stays put
- Silence, so the carrier has to turn round to find anybody
- Shout for it. Say your own name
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The grades that can do it
What U9 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.