Why is it Important to Reward Run From Behind?

Coaches should understand the importance of trying to add, and/or set KPI’s for hand-balling to a player running from behind.

What we mean by this is to have a player running past another player who has either marked the ball or received a free-kick. The player receiving the ball should be running at a reasonable pace to try and get the ball forward faster than what the marking player would.

The below example of how fast the ball can be moved forward from a running player, creating a situation where the defence may not be set-up properly.

At all levels of junior footy, this tactic should be taught to your players. One way to try and get your players to do this is to set some KPI’s for the amount of hand-ball receive from stationary. Obviously, with the younger ages you would not be as harsh on the results of them trying the tactics, but as the ages and abilities progress, you should make your players aware of the way it changes the game.

Set a reasonable KPI for your team and remind them during the quarter and half time breaks.  When there is a successful passage remind your players and use the resulting KPI’s to justify the results.

 

Your KPI numbers should be around the following

Tackers – 10’s    5 per game

10 -12’s             2 per quarter

12′-14’s             2-4 per quarter

14 and up         5 per quarter

 

Advantages of Play

Some of the advantages of the play are:

• Ability to move the ball forwards fast
• Get the opposition out of position
• Take advantage of fast players
• Clear different zones of the field
• Rebound fast out of defence
• Teach your players to ability to look for different options