Yeah, I play a ball out 1v1 then they go until they knock a ball off. *It doesn't have to be 1v1. You can call out 2v2 or 6v6. *You can play multiple balls so there'd be multiple "battles" going on but they stay with their group. At one point I had two 1v1s and one 2v2 going. It's chaotic-fun. But like I said, it doesn't set you up for calm organized disciplined possession-oriented SSGs or scrimmages.
Thanks for sharing this, I ran a modified version tonight. First practice of spring, u12b, only had 8. Put two cones out topped with balls, 5 yds apart, marked off a 20x20 square, had them pair off and take an edge. I started them, if they shot & missed, or lost control, whoever picked it up on the edge took over. So, red v blue start from north, red loses it towards the east, blue on the east edge gets it he jumps in, the blue that was in replaces him on the east edge. After the first two rounds they started battling on the edges to win the loose balls. Could not have gone better, thanks again!
We did the straight up video version last night. The first round was rough since my girls aren't used to lines and they were still kinda fresh. After the first 1v1 they all figured it out and started cheering for their teammates. After the first complete go, they were exhausted but having fun. We made it a competition with the losing team getting 5 push ups. One girl didn't have her head up and dribbled right into the other team's ball. Oops. It was nice to see them looking around and being forced to dribble to a target instead of our normal transition 1v1 drill. I'll have to do this more often. The improvement in understanding was pretty drastic.
That's awesome! There's a game we play called "Get Dangerous" that the kids also love. I think I'm going to call this one "No Surrender". Sounds like my kids played it like yours did-exhausted but having fun. What I noticed was that after they were tired, it was no longer about skill- just who wanted it more.
That's funny. Mine went the other way. The saw the space so tried to use pace. We were on a bumpier area than they are used to using so obviously that method didn't work. As they got tired of chasing, they settled down and did more pure 1v1 moves. My girls have the ball skills but they don't use them in game situations. Maybe it's confidence? I'm hoping more of this kind of thing helps. A bit unexpectedly it helped my defenders become more aggressive. I saw some physical battles. That's good since most of mine shy away from contact.
I'll actually use 1v1's to teach moves. Set up a small area similar to the OP with each player on opposite end lines. One player passes the ball to the other and steps forward about half-way to defend. The opposite player tries to beat the defender with the move. At first, the defender is instructed to be passive - the traffic cone. Then the defender is allowed to be slightly more active, but make it easy for the attacker. After we've gone through a set of moves for that day (keep the set small, maybe 2-4 moves for the practice or week), then the attacker has the option to use any of the moves for that practice and the defender is full-speed live. Obviously you switch attacker/defender for each move with each step in the progression. This progression allows you to teach the moves in a game context and therefore make it easier for the players to apply those moves. It also provides that competitive aspect to the activity and therefore keeps their attention better.
1v1's are important and useful at all ages. So are 2v1, 2v2, 3v1, 3v2, 3v3, etc. As stated above, it depends on the goals for your team and practice session. As for the part about using neutrals, IMHO they are a waste of time. I want that neutral player to be more involved and they rarely mimic true game conditions. Instead of neutrals, I merely add another attacker to provide the passing option. That attacker has true freedom of movement in the provided space, similar to a real game. So a 2v1 or 3v1 IMHO is a better approach to provide the decision making you suggest. By going to 2 or 3 v1, you force the attacker with the ball, defender, and attacker(s) without the ball all to make decisions on space and movement. With a neutral, you only really help the attacker work on decision making.