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Home/Training Drills/Possession Drills/Handball Warm-Up
PossessionBeginner

Handball Warm-Up

Warm the body up while training the habit that matters most in possession: pass and move. Take the technique out and the decision is all that is left, so players learn to create an angle rather than stand and watch.

Create your own drill
Live animationPOS
Duration
12 min
Total drill time
Players
10
Recommended
Pitch
35 × 25 m
Setup space
Level
Beginner
Skill required
Intensity
Medium
Physical demand
Age band
U6-U8
Any format

Setup & instructions

Mark a 35x25m grid and split into two teams. The ball is thrown and caught only. You may not run while holding it, and you may not hold it for more than three seconds. Ten consecutive passes is a point. An incomplete pass, a dropped catch, or a ball on the floor turns it over. Play four or five minutes, then move straight into a football version of the same game so the habit carries over. Keep the grid generous at first, and shrink it once players are finding each other easily.

Setup time: 1 min

Tactical breakdown

Take the feet out of it and you find out who actually understands space. When a player cannot get free in a normal possession game, there are two possible explanations and they demand opposite responses: either he does not know where to go, or he knows and cannot control the ball well enough to get there in time. Handball removes the second explanation entirely. Everybody can catch and throw, so whatever movement problem remains is a reading problem.

That diagnostic value is the real reason to run this rather than the usual justification about fun. Watch the players who are constantly available with their hands and compare them with the list you would have written from watching them with their feet. The names differ more than most coaches expect, and the difference tells you which players need technical work and which need to be taught where to stand.

Within the game, the support angles are what to coach. A receiver directly behind the ball carrier is easy to defend, and one who moves to a diagonal is not. That geometry is identical in football and much easier to see when nobody is chasing a loose ball.

Movement after the pass is the other transferable habit. A thrower who stands still has removed himself from the game, and the consequence is immediate and obvious in a way it is not with feet.

Keep it genuinely short. It warms the group up and produces information, and there is a point at which a handball game stops informing anybody about football and becomes handball.

How to run this drill

  1. Watch who gets free without a ball at their feet. Movement problems that survive when technique is removed are reading problems, and they need a different fix entirely.
  2. Compare the list to your football one. The names differ more than most coaches expect, and that difference is the most useful thing this warm-up produces.
  3. Coach the support angle, not the throw. A receiver directly behind the carrier is easy to defend. The diagonal is the same geometry as football and far easier to see here.
  4. Move immediately after throwing. A thrower who stands still has taken himself out of the game, and the consequence is obvious in a way it never is with feet.
  5. Keep everyone moving continuously. It is still a warm-up, so the physical job matters. A static handball game raises nobody's temperature and teaches nothing extra.
  6. Stop before it becomes handball. There is a point where the game stops telling you anything about football. Five or six minutes is usually the whole useful window.

Coaching focus

FROM SESSION PLAN

Coaching points

  • Move the instant you have thrown it, never admire the pass
  • Show for the ball at an angle, not in a straight line behind a defender
  • Head up before you catch so you already know your next throw
  • Spread out, the pitch is only as big as you make it
  • Communicate, call for it early and loudly
  • Defenders: get between the ball and the nearest option rather than chasing the thrower

Common mistakes

  • Throwing and then standing still
  • Everyone collapsing towards the ball so there is nowhere to throw it
  • Holding on too long looking for the perfect option
  • Showing directly behind a defender rather than moving to an angle
  • Defenders all chasing the ball instead of covering the passing options

Progressions & regressions

VARIATIONS

Progressions

  • Shrink the grid so the angles have to be sharper
  • Two-second limit on holding the ball
  • Add a second ball once the group can cope with one
  • Switch to feet with the same rules, and compare how it changes
  • Score by catching in an end zone instead of counting passes

Regressions

  • Make the grid bigger so there is more time on the ball
  • Add a neutral player who always plays for the team in possession
  • Drop to three defenders so the overload is obvious
  • Allow a bounce before the catch
Equipment
Cones×4
Tactical principles
handball warm uppossession warm upsupport anglesmovement off the ballcreating spacefootball conditioning gamediagnostic drillu10 warm upteam warm up gameunderstanding space
Audience
U6-U8

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All Possession drillsAll drill collectionsPossession for U6-U8

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For
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© 2026 Teloframe (formerly FC Tactix). All rights reserved.
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