Win the ball before the contest starts. Mark side on so the ball and the opponent are both visible, judge the moment the pass is committed, step across in front rather than behind, and carry the ball out rather than clearing it.
Mark a 26x20m area with a receiving zone at one end and a gate of two cones at the far side. A feeder starts with the ball, a forward works to get free inside the zone, and a defender marks him. The defender may not simply stand in the passing lane from the start: he has to mark the man and then decide, on each service, whether to stay tight or step across and intercept. If he intercepts, the repetition is only complete when he carries the ball out through the gate under control. If he mistimes it and the forward receives, the forward tries to turn and attack. Rotate all three roles every three services.
There is a moment in a young defender's development where the job stops being about winning contests and starts being about avoiding them. Getting to the ball first means there is no duel at all, and the defenders who look calm are usually the ones who arrive early rather than the ones who tackle well.
Body position is what makes reading possible. A defender square to his opponent can watch the man or the ball but has to keep swinging his head between them, and the information is always one beat old. Side on, both are in view at once, and the decision can be made from what is actually happening.
The read itself is about timing rather than anticipation. Watching the feeder's body tells you when the pass is committed, and that is the moment to move. Guessing before it happens leaves the forward free behind you, which is a far worse outcome than simply staying tight.
Which side you arrive on decides whether it is an interception or a foul. Stepping across in front of the opponent, into the line of the pass, is defending. Reaching round or through him from behind is a free kick, and at this age it is usually also a lecture.
The part worth changing is what happens next. Interception is commonly taught as though the job ends when the ball is cut out, and the ball then gets belted away, which hands possession straight back to the team you just dispossessed. The programmes that teach this properly treat cutting the pass out and starting an attack as a single action.
That is why this practice does not finish at the interception. It finishes with the ball carried out under control, because a defender who wins it and gives it away has produced a turnover for both teams.
One honest caveat for the coach: an early read that goes wrong looks terrible, and if you react badly to it the player will stop reading and start waiting. Waiting is safer and worse.
Save it to your private drills, then change the animation, adjust positions, swap equipment, or drop it into a session block. Or start from a blank pitch and build your own.