Physical Play - "Leaning In"

This is a bit of a controversial topic, mostly as it relates to if and when to teach a team physical play. In my opinion, this shouldn't happen until the age of 12-14 and then only in a competitive environment. However, reality has coaches at all levels and sadly, all age groups, teaching kids physical play instead of skills. So consider this article as a self defense primer which you can employ if circumstances dictate.

The basic concept for this is to put your body between the ball and the opponent, leading with the shoulder. Contact shoulder to shoulder is not a foul. What is a foul is if a player has possession of the ball and someone pushes/knocks them off. What is not a foul is if someone is dribbling, pushing the ball a bit too far ahead and someone else angles themselves in. For the latter case, teach your kids to dribble the ball close to their feet and when under pressure to shield the ball. When in possession, it is legal to move your arms away from your body to protect your space and prevent the leaning in or angling in by others.

To teach trying to get the body "in there", consider these drills:

1v1 Drill # 1

Put two players facing each other 10m apart. Put a ball in the middle. On coach's whistle both players sprint trying to get control of the ball. This is not trying to touch the ball or to kick the ball. This is trying to get your body between the ball and the opponent and then shielding it such that the opponent can't touch it with their feet.

1v1 Drill #2

put two players 5m apart facing a ball 10m out, such that the two players and the ball make a triangle. On whistle, players sprint trying to get control of the ball.
You can turn this into a whole practice session as a fun game by having 1v1 round robin tournaments, declaring a toughness champion at the end.

Team Drill

To get them used to physical contact, put all your players into a 5m x 5m grid. The object is to push other players out of the grid. Last one in the grid wins. This is a little dicey: make sure there are no pulls, grabs or other dirty tricks. Players can use hands to push, not throw. Use your coaching judgment to guide them so that it's safe and meaningful. If it doesn't work, stop it and move to something else. Again, it should have a fun element, not a nasty one.

Fundamentally, you may also consider sprinting/speed exercises. Getting to the ball first is more than half the battle.