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A group of young players stand in a line, they wear black kits.
Session

Play Phase session: hot potato caterpillar

Looking for an activity for 4–6-year-olds? Try hot potato caterpillar. It's simple to set up and you don’t need much equipment.
Players pass the ball backwards down the line. Once a player has passed the ball over their head, they run to the back of the line and wait to get the ball again. The team that moves backwards towards the finish line quickest, wins.
Players pass the ball backwards down the line. Once a player has passed the ball over their head, they run to the back of the line and wait to get the ball again. The team that moves backwards towards the finish line quickest, wins.

Coaching activity

Watch this video to see the activity in action.

Imaginative play 

Add a little imagination. Instead of being a caterpillar, teams could be a car, train or plane.
 

Object play 

Introduce equipment. Replace the ball with a balloon to help develop different movements.
   

Social play 

Bring everyone together. Introduce water breaks to chat and team talks from captains to share ideas. 
 

Physical play

Get more physical. Children move to the back of the line in different ways – backwards, jumping, hopping, or their own ideas.   

Remember to give it a football focus. When the hot potato caterpillar has returned to its start position, the first player has to dribble the ball and kick it into a goal. 

Want to get more from the game? Use our idea generator to increase the returns for your players.