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A player runs with the ball in his hands trying to avoid being tagged by an opponent.
Session

Play Phase session: cat and mouse

Looking for an activity for 4–6-year-olds? Try cat and mouse. All you need is a group of players and some cones.

This session will help players:  

  • develop fundamental football movement skills   
  • make decisions linked to attacking and defending   
  • become aware of their positioning and the space around them. 

If you like this idea, download the session cards and give it a go. And don’t forget to share your experience on the England Football Community. We’d love to know how you got on. 

 

Cat and mouse is a variation of a tag game where someone tries to tag someone else as they move around an area. 

The 'tagger' could be one player, perhaps even a team. It could even be everyone.  

The players usually tag each other by touch. But it could also be by stealing a ribbon, running a circle around the player or tackling away their football.  

It's easy to set up. You only need a group of players and some cones to mark out an area.  

 

Cat and mouse works best with groups of two or three. 

Mark out a shape on the floor, such as a small triangle or square. The children decide who'll be the cat and who'll be the mouse. 

When everyone's ready, the cat moves around the outside of the shape to catch the mouse. The cat catches the mouse by tagging them on the shoulder.  

If you have groups of three, stand the third child in the middle of the shape to act as a barrier. Remember to rotate the roles around. 

You could give one or both children a football to move with. Try to make it as even as possible, so if a child finds it too easy, ask them to dribble the ball with their feet. 

Mark out a shape on the floor. Our example uses a triangle. The children decide who'll be the cat and who'll be the mouse. The cat then moves around the outside of the shape to catch the mouse by tagging them on the shoulder.
Mark out a shape on the floor. Our example uses a triangle. The children decide who'll be the cat and who'll be the mouse. The cat then moves around the outside of the shape to catch the mouse by tagging them on the shoulder.

Coaching activity

Watch this video to see the activity in action. 

Imaginative play – add a little imagination

Get the children to come up with other ideas of where chasing may happen. This could be racing cars around a track or even their favourite superheroes. 

Object play – introduce equipment

Encourage children to move equipment around the area. This could be a ball, balloon or even just a bib. 

Social play – bring everyone together

Ask the children to think of ideas for when more people are involved. They may introduce other animals or other exciting ways to move around.  

Remember to give it a football focus. Encourage the children to dribble a football around the area. Remember that not everyone needs to be introduced to this at the same time. 

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