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A young girl in a yellow bib runs forward with the ball on a grass pitch, with an orange-bibbed opponent to her right.
Session

Play Phase session: knights, castles and dragons

Looking for a fun activity for kids aged 4-6? Try out knights, castles and dragons. All you need are some cones and bibs to get started.

This session will help players:      

  • develop fundamental football movement skills   
  • become aware of their positioning and the space around them
  • develop basic attacking and defending skills. 

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.

 

Knights, castles and dragons is an 'open loop game'. This means it's a non-stop game that ends when you want it to.   

It's all about repetition. Players are either knights (attackers) or dragons (defenders).  

It is simple to set up. You only need a group of players, bibs and brightly coloured cones to mark out an area.   

Mark out a large area. Inside the area, mark out some small boxes. These will be the castles. Select a few children to act as dragons and place them inside the castles wearing a bib. Everyone else will be a knight. Challenge the knights to get in and out of the castles without the dragons tagging them. 

A points system could be added in. Every time the knights get into the castles without being tagged, they earn a point. You could even give the dragons points for every person they tag. 

Encourage the children to use different movements. They could pretend to be on horseback, or you could ask the knights to move around with a ball. Let them choose how they travel with the ball. 

Mark out a large area with small boxes marked out inside. These boxes will be the castles. Select a few children to be dragons and place them inside the castles wearing a bib. Everyone else will be a knight. Challenge the knights to get in and out of the castles without the dragons tagging them.
Mark out a large area with small boxes marked out inside. These boxes will be the castles. Select a few children to be dragons and place them inside the castles wearing a bib. Everyone else will be a knight. Challenge the knights to get in and out of the castles without the dragons tagging them.

Coaching activity

Watch this video to see the activity in action. 

More ideas for the game    

Imaginative play     

Don't be afraid to change the theme. You could use aliens landing on planets or even lions getting into hyena dens.   
 

Object play     

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


Social play    

Ask the children to develop 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. The children could move a ball 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.