Handling drill
Unbalanced Pass Reps
Learn to deliver an accurate pass from a poor body position, which is what games actually demand.
- Time
- 12 minutes
- Players
- 2 to 8 players
- Intensity
- Medium
- Equipment
- Ball, hurdles
- Space
- 15m channel
- Positions
- All positions
Setup
A 15m channel with cones, low hurdles or an agility ladder laid out along it. One ball, with a partner.
How to run it
- Run the channel passing to your partner, but do it while stepping over the obstacles so you are never balanced when the ball leaves your hands.
- Then do a set hopping on one foot the whole way, passing as you hop.
- The point is not the obstacles - it is that a good pass from a bad position is a different and much more useful skill than a good pass from a balanced stance.
- Keep passing to chin height in front of the receiver regardless of how awkward your feet are.
- Do 6 lengths of each variation off both hands.
Coaching cues
- Same target height however awkward your feet are
- Upper body does the passing, feet just survive
- Both hands, every set
Common mistakes
- Slowing down or stopping to get balanced before passing, which defeats the purpose
- Only running the drill off the strong hand
Related drills
- Ball Familiarisation SeriesBuild the basic feel for the ball that underpins every other handling skill.
- Quick Hands and One-Handed CatchDevelop single-hand control and reaction, which is what makes an offload possible.
- Roll and RetrieveMaster picking the ball off the ground cleanly at pace, alone.
- Straddle Lift and Place ChannelLink a clean ground pickup to a long, deliberate ball placement.
- Wall Pass ReboundBuild passing accuracy and reaction catching completely alone, off any flat wall.
- Solo Halfback Wall PassGroove the scrum-half clearing pass off the ground in one sweep, with no partner needed.