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See the full collectionThe One-Two Passing Game for Kids
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Pass it, move into new space, get it played straight back to you there.
I used to think the point of the one-two was the pass. It isn't, it's remembering to actually go somewhere afterwards, and I've watched more than one game stall right there. The pass itself is usually fine. What's missing is the move, and this page is the simple five-minute garden version of that exact skill, the coaching move known as a "give-and-go".
Give and go
The Move in Three Steps
One pass, one move, one return, in that order every time.
The pass.
Pass the ball firmly to your partner and immediately move. Don't watch the pass land, that's the habit this whole game is built to break.
The move.
Run into a genuinely new spot, not just a step sideways. A gap your partner can actually see and aim for.
The return.
Your partner plays it back first time, into the space you've just made, not back to where you started.
One study, honestly hedged
Being the "Wall" Without Overdoing It
As the adult, your job is to be the "wall", the coaching term for the player who plays the ball straight back (a "wall pass"). Three dials control how easy or hard that return is: how far you let your child run before returning it, how firm the return pass is, and which foot you aim it to.
Read a 2017 study of sustained attention in school-age children (Tao, Wang, Fan, Gao and Shi), which found that among 7-to-8-year-olds, sustained attention hadn't yet separated out from general attention capacity. That's why this page keeps the move to one decision, where do I run, rather than adding a defender or a choice of two spaces on a first attempt.
That study covers one school in Beijing, not the UK, and the youngest band studied, 7 to 8, covers only two of the five ages in this site's 5-to-9 range. See how Our Kickabout researches its pages.
When it stalls
When It's Not Quite Clicking
The pass is usually fine. The standing still afterwards is the actual habit to fix, and it's worth naming that honestly rather than reworking the pass itself, which is rarely the real problem. It helps to say it out loud once, so the move stops feeling like an afterthought and starts feeling like the second half of the same action as the pass.
Before you head outside
Try It on Screen First
Want to feel the timing before you try it for real? Playing the on-screen version below is a rehearsal for the move, not a replacement for playing it for real in the garden, but it's a fast way to get a feel for passing then racing to a new spot before the ball beats you there. Miss the timing once and the next round simply gets a little more forgiving, so there's nothing to lose by trying it a few times before heading outside.
Quick answers
Common Questions About the One-Two Passing Game
What is a one-two in football?
Passing to a team-mate, moving into a new space, and getting the ball played straight back to you there in one touch. Also called a "give-and-go" or a "wall pass" (the team-mate plays the part of the wall).
What age can a child learn a one-two?
Most children in this site's 5-to-9 age range can try a simplified version once they can pass with some accuracy. Keep the adult's return pass slow and close at first.
Do we need cones or markers?
No. A ball and a bit of open space is enough, though a cone or a plant pot to mark "the space to run into" helps but isn't required.
Keep going
Where to Go From Here
Three routes out of here, depending on what you're after tonight.
Want a stationary passing rally instead?
Standing in roughly the same spot and passing back and forth, no move required.
See the passing rallyNew to all this?
Start here for how this whole site works and what to try first.
Start hereTonight's five minutes
Two people, one ball, five minutes.
Pass it, move, get it back. Reset and go again.