Coaching tools › Activities › Dribbling and 1v1

1v1 Four-Goal Game

By Gabe Ramos · U.S. Soccer Coach Educator · Updated October 2026

One attacking line and one defending line, each starting between two small goals. The attacker dribbles out and can score in either of the two goals the defender is guarding. Which goal is open?

Setup

One attacking line and one defending line, each starting between two small goals. The attacker dribbles out and can score in either of the two goals the defender is guarding.

Make it easier or harder

• Easier: The defender starts a step late.
• Harder: Defender wins it? They attack the other two goals.

Coach’s notes

• If It's Chaos: Long lines? Build a second field next door.

Why it works

Two goals to attack means the defender can never guard both, so the fake has a reward: make them cover one goal and go to the other. It is the 2v1 principle inside a 1v1.

When the defender wins it and attacks the other way, the game becomes continuous and both lines stay busy. Build a second field the moment the lines get long.

Where it sits

This activity is from 1st Grade · Week 2 · 1v1 Moves in the Full Season Intramural Curriculum for Pre-K to 2nd grade. Every session in the book has the same shape: arrival play, Soccer Island, two or three activities and the game, with two coaching points a day, an easier and a harder version of everything, and a fix for when it turns to chaos.

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