The Dizzy Tag Game is a dynamic small-group drill designed to develop passing skills, fake actions, and spatial awareness in a fun, competitive setting. One player acts as the defender in the middle, trying to intercept the ball while slightly disoriented, while the outside players must use quick passes, fakes, and timing to protect their teammates.
This game helps players read the defender’s back, use the pivot foot effectively, and stay alert under pressure. It’s an excellent warm-up or technical activity that reinforces core concepts through play and intensity.
Objectives
- Strengthen the foundation of the Pass.
- To promote communication between players.
- To improve the reception of passes.
- Encourage the vision of the game.
- Instill the tactical concept of ‘attacking the back of the defender’.
Recommended age
- From 6 years onwards (School and Minibasket: categories pre-benjamin, benjamin, and fry).
Number of players
- Small groups. 3-4 players. Can be done with more players, but it is very important to monitor the proportion between players who pass the ball and player(s) must intercept the pass.
Recommended time
- Total duration of the game 7-10 min.
Equipment and facilities
- 1 ball of Basketball by each group.
- In a diaphanous space and extend. You can use half court with a basket or pitch whole with their respective two baskets, but it is not imperative that you have baskets. The surface to use for each group would equate to a quadrant (the surface bounded by the line that the ring with the center circle, half court, the band and the background).
Initial layout and description of The Dizzy Tag Game
Once you have made the groups, in each of them there will be a person who is in the league. It is placed in the middle of the circle made by the other players.
The game is simple. The player who is the league, which is in the middle of the circle, you will need to retrieve the ball by intercepting a pass (there is a variant that is to recover the ball robándolo directly from the hands of the attacker).To do this, the circle formed by the other players should not be too large (3 meters).
It is very likely that some players are looking for the overlook. You can get a ban for leaving the passes more achievable for the defender. When the defender to recover the ball by intercepting a pass, will be the player who last touched the ball who is the flirt, placing the player who recovered the ball on the perimeter of the circle.
If we were to make a progression, partiríamos with the attackers in a static position and then we would go gradually raising the number of attackers that can move.
Note: Important to play well with the proportion of attackers and defenders. In the classic game is only a person that league, but to be of benefit, we can raise the ratio to the maximum, making that there is always one more person in the group of attacker to defender.
Variants
- Prohibit some type of pass (skip for example).
- Allow it to be able to steal the ball directly from the hands of the attacker. In this variant it is important that we include the rule of 5 seconds (see article 27 Player closely marked).
- Force the pass because it is different from the previous.
- Oblige to give the passes in any specific way (only passes chopped or passes a hand for example).
- You can play in a larger group may make more than two people or even 3 that is the link based on the total number of participants (a group of 4, 1 is the league; a group of 5-6 , 2 is the bound; a group of 7-8, 3 is the link).
Cedric Arregui Guivarch
National Coach of Basketball (CES 2014)
