The Bait Game

Obj: Draw the press deliberately, then break it — baiting as a team skill with the courage architecture behind it (2.2.3 at training scale). Field: 40×30yd, thirds marked. Equip: Cones, ball, bibs. Org: 7v7. Possession team scores 1 pt for 8 passes — but 3 pts if they complete a sequence in their OWN defensive third that draws 3+ opponents in, then breaks into the far third within 5 seconds ("bait-and-break," judged loudly by the coach). The multiplier makes inviting pressure profitable — exactly the model's wager. Defense scores double for wins in the attackers' defensive third (their incentive to press hard makes the bait real). CP: (1) Bait with real passes, not slow ones — the press must believe; (2) the break signal: when the 3rd presser commits, the space behind them exists NOW (the trigger is their commitment, not our readiness); (3) break vertically first — the free man is usually beyond the press, not beside it. Prog: Breaks must arrive via the pivot or a third-man chain; GKs added (true build geometry). Reg: 2 pressers trigger the multiplier; 7v5. Mist: P: baiting without an exit plan (scan the break route BEFORE inviting — 2.2.6's courage is prepared, not blind); C: punishing failed baits harshly (the double-score for defenders already prices the risk — let the game teach). Time: 16 min. Out: Deliberate press-drawing with timed breaks; composure economics understood. Var: D-08's full build version with GK + back four (the game's application). Diag: Field in thirds, pass cluster drawing three pressers into the low third, bold break arrow through the vacated middle, 5-second clock icon.