Hustle Points Game
Effort
Legend
- player
- partner / opponent
- ball
- movement path
How it works
Earn team points for hustle plays, sprinting recoveries, second balls, tracking back, in a live small-sided game.
What you need
- cones
- soccer ball
- scrimmage vests
- goals
Your focus
Effort is often invisible in standard scoring. Creating a parallel scoring system for hustle plays makes effort tangible and competitive, rewarding the work-rate behaviors that win real games and building a team culture that values maximum effort.
Play 5v5 on a 30x25 yard field. Standard goals count 2 points.
Coach assigns a 'hustle judge', a resting player who watches for hustle plays.
Hustle plays: player sprints 10+ yards to win a loose ball (1pt), tracks back past halfway to defend (1pt), wins a second ball after a clearance (1pt).
Hustle judge calls out awards during play.
Final score = goals + hustle points.
Debrief the top hustle player of the game.
Goal
Success is your team earning hustle points in 5 out of 6 rounds, that means five rounds with at least one sprint recovery or second ball won.
Helpful cues
- Hustle plays often matter more than technical plays
- The second ball: whoever wants it more, wins it
- Running back when you're tired is a choice, make the right one
Adjust the challenge
Make it easier
Strip it back
Coach awards hustle points instead of using a student judge.
UpLVL it
Add the next challenge
Remove goal points, hustle points are the only way to win.No account needed
Build a practice plan
Add drills, keep the plan in this browser, then share a link with your staff or parents.This library helps you find the right drill. Inside UpLVL the right drill finds the player.
This library helps you find the right drill. Inside UpLVL the right drill finds the player.After every practice, UpLVL automatically surfaces the drills each player needs to work on most. See it for yourself.