Medicine Ball Post-Up Steal | Friends

Quick Intro

Medicine Ball Post-Up Steal takes a basketball skill, protecting the ball with your body, and turns it into a short contest. One partner holds a medicine ball tight to the chest and pivots on the balls of the feet to keep their body between the ball and their partner. The other partner circles and reaches, trying to tag the ball itself with an open hand. A clean tag is a turnover and wins the round for the stealer. If the holder lasts the time cap, often 15 seconds, without the ball being tagged, the round goes to them. Then the roles swap.

The footwork comes from Box-Out and Pivot, where a player keeps a wide base and turns on one planted foot to seal off a defender. This guide covers the game built on top of it: the touch rules, the time cap, the swap and the handicap.

What You’ll Need

One medicine ball, light enough to hold close and move with. Two to four kilograms is plenty.
A clear, non-slip space about four metres square.
A timer.

How to Play

Agree the time cap, the number of rounds and any handicap.
The holder stands in the middle with the ball held close to the chest. The stealer faces them at about arm’s length.
Start the timer on “go”.
The holder pivots and turns to shield the ball, keeping it close and the feet active.
The stealer moves around them and reaches for the ball with an open hand.
A clean tag on the ball ends the round as a turnover. If the timer runs out first, the holder survives the round.
Swap roles after every round, whatever the result. Each partner holds the same number of times.
After the agreed number of rounds, the partner who forced more turnovers wins.

What May Be Touched

This is the line the whole game depends on, and both partners agree to it before starting:

Only the ball. The stealer’s open hand may touch the ball and nothing else.
Never the holder. No touching the holder’s body, arms or hands. No wrapping arms around them, grabbing, pulling or pushing.
The holder shields, never strikes. The holder turns their body and uses a wide stance to keep the ball away, and does not push the stealer off with an elbow, shoulder or forearm.
A tag through contact does not count. If the stealer reaches the ball by pushing through the holder’s arm, it is no turnover, and the round restarts.

If reaching starts turning into pushing or grabbing on either side, stop the game. Reset, slow down and start again with the rule fresh in mind.

Moving Well

A good holder is low and wide, with the ball tucked in tight and the elbows in. They pivot on one foot and step the other foot around to keep the body between the ball and the stealer, just as in the box-out drill. Standing tall or holding the ball out from the body makes it easy to tag.

A good stealer moves the feet, not just the arms. Circling to one side and then quickly cutting back the other way opens up a gap. Lunging and reaching from a distance rarely works and makes contact more likely.

Making It Fair

Holding is harder for a partner who is less quick on their feet, so the handicap goes to the holder. A less mobile holder gets a shorter time cap, for example ten seconds against fifteen, so they need to protect the ball for less time to survive the round. Agree the times before starting. Training With a Friend has more on choosing handicaps like this.

Staying Safe

A cleared, non-slip space. Lots of turning on the balls of the feet.
Stop when it gets physical. The game is meant to have no body contact at all.
A light ball. A heavy ball pulls the holder’s elbows out and slows the feet.
Short rounds. Fifteen seconds of shielding is intense.

Common Mistakes

Holding the ball out in front. It is far easier to tag. Keep it tight to the chest.
Standing upright. You turn slower. Sink into the hips with a wide base.
Reaching only with the arms. Stealers who do not move their feet end up leaning on the holder.
Using the elbows. The holder protects with the body position, never by pushing.

Fitting It Into a Session

Post-Up Steal is a short, sharp footwork game. It works well as part of a warm-up for sport, or as a break between strength exercises. Six to ten rounds is enough. For more on mixing games into a session, see Building a Partner Session.

Getting Better Over Time

Track turnovers across a set number of rounds. As the holder’s footwork improves, fewer rounds end in a steal. Then lengthen the time cap, or play in a smaller space.

Plank Ball Roll Steal fights over a ball from a plank.
1-on-1 Closeout Defense Drill practises guarding a partner in basketball.
Cone Steal is a race to grab a cone first.
Carry Steal chases a partner who carries a load.

FAQ

Can the holder dribble or pass the ball?

No. The ball stays held at the chest, and the holder protects it with footwork and body position only.

What size space works best?

About four metres square. Smaller makes it harder for the holder; larger lets them run away, which is not the idea.

How heavy should the ball be?

Light, two to four kilograms. The challenge is the footwork, not the weight.