Game 1 – “Spiderman” Coach – 5 minutes

Setup

• Each player has a ball
• The coach holds a training vest

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Game 1 – Ball Retriever – 5 minutes

Objective: Dribble a ball back to your base without running out of bounds

Setup

• Create 2 small bases in 2 opposing corners of your field
  • You can just put a cone in front of the corner of your field to create a base
• Put 2 balls in the center of the field
• Split players into 2 teams
  • Each team lines up in the opposing corners, off of the field
  • 1st player in each line steps into the base

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Setup

• Each player has a ball
• Set down cones to make a 40×30 steps field for 10 players – larger if more players
  • Anything can be a cone (an article of clothing, a water bottle, any marker)
  • Set cones every ten steps
• Do not set up any goals
  • If there are goals, players will shoot on them and not listen to you
• Demonstrate each drill / game before starting it

Continue reading →

Setup

• Each player has a ball
• Set down cones to make a 40×30 steps field for 10 players – larger if more players
  • Anything can be a cone (an article of clothing, a water bottle, any marker)
  • Set cones every ten steps
• Do not set up any goals
  • If there are goals, players will shoot on them and not listen to you
• Demonstrate each drill / game before starting it

Continue reading →

Setup

• Each player has a ball
• Set down cones to make a 40×30 steps field for 10 players – larger if more players
  • Anything can be a cone (an article of clothing, a water bottle, any marker)
  • Set cones every ten steps
• Do not set up any goals
  • If there are goals, players will shoot on them and not listen to you
• Demonstrate each drill / game before starting it

Continue reading →

Setup

• Each player has a ball
• Set down cones to make a 40×30 steps field for 10 players – larger if more players
  • Anything can be a cone (an article of clothing, a water bottle, any marker)
  • Set cones every ten steps
• Do not set up any goals
  • If there are goals, players will shoot on them and not listen to you
• Demonstrate each drill / game before starting it

Continue reading →

Setup

• Each player has a ball
• Set down cones to make a 40×30 steps field for 10 players – larger if more players
  • Anything can be a cone (an article of clothing, a water bottle, any marker)
  • Set cones every ten steps
• Do not set up any goals
  • If there are goals, players will shoot on them and not listen to you
• Demonstrate each drill / game before starting it

Continue reading →

Setup

• Each player has a ball
• Set down cones to make a 40×30 steps field for 10 players – larger if more players
  • Anything can be a cone (an article of clothing, a water bottle, any marker)
  • Set cones every ten steps
• Do not set up any goals
  • If there are goals, players will shoot on them and not listen to you
• Demonstrate each drill / game before starting it

 

Drill 1 – 5 minutes

• Dribble the ball anywhere within the field of play, using only your feet
  • Remind players that they can use any part of their foot
• After 1 minute, ask the players to use just the inside of their feet to dribble, for about 20 seconds
• After another minute, ask the players to use just the bottom of their feet to dribble (roll the ball over), for about 20 seconds
• Repeat the just the inside and just the bottom of the feet one more time, about a minute apart for 20 seconds each
• Use the entire space
  • Do not let players bunch up
• Keep the ball close while dribbling
  • Can the players run and keep the ball under control
  • Players who are walking should be urged to run
  • Players who are running too fast should be urged to slow down in order to stay under control

 

Game 1 – “Lights” – 5 minutes

Objective: Follow directions to get to the opposite side of the field

• Players line up on one of the long (40 steps) sidelines
• You are on the opposite sideline
• Game: Call out a color light
  •  Green light: they run and dribble towards you
  •   Yellow light: they walk and dribble towards you
  •   Red light: they stop the ball with the bottom of their foot – the sooner the better (Remember the HINT from the previous drill: keep the ball close to you)
  •   Disco light: they stop and give you their best dance moves
• If players advance too fast because they are not under control, send them back to their last spot
  • There are no winners for reaching the opposite sideline first, everyone goes at their own pace

Game 2 – “Lights + Part of foot” – 5 minutes

Same as “Lights” except:

• Every time you call “Green Light” or “Yellow Light” also call out either “Inside” or “Bottom” of the foot for players to dribble using only that part of the foot

 

Setup

• Set 2 lines of 5 cones
  • About 3 steps of space between the cones
• Half of the players line up behind the first cone on one line, and half line up behind the first cone in the other line
• Each player has a ball

Drill 2 – 5 minutes

• Players dribble, one at a time, staying to the right of the cones going up the line, and again to the right coming back down the line
• When a player gets to the last cone of the line, the next player in line goes
• When a player gets back to the beginning cone, the player goes to the back of the line

Game 3 – Relay – 5 Minutes

Same as Drill 2 above, except: 

• There is only one ball per team
• The player has to complete the whole loop and dribble to their teammate who goes next
• In 2 minutes, how many “segments” can a team complete
  • A segment is a player dribbling all the way up, and then all the way down, the cones
• Take a minute to reiterate dribbling technique
  • Use any part of the foot
  • Keep the ball close to you
• In the remaining 2 minutes, how many “segments” can a team complete

 

Drill 3 – 5 Minutes

Same as Drill 2, except: 

• The players slalom through the cones on the way up
  • The next player goes once the player in front reaches the last cone
• The players run to the back of their line on the outside of the cones

Game 4 – Slalom Relay – 5 Minutes

Same as Game 3, except: 

• In 2 minutes, how many segments can a team complete while slaloming through the cones up, and dribbling the ball on the outside of the cones to their teammate who goes next
• Take a minute to remind the players to use the inside part of their outside foot (so inside of the left foot when the ball should go to the right and vice versa) to manipulate the ball back through the cones
• In the remaining 2 minutes, how many segments can a team complete…

Drill 4 – 5 Minutes

Same as Drill 3, except: 

• The players use the bottom of their foot to roll the ball over through the cones
  • Use the bottom of the right foot to roll the ball over to the left side of the cones
  • Use the bottom of the left foot to roll the ball over to the right side of the cones

Game 5 – Roll Over Relay – 5 Minutes

Same as Game 4, except: 

• Players roll the ball over with the bottom of their foot rather than using the inside of their foot to slalom through the cones

 

Setup

• Extend the distance between the cones from 3 steps to 6 steps
• Pair up the players
• Each pair has one ball between them
• Each pair has 2 cones it will use as a goal
  • One player goes on one side of that goal
  • The other player goes on the other side of the goal
• The players should be roughly 7 steps apart from each other

TEACH PASSING TECHNIQUE  – 5 Minutes with Setup

• Take two steps to approach the ball
  • Not straight on, but with a little bit of a curve in the approach
• Plant the non-kicking foot next to, and a little bit behind, the ball in the direction in which you want the ball to go in
• Lock the ankle of your kicking foot, so it is sturdy with the toes pointing slightly up
• Use the inside of your foot to kick the ball in the center
• Follow through with your kicking foot so it comes off of the ground, about shin high

Drill 5 – 5 Minutes

• Players, who are about 7 steps apart, pass the ball to each other through the goal, about 6 steps wide
  • Force players to stop the ball before they pass it back
    • At least two touches, no one-touch passing that will result in no control

Game 6 – 5 Minutes

Same as Drill 5 above, except: 

• In 2 minutes, how many goals can a pair score
• Take a minute to reiterate passing technique and remind players they have to take at least 2 touches
• In the remaining 2 minutes, how many goals can a pair score

 

End Practice

• 1,2,3 Go “team name”!

Setup

• Each player has a ball
• Set down cones to make a 40×30 steps field for 10 players – larger if more players
  • Anything can be a cone (an article of clothing, a water bottle, any marker)
  • Set cones every ten steps
• Do not set up any goals
  • If there are goals, players will shoot on them and not listen to you
• Demonstrate each drill / game before starting it

 

Drill 1 – 5 minutes

• Dribble the ball anywhere within the field of play, using only your feet
  • Remind players that they can use any part of their foot
• Use the entire space
  • Do not let players bunch up
• Keep the ball close while dribbling
  • Can the players run and keep the ball under control
  • Players who are walking should be urged to run
  • Players who are running too fast should be urged to slow down in order to stay under control

Game 1 – “Lights” – 5 minutes

Objective: Follow directions to get to the opposite side of the field

• Players line up on one of the long (40 steps) sidelines
• You are on the opposite sideline
• Game: Call out a color light
  •  Green light: they run and dribble towards you
  •   Yellow light: they walk and dribble towards you
  •   Red light: they stop the ball with the bottom of their foot – the sooner the better (Remember the HINT from the previous drill: keep the ball close to you)
  •   Disco light: they stop and give you their best dance moves
• If players advance too fast because they are not under control, send them back to their last spot
  • There are no winners for reaching the opposite sideline first, everyone goes at their own pace
• After players reach the opposite sideline, you go to the other side and do it again

 

 

Drill 2 – 5 minutes

• Use cones to set up two circles within the field of play
  • Send half of the team to one circle and half of the team to the other circle
  • You will use these two circles for the rest of the practice
• Dribble around the outside of the circle
  • Everyone goes in the same direction
• Every minute or so, switch which direction you are dribbling in

 

Game 2 – “Relay” – 5 minutes

• Remind players to keep the ball close to them so they can control where it goes
• One player at a time on each circle
  • The other players line up inside the circle to wait their turn
• Dribble around the circle once
  • When finished, a teammate takes the ball and does the same
• Once everyone is done going around once, do it again, going the other way
• Repeat two or three times

 

Drill 3 – 5 minutes

• Same as Drill 2, except players now slalom through the cones
  • If you go to the right of the first cone, go to the left of the next cone

Game 3 – “Slalom Relay” – 5 minutes

• Same as Game 2, except the players now slalom through the cones

 

Game 4 – “Ball Retriever Circle Challenge” – 10 minutes

• Objective: Dribble a ball back to your base after completing a dribbling challenge around the circle
• Setup
  • Put a couple of cones down to create a base in two opposing corners of the field
    • Half of the team lines up behind one base, the other half lines up behind the other base
  • Put all of the balls in the two circles
    • Number of balls in a circle = Number of players in the corresponding base
  • 2 players go at a time, starting from their bases in opposing corners of the field
    • The players are not competing to beat the other player, but to complete the challenge
      • The rest of the players line up behind their base and wait their turn
• When you say “Go!” the players run to the balls and dribble them by slaloming around the circle
• After getting around the circle, the player dribbles the ball back to the base
• The next 2 players go
• When everyone has completed the challenge, do it again but this time dribble in the other direction

Drill 4 – 5 minutes

• Dribble inside the circle
  • Less space requires more effort to control the ball

 

Drill 5 – 5 minutes

• Teach the players to “shield” the ball
  • Put your body between the ball and the opponent trying to steal the ball
    • Keep the ball close enough to you to control it but far enough from the opponent to steal it
• Interchangeably call out “dribble” or “shield”
  • “Dribble” – players will continue to dribble inside the circle
  • “Shield” – players will stop the ball with the bottom of their foot and put their body between the ball and an “imaginary opponent”

Game 5 – “Cookie Monster” – 5 minutes

• Recruit two “cookie monsters”
  • Two adults – one for each circle
    • You could be one of them, but it is better for you to coach and correct the players
• Ball = cookie, for the purposes of this game,
• Players dribble inside the circle
  • When a cookie monster approaches them, they shield the cookie by getting between it and the cookie monster
  • When cookie monster leaves, the players continue to dribble

 

End Practice

• 1,2,3 Go “team name”!