Setup

• Each player has a ball
• Set down cones to make 5×5 steps boxes for each players
  • Setting down 4 lines (5 steps apart from each other) of 5 cones (5 steps apart from each other) = 12 boxes
• Demonstrate each drill / game before starting it

Drill 1 – Dribbling – 10 minutes

Drill 1 consists of 5 2-minute mini drills

• Split players into 4 lines
• For each mini drill, the next player in line goes when the player in front reaches the 3rd cone
• When players finish go through the cones, they run back (on the outside of the cones) to rejoin the back of their own line

MINI DRILL 1 – Slalom through the cones – 2 minutes

MINI DRILL 2 – Beat each cone using the stop-and-go move – 2 minutes

MINI DRILL 3 – Beat each cone using the step over move – 2 minutes

MINI DRILL 4 – Beat each cone using the inside-out move – 2 minutes

MINI DRILL 5 – Beat each cone using the inside-inside move – 2 minutes

Drill 2 – Dribbling with heads up, then explosive move – 5 minutes

• Players dribble inside their individual 5×5 boxes
  • Players should keep their head up while dribbling
• Coach calls out one of the learned moves every 30 seconds and players perform that move inside of their box and then accelerate into another box
  • HINT: It is very important the players have their head up before making their move and accelerating to avoid collisions
• If two players accelerate into the same box, have the one who arrived later quickly find the box that is left unattended and go there so the drill can continue
  • The last player to find a box has to do 2 push-ups

Drill 3 – Defense, closing down – 2 minutes

REMIND PLAYERS OF BASIC DEFENSIVE TECHNIQUE – 1 minute

• Bend at the knees and lean forward to find a low center of gravity
• Keep moving your feet
• Don’t “dive-in”
  • Don’t run straight towards the ball because the opponent will just run around you
    • Approach the attacker at a slight bend to show the shepherd the attacker to one side
      • Usually this would be overplaying the attacker’s strong foot (so if the attacker is right-footed, the defender approaches from the right side and forces the attacker to the weaker left foot)
  • Don’t stick your foot out
    • Get the whole body behind the tackle
• Stay between the attacker and the goal
• Go for the ball once the attacker takes too heavy of a touch

DRILL – 1 minute

• Players line up behind a cone (an attacker)
  • No balls needed for this one
• Every 5 seconds, coach calls out either “Show Right!” or “Show Left!”
  • If “Show Left,” the players approach the cone, in a slight bend, from their left side to show the attackers their left side
  • If “Show Right,” the players approach the cone, in a slight bend, from their right side to show the attackers their right side
• Players defend the cone that is ahead of them and roll forward with each call by the coach
  • Players who reache the end of the line quickly run to the beginning cone in their line to defend the next call
• Players are constantly on the tips of their toes and moving their feet to make adjustments and ready to close down the next attacker when the coach instructs them to
  • They are not standing flat-footed

Drill 4 – Juggling – 3 minutes

• Juggle the ball for 3 minutes
  • The objective is to keep the ball from falling to the ground using your feet, thighs, shoulders, or head.
    • Players should remember their high score
    • Keep the high score to themselves. In future practices they will try to improve on this high score
• While the players are juggling the coach sets up the next drill

Drill 5 – Sets of 3, Switch the field – 20 minutes with demonstrations (turn and throw-in)

Setup

• Remove the 2nd and 4th line of cones (out of 5)
  • This leaves you with 4 lines of 3 cones that are 10 steps apart from each other
• Each of the 4 lines uses one ball for the following mini drills

Drill 5 consists of 3 mini drills of 6 minutes each teaching players to turn the ball and pass it to the other side

• Each of the 3 players is in the middle to perform the drill for a minute
  • If the numbers do not work out, recruit parent volunteers to help pass the ball to players in the middle
• After all 3 players have been in the middle, each of them goes again for a minute
• So each player is in the middle for a total of 1+1 minutes during the 6-minute mini-drill

TAKE A MINUTE TO DEMONSTRATE TURNING WITH A BALL

• As you receive a pass, instead of trapping the ball a step or two in front of you, cradle it under you with the inside of your foot
• Turn your body to the direction you want to take the ball in
• Push the ball in that same direction as your body turns

MINI DRILL 1 – Pass on the ground, turn and switch the field

• The player with the ball passes it to the player in the middle

• The player in the middle turns with the ball

• The player in the middle passes the ball to the player on the other line
• The player in the middle gets the ball back from the outside, turns with it, and passes it to the other side
• Keep going for a minute and then switch players
  • The player in the middle switches with one of his teammates on an outside line
• Go for a minute and switch again
  • The player who has not been in the middle yet goes
• Go for a minute again
• Repeat each player being in the middle for a second time for another minute

MINI DRILL 2 – Toss, trap and turn, and switch the field

Same as Mini Drill 1, except:

• Outside player tosses (underhand toss, both hands) the ball to the inside player
• Inside player traps the ball on the ground
• Inside player turns with the ball and passes it to the other outside player
• Other outside player picks it up and tosses (underhand toss, both hands) to the inside player…

MINI DRIL 3 – Throw-in, trap and turn, switch the field

REMIND PLAYERS OF PROPER THROW-IN TECHNIQUE

• Both feet on the ground
• Stay behind the line (the cone for the purposes of the drill)
• Both hands on the ball
• Ball starts behind the head
• In one motion throw the ball over the head and in front of you
  • Do not stop that motion above your head, it has to be one continuous motion

Same as Mini Drill 2, except:

• Outside player throws the ball in towards the inside player
• Inside player traps the ball, turns with it and passes it to the other outside player
• Other outside player picks the ball up and throws it in towards the inside player…

Game 1 – Scrimmage – 20 minutes

The scrimmage consists of two 10-minute parts

• The first 10 minutes play the “Matchup Game”
• The last 10 minutes remove restrictions and just play a regular game

Setup

• Remove all of the cones and place two goals on your endlines
• Remind players of proper closing down technique and to mark their assigned player “goalside”
  • Goalside means positioning self between the goal being defended and the player being marked
• Split players into two teams
  • Hand out training vests to one team
  • Assign matchups for the players

MATCHUP GAME – 10 minutes

• When a player scores a goal, the player on the opposite team that was supposed to be marking the scorer has to sit out 30 seconds before joining the game again
• If the same player scores a goal while the matched player is sitting out, the 30-second timeout restarts
• Other teammates can help by marking that player, but they may expose themselves to having to sit out should the player they are supposed to be marking score

REGULAR SCRIMMAGE – 10 minutes

• Remove restrictions

End Practice

• Team cheer
  • 1,2,3 Go “team name”!