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 – Juggling – 5 minutes

• Juggle the ball for 5 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

Drill 2 – Individual Defending – Closing Down the Attacker – 5 minutes (with teaching and demonstration)

REITERATE PROPER DEFENSIVE STANCE

• Knees are bent
• Chest is leaning slightly forward
• Feet are about shoulder-width apart and staggered
  • Do not let the feet cross (as if running), but instead always keep one foot ahead of the other (as if fencing)
• Always be on the balls of your feet, lively moving the feet in order to make small adjustments
  • Do not be flat-footed

TEACH CLOSING DOWN THE ATTACKER

• Approach the attacker with a slightly bended run
  • To avoid the attacker blowing by the defender
  • Do not go straight for the ball at full speed as this allows the attacker to just push the ball by the defender

DRILL

• Set lines of 5 cones about 7 to 10 steps apart
• Players line up behind a cone (an attacker)
  • 4 players for each line
    • The last cone is left unattended so the player on a cone prior to it can run up to it
  • No balls are needed for this drill
• Every 5 to 10 seconds, the coach calls out either “Show Right!” or “Show Left!”
  • Players bend their run to approach the cone
    • Players sprint to get close to the player quickly
    • But within the last 3 to 5 steps, players slow down and assume the proper defensive stance described above
    • Players should leave 2 to 3 steps between the cone and themselves
  • If “Show Left,” the players approach the cone, with 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
  • After the players defend the last cone in line, they quickly run to the beginning cone in their line to defend the next call

Drill 3 – 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

Game 1 – 1-0n-1 – 10 minutes

Setup

• Set up 3 10×10 step boxes
  • A box for every 4 to 6 players
• In each box, send half of the players to one line of the box and the other half to an opposing line
  • One of the lines is the defending line, the other is the attacking line
• Balls are with the defenders

Objective

• The attacker wants to stop the ball on the defender’s end line
• The defender wants to either stop the ball on the attacker’s end line once it is stolen, or force the attacker out of bounds
  • Even if the attacker goes over the end line, and does not stop the ball on the defender’s end line under control, it is the defender who wins the round

• The defender passes the ball to the attacker
  • Make sure it is a well-weighted pass so the ball travels quickly, but not out of control
• The defender follows the pass with a run to close down the attacker as soon as possible
• The attacker traps the ball

• The moment the attacker takes a heavy touch, the defender uses the better position (2 to 3 steps advantage) and sprinter’s stance (bent knees, chest forward, on the balls of the feet) to get in the attacker’s path, beat the attacker to the ball, and win possession
• At the end of the play, the defender joins the back of the attacking line, and the attacker joins the back of the defending line

Drill 4 – Team Defending (2-person Support and Pressure) – 10 minutes

Setup

• Expand your 3 boxes to the 15×15 step dimensions
• Teams are still split into attackers and defenders
• The attacking line has the balls

Drill

• Attacker with the ball (being closed down by a defender) passes the ball to the other attacker
• The two defenders simultaneously switch, so that the one that was providing support is now pressuring the other attacker, while the one that was pressuring is now providing support

The result of the switch should look like this

• Have the attackers pass the ball back and forth so the defenders can get used to the “pressure/support” switch
• Switch attackers and defenders every 2 or so minutes and go again

Game 2 – 2-0n-2 – 10 minutes

Same as Game 1, except:

• There are two attackers and two defenders
• The attackers try to stop the ball on the defenders’ end line
• The defenders try to either stop the ball on the attackers’ end line or force the attackers out of bounds
  • Even if the attacker goes over the end line, and does not stop the ball on the defender’s end line under control, it is the defender who wins the round

Game 3 – 2-0n-2 with goals – 10 minutes

Setup

• Set mini goals (either Pugg goals or place down cones) at the endlines of the boxes

Game

Same as Game 2, except:

• The teams of 2 are now just playing a game, so both sides are attackers/defenders
• When a team scores, the losing team gets out of the box to let another team take its place
  • If the numbers are just right and all of the players are playing the whole time, then switch the teams that are playing each other every 3 minutes or so

End Practice

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