Drill 1 – Dribbling – 5 minutes

• Dribble the ball anywhere within the field of play
• Use the entire space
  • Do not let players bunch up
• Keep the ball close to you while running
  • 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
• Have the players perform some moves on your command
  • Stepover, Inside-out, Outside-in, Stop-and-go, Cruyff, Inside-inside (go here to find videos showing these moves)
• Make sure the players are using both feet equally
• Make sure the players keep their head up while dribbling
  • Safety – to see where they are going
  • Technique – to see where they could pass the ball to

Drill 2 – Juggling – 5 minutes

The objective is to keep the ball from falling to the ground using your feet, thighs, shoulders, or head. Give the players 5 minutes to see how many touches they can get without the ball falling to the ground.

• Players should remember their high score
• Keep the high score to themselves. In future practices they will try to improve on this high scoreJuggle the ball for 5 minutes
• While the players are juggling, the coach sets up for the next drill

 

Drill 3 – Receive, Turn, and Pass On – 10 minutes (with demonstration)

Setup

• Split the players into groups of 4
• Setup a 10×15 box for each group of 4
• Place 2 players on the end lines of the boxes
  • Assign one passer and one target from the 2 on the end lines
• Place 2 players on the inside of the boxes
  • Assign one attacker and one defender from the 2 in the middle
• 1 ball per group
  • Ball starts with the passer

Instruction

• The attacker has to move around the box to “open up” – create a passing lane between the attacker and the passer
• The target player has to move along the end line to “open up” – create a passing lane between the attacker and the target

Drill

• The attacker runs around to get away from the defender
  • Encourage the defender to stay close to the bottom of the box (close to the target) so that the passer can pass the ball into the attacker for the sake of the drill
    • If the defender cheats and gets right next to the passer – at the top of the box – just have the passer pass the ball behind the defender for an easy pass to the target
• The passer passes the ball to the attacker in the middle

• The attacker traps the ball and turns with it

• The target player moves along the end line
• After the attacker turns, the defender engages moves towards the ball
  • For the sake of the drill, the defender just plays soft defense and does not try to actually steal the ball
• The attacker passes it past the defender to the target player
• After the ball is either passed to the target or is kicked out of bounds, the play resets with the ball going back to the passer
• Switch positions every 2 minutes
  • The passer becomes the attacker, the attacker becomes the defender, the defender becomes the target, and the target becomes the passer

 

Drill 4 – Attacker and Defender Technique – 10 minutes (with demonstration)

Same as Drill 3, except:

• Teach the techniques for attackers and defenders

• Attacker wants to feel where the defender is
  • Put your hand out and feel where defender is so you can turn away from pressure

• Defenders want to be within a step or two from the attacker but not let them know what side they are defending on
  • Easier to step in and intercept the ball

• Switch positions every 2 minutes

 

Game 1 – 1-on-1 + passer/target – 10 minutes

Setup

Same as Drills 3 and 4, except:

• The passer and the target become interchangeable as the game is played in both directions
• The attacker and the defender become interchangeable as the player who gets to the ball first becomes the attacker and the other player becomes the defender

Game

• If you switch the ball successfully, try to do it again going the other way
• If a defender gets it, just play it to one of the outside players and then the defender becomes the attacker who tries to receive the ball from the passer and pass it on to the target
• An attacker gets a point each time a pass goes from one end of the box to the other (from passer to target) accurately
• Switch the passer/target players on the end lines with the attacker/defender players in the middle after 5 minutes

 

Game 2 – Scrimmage + Matchups – 10 minutes

Setup

• Remove the boxes used in previous drills/games and set up a small goal on each of the end lines of your field
  • Either use Pugg goals, or place two cones/bags/shirts about 3 steps apart from each other
• Split the players into 2 teams
  • Assign partners from opposing teams who will be responsible for marking each other

Game

• 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

 

Drill 5 – Turn and Shoot – 10 minutes

Setup 

• Put a goalkeeper in the big goal
  • If you don’t have a goal to work with, place two cones/bags/shirts about 8 big steps apart
  • Give the goalkeeper the same instructions as if you would for a game

  Split the players into 2 lines

  • Midfield line
    • Balls go with the midfield line
  • Forward line
• 1 player is kept from the 2 lines to be a defender
  • Defenders change after each play so this is not a designated defender for the entire drill

Drill

• The forward gets away from the defender to open up
  • For the 1st 5 minutes the defenders only get engaged once the attacker turns with the ball
  • For the last 5 minutes the defenders try to intercept the initial pass
    • If they cheat and move too far up have the midfielder pass the ball behind the defender to a forward
• The midfielder passes to the forward

• The forward traps the ball and turns with it

• The forward beats the defender with a move

• The forward shoots
  • The midfielder joins the forward line
  • The forward becomes the defender
  • The defender retrieves the ball and joins the midfield line

End Practice

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