Drill 1 – Dribble and Juggle Boxes – 10 minutes

Setup

• Split the players into 2 teams
• Setup two 20×20 steps boxes
  • The boxes should be about 15 steps away from one another, if space allows for that
• Every player has a ball

Instruction

• Keep your head up when dribbling to switch between the boxes

Drill

• In one box, the players will juggle the ball
  • Repetition in trying to keep the ball from hitting the ground without using your hands
• In the other box, the players will dribble the ball
  • Every 20 to 30 seconds call out a different move they should perform

• When you say “Switch!” the players dribble into the opposing box and switch what they are doing
  • Switch about every minute
  • Make sure to remind players to keep their heads up as they dribble to avoid collisions

• The jugglers become dribblers
• The dribblers become jugglers

Drill 2 – Dribble and Move Boxes + Pass – 10 minutes

Setup

• Pair up the players so that each player in one box has a teammate in another box
• One ball per pair
• One box is a dribbling box
• The other box is a movement box
  • Players move just like they are dribbling, but are doing so without the ball

Instruction

• When passing the ball between the boxes, make sure to
  • Lift your head and make eye contact with your teammate
    • Do not just kick the ball into the other box and make the teammate go get it
  • Then pass the ball

Drill

• Players in one box dribble
• Players in the other box move without the ball

• When you say “Switch!” the passers make eye contact with their teammate in the other box and then pass the ball

• The movers now become dribblers
• The dribblers become movers

Drill 3 – Pass and Move Around the Box – 5 minutes

Setup

• Split the players into two teams (at least 5, but hopefully no more than 8 players per team)
  • If you have more than 16 players, create a 3rd box
• Send one team to one box, and the other team to the other box
  • Send at least 1 player to 3 of the 4 corners of the box, and at least 2 players to 1 of the 4 corners
• Only one ball is needed
  • The ball should be at a corner that has at least 2 players at it

Drill 

1. Player passes the ball to a teammate on the next corner of the box; 2. Player makes a run to the back of the line at the corner of the box where the ball was just passed to; 3. Receiving player traps the ball into space that player will be passing the ball to; After passing the ball off to the next corner of the box, the player makes a run to the back of the line at that corner of the box; etc.

• Player passes the ball to the 1st player in line to the left
  • Player follows the ball by running to the back of the line the ball was just passed to
• That player traps the ball and passes it to the 1st player in line to the left
  • Player follows the ball by running to the back of the line the ball was just passed to
• Every minute or so switch the direction in which the players are going, to the left or to the right (clockwise or counterclockwise)
  • See if the drill can go without breaking down (the ball keeps moving, the players move after the pass)
• HINT: Encourage players to trap the ball into the space they will be passing it into
  • Trap to the left rather than in the front to facilitate faster ball movement when going to the left

Game 1 – Monkey in the Middle 1 Defender – 10 minutes

Setup

• One ball per box
• Send one defender (the monkey) from each team into the opposing box

Instruction

• Remind the players that they are going to be more successful if they move to “open up” an angle for a clear path between them and the passer as discussed in the previous week’s “Game 1 – 3v1 – Empty Cone” game

Game

• See how many consecutive passes the team can make without
  • the defender taking the ball away
  • the ball going out of bounds (out of the box)
• Every 2 minutes switch the defender

Game 2 – Monkeys in the Middle 2 Defenders – 10 minutes

Same as Game 1, except:

• Send 2 defenders to the opposite box
• Tell the defenders that if one pressures the ball the other should anticipate where the next pass is going
  • This technique is generally taught when the players are a little older, but this can be their 1st exposure to it without going into depth as we did here

Game 3 – Scrimmage – 15 minutes

• Remove the boxes used in previous 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
• The players should already be split into two equal teams from the previous games
• For the first 5 minutes, demand that the team on offense makes at least 3 passes before trying to score
  • Remind players to move when they do not have the ball to “open up” angles between them and the passers
• If the 3-pass rule is working successfully, for the next 5 minutes demand that the team on offense makes at least 5 passes before trying to score
  • If not successful, just keep it to 3 passes and continue to emphasize the need for movement before the pass is made
• For the last 5 minutes play without restrictions

End Practice

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