Index of Drills & Games
Coaching Home Page | Technical Syllabus | Session Plans
Early Learners
Drills by Topic
Short Passing
First Touch and Control
Long Passing
Possession
Running with the Ball
Shooting
Turning
Dribbling
First Defender
Defensive Support
Attacking Combinations
Heading
Swerving the Ball
Chip Shot
Volleying
Full List of Drills
· Simple unopposed passing practice suitable for all ages, for up to 12 players working in a small grid
· Versatile set-up for groups of four to practice short passsing. Can be easily adapted for other skills
· Circular formation, short passing. Requires concentration and communication
· Pass and move in groups of 3 working in small grid
· Miniumum of five per group, short passing with emphasis on good first touch and open body shape
· Pass and move in squads of 4, complex drill that will challenge experienced players.
· Circular set-up, short passing with quick movement, good touch and communication
· Working in groups of 3, one player works under pressure at a time. Adapt for various skills
· Very useful and simple practice, circular set-up, pass the way you are facing
· Square grid, versatile in numbers, fast moving one and two touch passing
· Circular group work. 2 players move to support each other. Challenging practice
· In pairs, players practice moving the ball into space on first touch
· Useful grid practice on getting open on 1st touch
· Large grid set-up. Observation and first touch are the themes
· Rotational practice on a useful skill to create space under pressure
· Simple and versatile warm-up or cool-down to practice touch and control
· Nothing clever just a simple rotational plan for repetitive practice of long and lofted passes
· Groups of four practice lofted passes and controlling the high ball
· Simple and competitive practice to improve possession. Verstile for any number of players
· Possession game, gradually increase the pressure to match the players level of skill
· Movement to create and exploit space - a challenging practice
· Get out the defender's shadow! Gradually increase the challenge of this practice
· Great low pressure practice to work on possession. Encourages good vision and decision making
· Useful possession game, 2v2 with target players. Encourages good movement and quick play
· Circular set-up, encourages players to get their heads up and make deliberate choices on pass
· Progress this from easy to very challenging. Players must play with their heads up
· Possession game with direction. Use it to coach pass selection and angles of support
· Numbers-up possession game, easy to set up and lots of options for progression
· Team possession game that includes a strong element of endurance. Good pre-season practice
· Helps players make good decisions on when to play the safe pass or go for the long ball
· Team game to help players select the right moment for the accurate long pass
· Similar to "Quarters" but requires players to time their runs to meet the long pass in the channels
· Simple adaptation of the normal game that forces players to switch the ball to find and exploit space
· Great fun game for all ages. Can be used as intense fitness session for older squads
· Simple set-up to practice running with the ball in competitive but unopposed drill
· Small sided game with simple adaptation to increase intensity. Useful pre-season game
· Good fun and competitive shooting practice that rewards accuracy and pace
· Practical set-up to help a group all work on shooting without queueing up
· 1 v 1 with a goalkeeper, encourage players to take their shot without delay
· 1 v 1 foot race to finish with a shot, practice finishing at speed under pressure from defender
· Fast paced practice that allows players to shoot in any one of three goals, don't hesitate
· An adaptation of drill 41 that includes more defending and decision making
· Small sided game with no keepers. Shoot without hesitation and close down quickly
· Popular small sided game that rewards all efforts to shoot on target
· Rotational drill to practice finishing 1v1 with pressure from recovering defender
· Good fun practice that challenges players to finish with shot, volley and header all on the same run
· Rotational combination drill to practice long and short passing, control and finishing
· A large group can practice all the basic turns in this simple set-up
· Simple and effective activity to practice dribbling and turning playing with the head up
· Development of drill 49 that makes it competitive, how long can we keep the ball 1v1
· Very intense excercise that challenges players 1v1 to dribble and turn and attack space
· Develop this warm-up with a squad over a period of time to improve numerous basic skills
· To improve ability to create individual space with technically good turns in 1v1
· Very intense practice where players go 1 v 1 to receive the ball, turn and find the next pass
· To improve the ability to create individual space when closely marked, first touch under pressure
· Useful to work on dribbling moves with a larger group in small area, unopposed practice
· Low pressure dribbling game that will reward players who play with their heads up and attack space
· Versatile team game that encourages 1 v 1 attacking and finishing, adapt it to focus on various skills
· Repetitive practice of basic defending skills in rotational set-up
· To improve successful marking of an opponent who has his back to goal
· Rotational game with keepers to help supporting defenders improve their positioning
· Help defenders to learn to not dive in, also useful for attacking combinations
· Small sided game that helps players to concentrate on defensive duties
· Who's got good concentration? Shows up football intelligence. No footballs involved
· Working in grids of 3 to practice this simple and effective passing combination
· Relay type set-up to improve timing of overlap and blind-side runs
· Small sided game that encourages overlap runs and finishing from a cross
· Circular set-up to improve the quality of a simple take-over manoeuvre
· Simple rotational 2v2 set-up to work on attacking combinations
· Small sided game that emphasises possession with direction, rewards quick play
· Challenging rotational drill that puts together passing combinations and finishing
· Simple conditioned small sided game that sets different challenges for each team
· Diamond grid set-up to improve attacking and defensive headers in groups of four
· Small competitive heading game in groups of 4, easily adjusted to suit ability of group
· The well-known small sided game to improve heading, good fun
· Good fun game to improve volleying, heading and control
· Working in a diamond grid groups of 4 players practice to improve their chip shot