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You’re off!

Objective: To improve possession, ball control, short passing, supporting the player on the ball.

Age range: U10s and upwards.

Difficulty: Medium.

Set-up: Divide your players into three teams with goalkeepers.

Set up a 40×30 playing area with goals at both ends.

Note: If you have an uneven number of players just make one or two of the teams bigger. If you have seventeen players, for example, you could have two teams of six and one team of five.

How to play:

There are only two rules:

1. When the ball goes over a sideline, the team that put the ball out of play leaves the field and the waiting team comes on.

2. If a goal is scored, the team that conceded the goal goes off and the waiting team comes on.

The team that wins the most games in 20 minutes is the winner.

Coaching notes:

To begin with, there is a lot of coming and going as players play the game normally, i.e., without too much thought as to the consequences of allowing the ball to go out of play.

After a while, however, they begin to put a lot of effort into keeping the ball. Short passes and close support should begin to replace hopeful kicks upfield.

You will also see players try to win the game by kicking the ball off an opponent and into touch!

It’s also in a team’s best interests to take lots of shots. If it scores, it wins the game but if it misses and the ball goes over the end line, it stays on anyway. However, its opponent will have to go off if it blocks the shot and the ball goes over a sideline.

Progression: Make the playing area smaller (makes the game harder) and/or reduce the number of touches each player is allowed.

For more soccer coaching tips and products visit Soccer Coaching Club.

Pot black

Objective: To improve passing and receiving skills, teamwork and defending.

Age Group: U6s to U10s.

Number of players: Twelve (but is easily adapted for larger or smaller squads).

Equipment required: Some flat cones, training vests, one ball.

Set-up: Create a 20×15 yards playing area with six small gaps around the edges (the “pockets”) as shown below.

Split your players into two teams of six.

How to play: Both teams try to gain possession of the ball and pass it (or shoot) into a pocket.

If a team pots a ball, it keeps possession and tries to score again.

If a player kicks the ball “off the table” or commits a foul, possession goes to the other team.

The first team to score eight (i.e. seven reds and a black) wins the game.

Tip: If your players are finding it difficult to “pot the ball”, make the pockets bigger.

If players find it hard to keep possession long enough to pot a ball, make the playing area bigger.

Progression: Play with two balls.

For more soccer coaching tips and products visit Soccer Coaching Club.

Moving the goal posts

Objectives: To improve passing and encourage players to keep their heads up when in possession of the ball.

Age group: U5s to U10s.

Set-up: Create a 30-yard square and divide your players into two teams.

Take one player from each team and give them a three-yard rope or pole to hold. This is the “moving goal”.

You stand outside the playing area with a supply of balls.

How to play: The players holding the moving goal move freely around the grid.

The two teams try to score in the moving goal.
The first team to score three goals wins the game.
If the ball leaves the area, keep the game moving by putting another ball in play.

Variations:

1. Play with two balls (this also makes the game easier for younger players).

2. Reduce the width of the moving goal and/or restrict players to two or three touches.

For more soccer coaching tips and products visit Soccer Coach Weekly.

Cone knock off

Objective: To improve passing, movement off the ball and teamwork.

Age group: U7s to U12s.

Equipment required: Some flat cones, three balls, training vests in two colours.

Set-up:

Create a 25-yard square playing area.
Divide your players into a team of four (the attackers) and a team of two (the defenders).
If you have more than six players, vary the numbers in each team or (preferably) set up two playing areas.
Balance two balls on top of flat cones and place them in two corners of the playing area.

How to play:

The attacking team’s objective is to knock the two balls off the cones.
The defending team protects the balls by blocking shots, tackling and trying to gain possession of the ball.
Play for two minutes. If the attacking team succeeds in knocking both balls off, it earns a point.
If defenders can hold the attackers at bay for two minutes, they get a point.

Coaching points:

Attackers

Good movement off the ball.
Quick decisions.
Spreading out and using the whole playing area.

Defenders

Good communication.
Close down the attacker with the ball quickly but don’t dive in.
Don’t allow the attackers to split you with a pass.

Progressions/variations

1. Play 3v1.

2. A ball that is knocked off a cone is in play and can be used to knock the other ball off.

3. Add a third or fourth ball on a cone.

4. Make the playing area bigger or smaller.

For more soccer coaching tips and products visit Soccer Coach Weekly.

Exclusion zone

Age group: U6s to U12s.

Number of players: Ten.

Equipment required: Eight “traffic” cones, some flat cones to mark out the playing area, one ball, training vests to differentiate the teams.

Set-up: Create a playing area suitable for the age of your players. For U6s, I would use a 20×15 yards area. For U12s, a 40×30 yards area would be more suitable.

Mark a five-yard-wide exclusion zone at both ends of the playing area.

Place four traffic cones, spaced a few yards apart, in each exclusion zone.

Divide your players into two teams wearing different coloured vests.

How to play:

The object is to knock over the opponent’s cones with the ball.

The ball must be kept below head height.

Players must stay outside the exclusion zones, except to take a goal kick.

Players can only take as many touches on the ball as there are cones still standing in their opponent’s exclusion zone, i.e:

4 cones standing – 4 touches
3 cones standing – 3 touches
2 cones standing – 2 touches
1 cone standing – 1 touch (very difficult and only suitable for older players!)

If too many touches are taken, give a free kick to the other team. All free kicks are indirect.

If the ball goes out of play, start with a kick in from the side line, or a goal kick from inside the exclusion zone.

Play for 15 minutes or until one team knocks over all four opponent’s cones.

For more soccer coaching tips and products visit Soccer Coach Weekly.

The coconut game

Objective: This coaching game helps improve accuracy of passing and shooting.

Age range: U7s and upwards.

Difficulty: Medium.

Number of players: Whole team.

Equipment: A few flat cones, one ball

Set-up: Divide your players into two evenly matched teams.

Tip: Keep the teams small. If you have more than 10 players, make four teams and set up two games.

Create a 30×20-yard playing area.
Place five balls on top of cones on the goal line at both ends of the pitch.
Mark out a five-yard exclusion zone with flat cones at both ends of the pitch.

How to play

The objective for both teams is to knock all five of the opposition’s balls off their cones by shooting/passing a ball at them.

Players are not allowed to enter the five-yard exclusion zones in front of the balls.

The first team to knock all five balls off at one end is the winner.

Coaching points:

Emphasise good technique (“which is the more accurate – using the side of your foot or the laces?”), quick decision making (“if you hesitate, the chance is gone”) and making support runs off the ball.

For more soccer coaching tips and products visit Soccer Coaching Club.

Behind enemy lines

Objective: The object of this game is to improve passing/receiving skills.

Age range: U7s and upwards.

Difficulty: Medium.

Set-up: Create a 45×30-yard playing area divided into three 15-yard-wide zones.

Divide your players into three teams of four.

Note: If you have an odd number of players, it’s OK to have teams of three.

Place one team in each of the zones.

One ball per game.

How to play: The game begins with you giving the ball to a team in one of the end zones.

The players in that end zone pass it among themselves while looking for an opportunity to pass it through the team in the middle third to the team at the opposite end of the playing area.
If they succeed in passing the ball through the middle zone, they get a point and the team they passed to tries to pass it back.
If a pass from a team in one of the end zones is intercepted or kicked out of the playing area, it switches places with the team in the middle.
The first team to make five passes through the middle zone wins.

Coaching points:

Encourage players to play with their heads up, looking for an opportunity to get a pass in.

Congratulate players who make quick decisions.

Progression for older, more experienced players: Use a spare player as a defender who can move all over the playing area trying to steal the ball.

For more soccer coaching tips and products visit Soccer Coaching Club

Three way soccer

This game helps to improve your teams’ attacking, defending and goalkeeping skills.

Age range: U7s and upwards.

Difficulty: Easy.

Set-up: Divide your squad into teams of four or five plus one goalkeeper. It doesn’t matter if you have odd numbers, just make one or two teams bigger than the others.

Create a circular playing area about 30 yards across.

Make a three-sided goal in the middle of the playing area with three poles or cones placed about 6ft apart in a triangular formation.

How to play: Place one player in the triangular goal.

Two teams play football in the playing area.
They can score through any side of the triangular goal.
The waiting teams are spread around the edge of the playing area. They are allowed to stop the ball going out of play and can also receive passes from the players in the centre.
If an outside player receives a pass, she cannot be tackled and has to pass back to the team that passed to her.
Play “one goal, winner stays on” or for a set amount of time before switching the teams.

Progression: Add a target player who plays for the team in possession.

All attacks must include at least one pass to the target player.

For more soccer coaching tips and products visit Soccer Coaching Club.