Category: Passing

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.

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This is a deceptively simply game. It’s easy to set up and easy for players to understand but it presents many problems to solve and requires good ball control skills. For that reason, it is not suitable for very young players.

Objective: To improve decision making and accuracy of passing.

Age range: U9s to U15s.

Set-up: Divide your players into groups of four.

Create a 10-yard square (marked with a cone in each corner) for each group.

Two balls per group.

How to play: Three players in each group (the attackers) try to keep both of their balls away from the fourth player (the defender) who is identified with a training vest or by holding a cone.

• All players can move anywhere within the playing area.
• The defender wins the game if he can tag a player with a ball. He does not have to tackle.
• The attackers win if they can make 10 passes before being caught in possession.

Coaching notes: If the attackers find the game difficult, increase the size of the playing area. If they find it too easy, make the area smaller.

Encourage attackers to play in a triangle shape and use the full width and length of the playing area.

Progression: Restrict the number of touches the attackers are allowed.

Variation: Place a goal and a goalkeeper about 20 yards from the playing area. If the defender forces the attackers to lose control and allow either ball to leave the playing area, they receive another ball from you and try to score in the goal.

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This is an excellent game to encourage young players to support each other, keep the ball for a set number of passes then finish with a shot a goal.

Age range: U9s and upwards.

Difficulty: Medium.

Set-up: Divide your players into teams of three. If you have an odd number, it’s OK to have one or two groups of four.

Three teams play in a 30-yard square with a goal at one end.

How to play:

• Nominate one team as the defenders. The other two teams work together as a group (they are the attackers) and try to keep the ball from the defenders for a set number of passes.
• Once they have completed the number of passes required (four or five is enough for U9s) they are allowed to shoot at goal.
• If a player from the attacking group gives the ball away, his team of three becomes the new defenders

Progression: Limit the number of touches the attacking team is allowed.

Coaching notes: If the attackers are struggling with this game, make the area bigger. Conversely, if they are finding it easy, make the area smaller.

You can also make the game easier for the attacking team (and thus encourage more shots on goal) by reducing the number of defenders.

Make the game competitive by playing the game for a set period of time and seeing which team of three can score the most goals.

Look out for and encourage: Good communication, correct spacing, team shape, support play, quick passing and shots on goal.

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This game is named after Barcelona’s Xavi Hernandez who is, perhaps, one of the most skilful players in the game today. It is designed to encourage a Barca style, quick passing style of play plus the freedom to dribble and run at defenders when in the final third.

Age group: U8s to U14s.

Set-up: Create a 30×20 yards playing area divided into horizontal thirds.

Divide your players into two teams of five or six.

How to play: Players in their defensive or middle third of the pitch are restricted to three touches of the ball before they must pass.

• In the final third (the third of the pitch nearest their opponent’s goal), they can take unlimited touches.
• When the ball goes out of play, the game is restarted with a kick-in that must be taken in four seconds or less.
• Goalkeepers must roll the ball out, again within four seconds.
• Play first to X number of goals or play for a set time.

Coaching note: younger children can practise their ball control skills in a less structured 4v4 where the coach awards extra ‘goals’ for good examples of getting into line with a pass or a nice, soft first touch.

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This game will improve your players’ passing/receiving skills and their decision making. It is easy to set up and explain but demands a high work rate and good concentration from your players if they are to succeed.

Experience: intermediate upwards.

Set up: create an area 18 yards by 18 yards for every six players in your squad.

Divide your players into teams of two. You need three teams for each playing area.

How to play: two teams (four players) are spread round the outside of the square and attempt to pass a ball to each other across it. The third team works in the square and tries to intercept the passes.

If they can pass the ball between the defenders (splitting them) the successful team gets a point.

The first team to score three points wins.

If the defenders intercept a pass, they exchange places with the relevant team.

Coaching points:

• Make sure all the outside players stay on their toes and move around the square looking for an opportunity to split the defenders.

• Applaud quick decision making and a good pace of pass.

• Encourage verbal and non-verbal communication.

Variations

Limit the number of touches per possession.

Play the same game, but expand the square by three to five yards on each side and have the players play inside the grid instead of outside the grid.

This is a simple but very effective way to practice quick passing and supporting play.

Age group: U9s and upwards.

Difficulty: Medium.

Set-up: Two teams of four play in a 30×20-yard playing area marked out with flat cones.

How to play:

• Each team has two players in the playing area and a player at each end as a target.

• The objective is to get the ball from one target player to the next without losing possession.
• The two teams play in two different directions. One team plays north to south, the other east to west.

Tip: Make the game competitive by awarding a point for each successful play. First to five points wins.

Coaching note: If you have more than eight players, play 5v5 or set up more than one playing area.

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

This is a fun and effective way to improve passing and receiving skills as well as the ability to spot and execute a through-pass.

Age group: U8s and upwards.

Number of players: Eight to 16.

Set-up: Create a square playing area suitable for the age and number of your players and split your players into equal teams.

How to play: A player from team A stands on one end line and a player from team B on the opposite end line.

The rest of the players try to pass to their team mate who is on the end line. If they succeed, they join their end player on the line.

The team that gets all it’s players on their end line first is the winner.

Note: To be counted as successful, a pass must be controlled by the end player.

Progression: Play two or three-touch.

This game works well with most young players.

Several of my U12s, however, like to stay in the game for as long as possible and they won’t pass to their end player even when there is a clear opportunity to do so.

To stop that, I changed the game slightly.

The end lines are now called jails.

The game begins in the same way as before – with one player from each team in jail (i.e., on their end line) – but now if you make a successful pass you don’t join your team mate on the line.

Instead, you get to send a player on the other team to their end line – in other words, send them to jail.

The winning team is now the team that can send all the players on the other team to jail first.

Coaching tip

Generally, the more players you have, the bigger the playing area needs to be.

If I had 10 U10s playing this game, I would begin with a 20-yard square playing area. If I had 16 players, I would use a 30-yard square.

But regardless of the number of players you have (or their ages), it is good practice to progressively shrink playing areas.

Making the space smaller requires players to play faster, more accurately and is a good way to build the tempo of your coaching sessions.

With my 10 U10s, for example, I would start with a 20-yard square but as they got used to the game I would gradually move the cones inwards until they were playing in a 15-yard square.

Very competitive and loads of fun!

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Why should my players play this game?

This game encourages movement off the ball, decision making and passing to team mates in space.

Can my players play it?

It is suitable for any player who can pass the ball reasonably accurately over a distance of about 10 yards.

Set-up: Split your players into teams of four or five and create a 20-yard square for each pair of teams.

How to play: A player from team A stands on one end line and a player from team B on the opposite end line.

The rest of the players in both teams compete for the ball and try to pass it to their team mate who is on the end line.

If they succeed, they join their team mate on the end line.

The team that gets all its players on the end line first is the winner.

Note: To be counted as successful, a pass must be controlled by the end player.

Progressions:

1. Restrict players to two or three touches of the ball.

2. When a player makes a successful pass to a player on the end line, she nominates a player from the other team to go on their end line. The winning team is now the team that can send all their opponents to the end line.

Coaching notes: This is a deceptively simple game. As it progresses, you will see how your players cope with numbers up situations, how well they communicate and if they can support each other off the ball.

Players on the end lines should be encouraged to move up and down the line, calling for the ball.

If the ball goes out of play the game can be restarted with a kick-in or a throw-in. If there is only one player from team A or B on the pitch, the ball may be dribbled in.

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