Passing – Page 5

Danger! Mines!

Age range: U6s to U10s.

Equipment required: 20 to 30 flat cones, two balls.

Number of players: Whole squad.

Set-up: Spread the flat cones randomly inside a playing area big enough for your players to move around in but not too big – all the cones need to be close together. Make sure there are no defined lanes from one side of the playing area to the other.

For eight U10s, create a 20-yard square playing area.

Divide your players into pairs.

Each pair waits just outside the playing area. In the image below, there are four pairs of players waiting to begin the game.

If you have an odd number of players, have one team of three players.

How to play: The object of the game is for each pair to pass the ball to each other as they cross the minefield and return to their starting position without touching a cone (i.e. mine) with their feet or the ball.

Dribbling is not allowed, the ball must be passed across the field.

If a player or their ball touches a cone, that pair of players has to start again.

The pair (or team of three) that can cross the minefield and return the fastest is the winner.

Progression:

Add one or two blockers – players who passively “get in the way” of the passing players.
Put your players into two teams. Each team sends out one pair of players at a time. When they get to the opposite side of the playing area, the next pair goes. The first team to get all their players across the minefield wins.

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

Four square

Objective: To improve quick passing and providing support off the ball.

Age group: U8s and upwards.

Number of players: Twelve (but can easily be adapted for more or fewer players)

Equipment required: Training vests to differentiate the teams, some flat cones to mark the playing area, a few balls.

Set-up: Divide a 40×40 yards playing area into four 20×20 squares.

Split your players up into four teams of three, wearing training vests.

How to play:

Two teams play 3v3 in diagonally opposite squares. Their objective is to score a point by stopping the ball on their opponent’s end line.
Play first to five, then rotate the teams around the playing area.

Coaching tips: If your players are finding the game difficult, make the playing area bigger.

If they are finding it easy, make the area smaller.

Variations:

Move the players between teams so that you have two 4v2 games instead of 3v3.
Make small goals on the end lines with flat cones. Players earn one point for their team by scoring a goal or two points for stopping the ball on the end line.

Progression: Take away the centre lines of the playing area and place two goals on each end line. Play 6v6 in the 40×40 playing area.

Teaching point: If, as is likely, your players seem rushed and make many mistakes at the beginning of this game, talk about how to get more time on the ball.

Try to get them to tell you that they need to be more aware of who is around them before they receive a pass.

Ask your players how this can be achieved.

Tip: Encourage your players to check over their shoulder as the ball is arriving at their feet and try not to give all their attention to receiving the pass.

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

Hold up

Objective: To improve passing, movement off the ball, support play, teamwork and attacking/defending skills.

Age group: U10s to U15s.

Set up: Divide a playing area into thirds with the middle third (15×15 yards) being slightly bigger than the two end thirds (10×15 yards). One mini goal or a target is placed at each end of the area.

Divide your players into two teams of four or five players.

How to play:

Play begins with a 4v4 or 5v5 contest in the middle third.

A team must play at least three consecutive passes between them before a player can break out and into the end zone he is attacking.

The player who receives the ball in the attacking third must then hold it up and wait for another team-mate to join him in that zone.

Simultaneously, one defender can join in to try and prevent a goal being scored.

The first team to score X number of goals wins the game.

Coaching note: If your players are struggling to put three passes together, make the central area bigger or reduce the passing requirement to two.

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

Soccer baseball

Set-up: Mark out a diamond shaped playing area as shown below.

Mark the points of the diamond with poles placed about 15 yards apart.
Enclose one end of the diamond in a 5×5 yard square of cones. This is the batting square.
Mark another 5×5 square in the centre of the diamond. This is the “pitcher’s mound”.
Split your squad into two teams – batters and fielders.
The fielders spread out around the playing area.
You are the pitcher.

How to play

The batting team’s players take it in turns to enter the batting square.

You roll a ball into the square.

The batter must kick the ball as it enters the batting square, first time, as far as he/she can and immediately set off around the diamond.

The fielding team collects it and passes the ball to the pitcher (you) as quickly as possible.

Note: Very young children can throw the ball back to the pitcher.

The batter gets a point for his team if he can run right round the diamond before the ball gets back to the pitcher – a home run.

But if a batter is running between the poles when the ball gets back to the pitcher, he/she is out.

Batters are also out if:

a) They miss the ball.

b) Slice their kick so that it goes behind the playing area.

c) If the ball is caught by a fielder.

The innings continues until all the batting side is out or players are stranded in the diamond and there is no one in the batting square to face the next pitch.

Both team have one or two innings.

The team with the most points wins.

Variations

1. Set up a goal somewhere in the playing area. If the batter can kick the ball into the goal his/her team gets an extra point.

2. Batters kick the ball with their non-dominant foot.

Magic boxes

Age range: U6s to U10s.

Number of players: Eight or 10, divided into two teams.

Set-up: For U6s to U7s, create a 20×15 yard playing area with a goal at each end (used in “progression”). Older children can be given a larger area to play in.

Mark out a 5×5 “magic box” about two yards in front of each goal.

How to play: One player from each team (the magician) goes into the magic box.

The rest of the players try to pass the ball to their team’s magician.
One point is awarded for each successful pass.

Note: A “successful” pass is one that is controlled by the magician within the magic box.

Magicians who earn a point for their team return the ball to a player on the other team.
The first team to earn five points wins.
Change the magician regularly.

Rules:

Only the magician is allowed in the magic box.

Magicians cannot be tackled.

Progression: The magician can score an extra point for their team if they can score a goal without leaving their box.

2v2 to goal

Objective: To practice and improve wall passes

Set up: Position a goal at each end of a 25×20 yards playing area.

Split your players into two teams (red and blue).

Position half of the red team in a line behind one corner of the field and the other half of the red team in a line behind the other corner of the field, at theÂ same end.

Organise the blue team in the same manner at the other end of the field.

How to play: Select a goalkeeper for each goal and rotate that player every five minutes.

You are positioned at the midfield line, outside the field, with all the balls.

When you kick a ball into the field, the first person in each of the four corner lines enters the field of play.

The game becomes a 2v2 + keepers activity.

Play continues until the ball goes out of play or a goal is scored.

When this happens, the players on the field quickly get back into their original lines, keepers stay on, and you kick the next ball in for the next four players.

When all the balls have been served, the players can retrieve them and dribble them back to you for another round of games.

Variation

The winning team stays on.

The push pass

The instep or push pass is a common pass used in soccer. To do a push pass, you use the inside of the foot (along the arch) to push the ball forward. As a result, the hip and leg/knee must rotate outwards to allow contact with the ball. Taking these elements in sequence, you will:

Turn the pass foot outward, locking the ankle so that the foot will not wobble. The knee of the passing leg will be slightly bent to allow the foot to come into contact with the middle of the ball.

As you are turning the pass foot outward, you will be stepping up to the ball with your plant foot, so that it is about hip-width away from the ball. If you stand too close, your hip will not swing smoothly. If you stand too far to the side, your angle will be awkward and the ball will not be struck smoothly. Your plant leg should be slightly bent, and the toe of the plant foot should be pointed at the target.

The ball is struck in the middle. If struck towards the bottom, it will go airborne. As the ball is struck, the plant leg should continue thru a natural swing of the hip, which will transfer additional power to the pass and also help to make it more accurate.

The arms will be held somewhat out from the body, especially on the follow-thru, so improve balance.

push pass 1 push pass 2The push pass can be learned by most children by around age 8-9. Short children (because the ball is relatively large) may have difficulty with this pass, as they may have insufficient hip width or swing to be able to get enough power. Children under age 8 often do not have the balance/coordination to use this pass, and may do better with a laces pass (passing the ball by pointing the toe down and hitting it along the big arch bone which along the side of the shoe laces).
Corrections

You can easily tell if the player is not using proper technique, because the ball will not stay on the ground and/or will not go in the desired direction.

If the ball is getting airborne, this means that the player is striking it towards the bottom. If he strikes the ball in the centre or towards the top, it will stay on the ground. Usually can adjust easily by simply bending the knee of the passing leg.

If the pass isn’t accurate, this usually means one of two things. Either the ankle of the pass foot is wobbly (not locked) or the toe of the plant foot is not pointing at the target. Watch from the front, and this is easy to spot.

If the pass has no power, this usually means that the plant leg is too straight/stiff, which reduces the ability of the hip to swing thru the pass. Sometimes, the plant foot will be planted too wide, or too close, which also can reduce power. This also can lead to inaccurate passes.

Passing with value

Good passes are positive actions that contribute to the team; bad passes are negative actions taking away from the build up or the attack. In the list below, each action has been assigned a value. While you want your players to always look for the highest-value pass it has to be balanced by the risk to return.

Many children think that they can hit a defense splitting pass every time — no matter where they are or what the situation is. This leads quickly to kick and run and loss of possession. Not good soccer. On the other hand, a player with the opportunity to play a penetrating pass but opts for one that just maintains possession has also played unskillfully. It’s a lost opportunity.

Developing patience in the build up and recognizing when to play the decisive pass is a vital skill to learn. One that is necessary as the precursor to scoring goals.

Type of Pass	Description	Value
Shot or goal	Think of shooting as passing the ball into the goal.	4
Assist	This pass leads directly to the shot.	3
Penetrating pass	By advancing the ball past a defender(s) or a line, this pass contributes to the build up and gets the team one step closer to an assist. Penetrating passes can be played from anywhere. For example: The goalkeeper rolls the ball out to the right back, who’s behind the opponent’s left wing. This pass puts the left wing on the wrong side of the ball and therefore out of the game. The greater the number of opponents put out of the game with a pass, the better.	2
A pass that keeps possession but doesn’t put any opponents out of the game.	This pass contributes to the build up by keeping the ball away from the opponents. It represents at best a probe and at worst a safety first approach. While it’s often played backwards or square it can be played forward in front of the opponents.	1
Crimes of Omission
Missed opportunities	The team keeps possession, but has lost an opportunity. For example, a pass is played backwards, a 1, although a forward pass, a 2 is available. It takes take a degree of experience to see lost opportunities in the heat of a game — for coaches as well as players. New coaches tend to focus too much on the player with the ball, what’s happening in their immediate space and their problems. Experience will help you to develop the necessary game awareness to see these missed opportunities.	0
Crimes of Commission	Crimes of commission are easier to spot, because the player has just given the ball to the opponents.
A risk worth taking	Every player faces opportunities to try a difficult pass that could produce a good result. Encourage players to try when the risk is worth the return and to accept the consequences when they fail. It’s important to have players who will take this responsibility. They aren’t afraid to try the difficult; they can live with failure; and they are mature enough to calculate the chances of success and not just to rely on chance.	0
Giving the ball to the opponents unnecessarily	Sometimes it’s because of a poor decision; other times it’s poor execution. Either way, now the entire team must come together and work to correct the mistake. The difference between this error and the previous one is a matter of game maturity. This quality only comes through experience and that is best learned in small-sided games.	-1
Giving the ball to the opponents is met with an immediate counterattack.	The team’s lost possession and now faces serious consequences. Mistakes like this will largely take place in your own back or middle third.	-2

Just use the above as a general guide for yourself; it won’t mean anything to your players if you tell them they hit a 1 or a –1.

You can utilize small-sided games to analyze your players and use the information to guide your decisions and evaluations. For example, a player who consistently plays -1 passes is a poor choice for a key midfield distribution role.

Tips to Make Passing Pay

There are a few general rules that all players can follow that will improve the passing game.

Don’t overestimate your own ability: Too often players try to hit a game-winning, defense-splitting pass every time they get the football. Relax, keep your composure and if you can’t find a “good” pass quickly, settle for a safe one. The time that you’re thinking about things is time a teammate in another position could make good use of the ball.

Always look for the deep pass first: Look at the players who are at the edge of your passing range, and if you cannot get the ball to one of them, start working your way back. Make the first deep pass that you can make, and try to get as many opponents on the wrong side of the ball as quickly as possible.

Learn how to calculate the risk to return of each pass: There are times to try the risky passes and times to play it safe. When in doubt, don’t lose the ball, play it safe. Pass with a purpose and not just hope.

Don’t telegraph your passes: Look away from your target and use your peripheral vision. Your eyes can tell the defenders everything they want to know, so use them to misdirect the defenders.

Remember your teammate. Keep in mind their situation, and what they need. If you can’t supply them with the quality serve they require you should look for another target. Make them look like a better player.

Quick, simple and accurate passes get the job done. Don’t hold the ball and dwell over things. This slows down the team.

Don’t run with the ball if you can’t keep your head up. Trying to run with the ball half the length of the field doesn’t help if all you can see is the ball and your own two feet. Develop your field vision. And remember, the ball can travel faster without you attached to it.