Week 5: passing

• 1 pugg or gate goal
• Shooting line 5+ yards out

1. Mark a shooting line 5 or more yards out from a pugg (or gate) goal.
2. The attacker goes around the defender.
3. They must shoot before they reach the line.

Shooting from 8 or 9 yards out simulates a pass to a forward.

• Everyone at the same time
• Gate of tall or short cones

1. Set out a gate goal (tall cones or short).
2. Player 1 passes through the cones to player 2.
3. Player 2 controls it and passes back.

Make it a competition

Individually or in teams: who gets it through the gate the most?

For older kids

Put up one tall cone. They get a point for hitting it as they pass across.

Focus on passing through the gates to a partner. A simple way to walk around and work on each player's technical touches.

1. Player 1 dribbles to the cones and stops the ball in the middle of them.
2. Player 1 runs to the back of the other line (behind player 2).
3. Player 2 runs to the ball and passes first touch to player 3.
4. Player 2 runs behind player 3, and the pattern repeats.

Focus on the approach for the pass: plant foot, stepping into the pass, and using the inside of the foot.

1. Player 1 dribbles to the box and stops the ball in it.
2. Player 1 runs behind player 2.
3. Player 2 runs to the ball, turns it 90 degrees, and passes to player 3.
4. Player 2 runs behind player 3, and the pattern repeats.

Watch for

Don't let player 2 run around the ball. Have them go straight to it and do a skill: a rollie toward player 3, an L turn, and so on.

Focus

Player 2 does the skill and passes while still in the box. This works on dribbling skills and how to dribble to set up a pass.

A hard drill for U5/U6, but U7/U8 should be able to do it.

• Ball for each player
• Cones in the middle

1. Set cones up in the middle of the grid.
2. Players stay on the outside and pass to knock the cones over.
3. A player (or coach) without a ball stays in the middle, picking cones back up.

Other way to play

Players dribble within the grid and try to pass a ball into the cones.

The director recommends the outside version. Either way, coaches help retrieve balls and reset cones as needed.

• 2 bumpers outside the grid
• Lines at each end

1. Blue against green in the middle, with two red bumpers (B) outside the grid.
2. The two in the middle use dribbling and passing to beat the other across the line.
3. Work on keeping control. Don't just kick the ball across the line.

Bumpers

Play 2 touch, and must play the ball back to the colour that passed it. Remind them to move up and down the side to help the attackers.

Rotation

After each 3v1, the two bumpers go to the end of the attackers' lines (one blue, one green), and the blue and green players become the new bumpers.

Younger kids may not get the idea of wide targets, but older kids can use them to keep spacing and work on when to dribble and when to pass around a defender.

• 8 or more players
• 1 to 3 goals
• Field split into 3 zones

1. Divide the field into 3 equal rectangles, with 1 to 3 goals on one endline.
2. Put a single defender in zone 2 (middle) and zone 3 (the one with the goals). They must stay in their zones.
3. Three lines of attackers use passing and dribbling to move from one zone to the next and beat the defenders.

Possible rule

Attackers must play 2 touch in zones 1 and 3. This forces passing in zone 1 and quick finishing in zone 3.

Rotate

Rotate defenders after 2 to 3 minutes, or have them rotate naturally if they steal the ball.

When to pass versus dribble. Balance and support in attack: a triangle shape, with depth and width.