Soccer Field Awareness and Pass Selection Sessions

Focus:

Intermediate Level Soccer Teams- To benefit from these sessions teams must have achieved the following prerequisites:

• Basic understanding of soccer control and passing

• Players possess the fundamental motor skills to play accurate passes and receive passes on the soccer field

• Basic understanding of support and space

All soccer training sessions try to offer incremental difficulty increases which allow players to succeed while also pushing them harder as the session goes on.

Note:

Sessions may take longer to master depending on age and ability of your soccer team, please allow extra time to develop understanding if necessary. ‘4 weeks to improve your teams passing ability’ is a guideline and based on teams practicing each session twice per week. All sessions follow on from your teams’ usual warm up.

Typical flow:

• No Pressure

• Passive pressure

• Full Pressure

SESSION 1: SOCCER PASSING IN A SQUARE

Dimensions:

25 x 25 yard square. Half of the players spread out around the outside of the area with a ball at their feet. The other players remain in the square.

How to:

Players on the inside must move towards an available player and call for the ball, when the ball is passed to them they must control it and play it back to the same player, completing a 1-2 pass. They must then go and find a new player and repeat.

Play continues until coach changes the players around.

Coaching Points:

Be on your toes ready to receive the ball.

Look up to see who available, move into the space quickly and call for the ball.

Progressions: Throw ins, players on the side throw the ball into play for a middle player to control and pass back.

SESSION 2: LINK UP SOCCER PLAY

Dimensions:

25 x 25 yard square. Half of the players spread out around the outside of the area. The remaining soccer players remain inside the area each with a ball at their feet.

How to:

Players on the inside must dribble around looking for a free player on the outside and pass to them, the player on the outside must now look to make a 1-2 with the player in the middle bringing themselves into play and moving the person who was in the middle to the outside.

There are three passes in total.

When the sequence is complete and the person on the outside now occupies the ball in the middle the drill continues.

Coaching Points:

Create an angle; the pairs should look to create a triangle when they pass. Exaggerate the angle by stepping off to the side after the first pass, this will allow you to open your body for the return ball and complete the move easily with a comfortable pass in front of your team mate.

Work together, look after your pass- Ensure passes are not only accurate, but weighted well so your partner doesn’t have to struggle to control it.

Progressions:

1 touch soccer passing

SESSION 3: TRIANGLE KEEP AWAY SOCCER DRILL

Dimensions:

5×5 Yard square

How to:

One Defender inside the square who must remain in the square so passing players are under passive pressure only. Three players must pass, keeping the ball away from the defender. Soccer players score a point every time the ball passes through the square.

Coaching Points:

The soccer player with the ball should always have two passing options, move to keep a balanced field (don’t both be stood together and make it easy to be marked)

Move the ball quickly when possible, don’t force the opportunity if it isn’t available.

Make full use of off the ball runs. Keep passes simple.

SESSION 4: SOCCER PASSING TARGETS

Dimensions:

35 x 30 yard field played Length ways. Each end has a neutral Target Man behind the end line. Adjust dimensions based on number of players. Keeping things small sided here is preferable. Set up more fields to accommodate more players.

How to:

Create even teams on the field (note in the example one team is playing numbers down, this is fine to begin with as the purpose of the drill is to use possession well by moving the ball to a destination) Coach chooses a team to start in possession. Points are scored by moving the ball down the field and passing to a target man. On scoring a point the target man passes the ball back into the team in possession, they must now try to score a point at the other end. If possession is lost the other team attempt to score points.

The target men are neutral and cannot be tackled. You can pass back to the same target man but you can only score one point per time (two passes to the same target man in a row will only count for one point).

Coaching Points:

Make yourself available for a pass, allow the target man a short option, think about receiving the soccer ball on the half turn, a positive move like this will allow you to make a pass down field if the option is available or if you have immediate pressure, you can still shield the ball and play back to the target man if necessary.

Be positive, look for pockets of space to move in to, be available for a pass whenever you can.

Be proactive, even if you aren’t directly involved in the point scoring pass, read play and make an early run, you might be able to give the target man an early option to pass the ball back in and set your team off on the attack again.

Allow yourself to be comfortable in possession of the ball; try to pick out clever passes in behind players whilst still being wary not to over complicate situations unnecessarily

This is a possession game, be comfortable passing the ball around, if you get the ball moving enough, scoring opportunities won’t be far away!