Soccer Passing Fundamental Session Plans that Improve Passing Confidence, Direction and Accuracy

Focus:

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

• Basic understanding of control and passing

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

• Basic understanding of support and space

All 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 group, 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: MILAN TRIANGLE PASSING IN 2’S

Dimensions:

Using 3 cones make an equilateral triangle with a one yard gap between each cone. Players must aim to pass to their partner through any of the three sides.

2 players per area. Place more areas for more players.

How to:

Each team of two has one soccer ball. Players must pass back and forth through the cones being cautious not to make more than two passes through the same gap in a row. They will be forced to move and create angles for passes and link up play.

Coaching Points:

Keep passes short and sharp, try to move quickly but ensure proper technique. If passes are going in the wrong places or you aren’t controlling the ball properly, try slowing down.

Communicate. There are two passing options at any given time. Make sure you both know where the pass will be played by talking to each other.

Be aware of the passing angles that are being forced. Make the area bigger to exaggerate this further if necessary. Explain why creating angles to escape a defender is important

Session 2: PASS AND MOVE TO FREE CONE

Dimensions:

10 x 10 Yard Square with a cone in the middle. Use 5 cones in total, the area should look like a 5 on a dice. Set up more areas to accommodate more players. Have 4 players per 5 coned areas. There always needs to be one cone free.

Adjust the dimensions depending on the outcome you want. A large area will mean more movement and be more physically demanding. A smaller area will make for quicker thinking and sharper movement.

How to:

Each area has one ball, the player with the ball can pass to anyone in their area, once they have played a pass to feet, the person who passed the ball must move to the free cone. The player who now has the ball must look for another pass and then move to the new free cone.

Coaching Points:

This is a simple warm up style game that gets players passing and moving with no pressure. The idea is space on the field is always changing, and we need to keep our head up and be alert to the space before moving into it.

Stress good passing and quick movement; try to stay alert to the changes in space so you can know where you are moving to even before you have played your pass. This will help encourage you to do the same on the field.

Session 3: SPLITTING DEFENDERS

Dimensions:

12 x 12 Yard coned square, 6 players per square split into three teams of two. (Distinguish teams clearly using coloured bibs)

Adjust dimensions to suit player ability. NOTE smaller area will be more difficult to achieve passing success

Place additional areas for more players if necessary.

How to:

One team of two starts in the middle of the square as defenders, the other two teams work together around the outside of the area creating a 4v2 scenario.

Defenders cannot leave the square, their goal is to intercept passes.

Passing teams must attempt to move the ball quickly around the outside, their objective is to pass the soccer ball through the middle of the two defenders, splitting them. Points are scored each time they successfully split the defenders.

If the defenders win the ball back, the team that lost the ball become the defenders in place of the current defenders.

Coaching Points:

Play with your head up, allow opportunities to present themselves. If the pass isn’t there to be played then be patient, don’t force the play

Encourage off the ball movement. The drill is designed to isolate defenders in 2v1 scenarios. Move off the ball to give the passer options.

Move the soccer ball quickly. Take advantage of poor defensive form created when a defender is drawn to a certain area.

Take the chance when the pass is available. Encourage positive play

Progressions:

Smaller soccer field area

Time limit competition, how many defense splitting passes can be made by each team in a given time frame?

Remove one team and add one player to each remaining team creating a 3v3

Session 4: SOCCER TARGETS DRILL

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 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!