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movements DRILLS
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6 vs 2 Invasion Game

High Intensity drill This a 6 vs 2 invasion game. Mark out three areas in a line (each box 15m x 25m) using cones (You can adjust the area based on the level of the players and if it is too easy for the Attackers or Defenders). Start with 6 players in each of the two end areas and 4 in the middle area. The aim of this drill is for the 6 players in each end to keep possession of the ball, with those in the middle taking turns to try and win the ball. Players in the end zone have 2 touches maximum or a point goes to the Defenders. To start, a Feeder will throw the ball into one of the ends. Two Defenders will then move into the relevant end and chase down passes in an effort to win the ball back in a 6 vs 2 game. The 6 players will be passing the ball amongst themselves. Once they have completed 6 successful passes then they can pass to the opposite end. When this happens, the players left in the middle will enter that end and do the same thing. The Defenders work for 3 minutes then rotate the playing positions around.

Defending

Activation - 4v4v4 Possession Game

Objective: The team on the outside to retain possession (on outside only) & switch play by combining with middle attacking team. It will get players thinking, moving & working together. Use a 20 x 20 grid and split your players into 3 groups, bibbed up. For example if you have 12 players (3 teams of 4). This activation practice will get players thinking, moving and working together. You will have 1 team spread on the outside of the box and 2 in the middle (one playing as Attackers, the other Defenders). The objective is for the team on the outside to retain possession on outside only & when an opportunity arrives, play to the attacking team (whom combine/pass) and play it back out on a different side of the box. The defending team can only shadow/intercept but can tackle once the ball is inside. If the ball is turned over, then a transition happens & the outside team will swap with the defending team.

Possession

Ball Tag

6 players and 2 catchers. Both catchers have a ball each. Catchers move around the area and attempt to throw their ball to hit one of the players on or below the knee. To do this, catchers must either bounce the ball or head, thigh or volley the ball every 3 paces. The other 6 players try to escape having the ball thrown at them below the knee by running around the area. If a player is caught, he joins the catchers. As only two balls are allowed in the game at one time, they can be passed between catchers. Catchers cannot move with the ball

Conditioned games

Dynamic Activation

Initial pulse raiser to prepare players both physically and mentally for the session. Mark out a 30 x 20 area. Part 1: Players are spilt into 2 groups and begin by jogging in pairs to the far corner of each area and back down the sides to rejoin the group. Introduce dynamic flexibility movements such as (calf swings, straight leg jogging, hamstring volleys, thigh volleys, heel to buttocks, groin abductors / adductos, lunges. Part 2: Sprint to top corner Sprint to middle cone Diagonal to top cone Return to back of queue

Agility

Handling in the Goal

Two gates at either side of the goal. Two goalkeepers working. Servers play ball into hands of the goalkeepers at the same time. Goalkeeper makes the catch and returns to the server, then receives serve into hands from opposite side. The goalkeepers get a final shot from original server getting the goalkeeper into a diving catch.

Goalkeeping

Movement Related

Objective: To develop the understanding of movements both on & off the ball. Detail: Mark out a 30 x 30 / 40 x 40 area (age & ability dependant). Organise players into 2 teams of 8. 3 v 3 2 floaters on the inside 2 x 4 target players on the outside. The floating players play for the team in possession. Players must make 8 passes to score a goal.

Passing and Receiving

Over Under and In Between

Position players as shown in the diagram, with one ball between each team. Player 1 passes the ball overhead to player 2, who passes the ball through their legs to player 3, who passes the ball overhead to player 4. When the ball gets to the back of the line, the last player runs to the front and repeats the exercise.

Conditioned games

Shadowing the attacker

Players work in pairs with one ball between two cones. The attacker must move the ball from side to side, using changes of direction, speed and feints and step-overs the try and wrong foot the defender. The defender's job is to shuffle and follow the attacker, trying the hold them up and not give them an opening.

1 v 1 skills

Turning unopposed

Objective: Technical practice focusing on movements, quality and speed of turns unopposed. Detail: Use same 20 x 20 grid as warm up taking out middle cone only. Give each player a football. All players should dribble around the area and perform specific turns (ie. drag back, inside / outside hook, matthew's, cruyff, etc). Allow players to be creative and showcase their own turns.

Dribbling

Working up to 11 v 11 principles

Objective: Application of the individual & unit patterns/movements of defending with a 8 v 8 practice. Detail: Set up - Half a full size pitch with sidelines brought in 10m or 70 x 50 marked out. Split the players into 2 balanced groups of 8. Give each team a scenario for the game (for example Team A are losing 2-1 with 15 minutes to go). Select a team captain who will work with their team to discuss a strategy & tactics. Individual, unit & teams roles and responsibilities when defending (out of possession). When, where, what, how & why to press in specific areas of the pitch. Hunting in packs Goalkeepers angles & distances in relation to the defensive structure.

Defending

Footwork Movement Drill Goalke...

Set up a square of cones in front of the goal.Goalkeeper makes distinctive movements around the square towards any of the four cones with changes of direction.Server then plays a shot at random intervals.

General

Football: Toe Taps - Vertical ...

Set up with 2 cones as shown and a player in the middle with a ball.The players makes vertical movement from one cone to the other performing toe taps moving forwards and backwards.

General

Movement to Receive 1 Passing ...

Set up as shown with 2 players and 1 ball between the two.The area should be a 4x4 diamond, however the shape and size can be modified depending on the level of your players and the main aspect movement to receive that you want to achieve.Play begins with the internal player making movement to receive the ball and then exiting the diamond. Once they exit the diamond the player on the far end makes a pass into the middle player who controls and passes back.The sequence is repeated with the middle player making a new movement to receive on a different side of the diamond.

General

Movement Related SSG Passing a...

Objective: Developing practice above with team based small sided game.Detail:Increase area to 50 x 50.Split the players into 3 groups of 5 1 floater.Each team has a ball and plays at the same time.Teams transfer the ball around the area with the objective of the game to try and pass to a team mate through central square.Teams must decide when it is possible to do this and when they must move the ball elsewhere.

General

Forward and Back Movement Goal...

Set up 4 cones in a square in front of the goal with a 5th cone off to the side of the square.Goalkeeper to enter the goal from the side and hit the closest corner.Goalkeeper then moves forward up one side of the square and back through the square on a diagonal to the other back cornerThen straight up the other side of the square and around the Server to then shoot and Goalkeeper to save.Once GK has received a shot they take the ball with them and join the back of the shooting line.Server then goes round the back of the line to join the Goalkeeper line.

General

Movement before the pass - 1 v...

Red player 1 stands on the red cone closest to the blue player. When red 1 is ready they should run and tag red player 2. Red player 2 can try to win the ball once tagged. The blue player then plays the ball towards red player 1 who receives the ball on the move. Red 1 can choose to lay the ball back to Blue 1 or turn and try to score a goal by passing or running the ball through the goal where red 2 started.

General

Movement before receiving the ...

The red player (1) stands between the cones closest to the blue player. When red player 1 is ready to receive the ball they move towards their marker before checking off the player and making a run to either the left, centre or right gate. The blue player then plays the ball towards red player 1 who receives the ball and plays a one touch pass back. The red players change roles when the defender intercepts the ball from the attacking player.

General

Tennis Football Movement - Ten...

Within each zone, there are approximately four people each with a tennis ball which they have to dribble with whilst staying in their zone. The aim is to try and kick the other persons ball out of the zone whilst you keep yours in the zone. The last person in the zone is the winner.

General

Football: Toe Taps - Horizonta...

Set up with 2 cones as shown and a player in the middle with a ball.The players makes horizontal movement from one cone to the other performing toe taps from side to side.

General

Moves in 4s Passing and Receiv...

Set up as shown with 2 cones (the disatance of which between can be modified depending on ability or challenge you want to set your players).1 player on each cone and 2 players in the middle, 1 ball between the 4.Play begins with a pass from the outside into the middle. The middle players combine to get the ball out to the other side.The player who passes the ball out follows their pass and gets on the outside.The player on the outside who receives the pass from the middle has 2 choices:1 - rwtb into the area, turn and pass2 - pass into the other player in the middle before getting the ball back and passing to the outside player on the other side

General

Low Dive Movement Goalkeeping ...

Without the ball goalkeeper step into low dive position and get used to landing the dive safely. Show technique for landing ball close to the body in low dive GK starts behind the cones- Forward round the cones and back for a shot close to body Note: Lower the body position in readiness for the low shot Lower the hands and make step with leading foot pointing out at around 45' Push of with nearest foot and attack the dive with nearest hand first  

General

Cut Backs Movement Drill Goalk...

Goalkeeper to start on the flat disc in centre of the goal and get used to movement turning in to the near post.Goalkeeper, when getting set for the serve should be slightly more than arms length from the post and slightly in front of post.Server volleys into hands.

General

Pass in 3s - movement of end m...

Set up as shown with 2 cones (the disatance of which between can be modified depending on ability or challenge you want to set your players).1 player on each cone and 1 player in the middle, 1 ball between the 3.Play starts with 1 end player passing it into the middle player who tranfers the ball to the other side.Middle players follows their pass and goes to the outside while the outside player plays a long pass across before getting into the middle to receive and play the ball back out through the other side.The player in the middle and 1 player on the outside will always rotate roles, while the other player on the outside will remain in their position.

General

Long ball relay Passing and Re...

Passing pattern: The ball starts with the player near the corner flag who passes up the line to the next player. the next player must them play a long ball (lofted or driven) the opposite corner player. That player must then control the ball and then pass to the center player who then dribbles back to the start point.

General

The Triangle with Movement Pas...

Aim of the Drill; to pass and have the player of the ball react to the pass and provide support by running to the open space.<Br>Set up a square grid with cones.<Br>Place 3 players on 3 of the corners.<br>Player 2 starts with the ball. He initially has support to his left and right from players 1 and 3.<br>He now passes to player 3, player 3 has only support from player 2. Player 1 must recognize this and run to the occupied cone and re-establish support in 2 directions for the ball handler.

General

Turning unopposed Dribbling - ...

Objective: Technical practice focusing on movements, quality and speed of turns unopposed.Detail:Use same 20 x 20 grid as warm up taking out middle cone only.Give each player a football.All players should dribble around the area and perform specific turns (ie. drag back, inside / outside hook, matthew's, cruyff, etc).Allow players to be creative and showcase their own turns.

General

3 man weave Passing and Receiv...

3 players run down the pitch, passing and interchanging to finish with a shot at goal. Player in the middle starts with the ball. They pass the ball to one of the outside players and overlaps around them. The second player passes the ball to the player on the other side and overlaps around them. Each player receives the ball from the same player every time and they should overlap around the player they pass to. 

General

Dynamic Activation Agility - F...

Initial pulse raiser to prepare players both physically and mentally for the session. Mark out a 30 x 20 area.Part 1:Players are spilt into 2 groups and begin by jogging in pairs to the far corner of each area and back down the sides to rejoin the group.Introduce dynamic flexibility movements such as (calf swings, straight leg jogging, hamstring volleys, thigh volleys, heel to buttocks, groin abductors / adductos, lunges.Part 2:Sprint to top cornerSprint to middle coneDiagonal to top coneReturn to back of queue

General

3 Man Pass and Run Passing and...

Players pass and then move to find an empty cone. Players should take 1 touch. With bigger numbers in your training session you can increase the number of cones and the number of balls accordingly.

General

Shadow defending 1 v 1 skills ...

Players are working in pairs. Player 1 dribbles forward and player 2 shadows them, not trying to win the ball but trying to put pressure on the player in possession.

General

movements SESSIONS
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Training for Pre-Season: Pass and Move

Pre-season training doesn't have to be boring! Use the 5 drills in this fitness plan to get your players back in shape and improving their passing game.

Shooting Circuits

Continuous finishing session to develop your players technique and thought process when in front of goal. Make sure they?re making the right decisions to put the ball in the net!

Clever Movement

To coach and encourage players to use specific clever movements in all areas of the pitch in order to create space for themselves and others.

Goalkeeper Footwork

The modern goalkeeper has to be good with their feet. Improve your keepers footwork by building their confidence to take the ball to feet with this session.

Make your Corners Count!

Set pieces need to be made the most of in a match. This plan will make those corners count, and improve the communication between your players

Goalkeeper Reactions

Improve the ability of the goalkeeper to deal with deflected balls and improve reaction time. Focusing on the correct body position and reacting rather than anticipating where the ball is going to go.

Shadow Play

Develop your players attacking awareness and use the shadow play technique to give your players the right understanding of their movement and to adopt the right positions on the field.

Attackers - First line of defence

Press high and get your attackers in the mentality to being the first line of defence with the aim of winning the ball back high up the pitch.

1 v 1 Finishing against goalkeepers

Turn defence into attack in an instant by stepping in front of the opposition and intercepting the passes to spring a counter attack.

Defensive Balance and Compactness

Create defenders capable to reading the game effectively and making the right decisions as to where to tackle or where to channel the attackers to slow them down. This stems from their balance and team structure which this session looks to develop.

Passing & Control On The Move

Have the ball on a piece of string when you attack at pace. Develop your teams passing and control whilst on the move to cut open defences with sharp, slick play.

Counter Attacking - After Transition

As soon as you’ve turn the ball over and won it back, get your players thinking about a quick counter attack.

Defending When Outnumbered

When you do get caught on the break, make sure your defenders know their roles to slow the attacks down for the support to get back.

Passing & Control - Movements of Att & Mid Players

Create space in the midfield and up top and have players play in the hole and off the shoulder ready to create an attack.

Pressing in the Defending Half

All the great teams do it, win the ball back as soon as you’ve lost it by pressing as a team in small units and as a team ready to set up another attack.

Developing Movement On & Off the Ball

Creating space is a fine art. A midfielder is only as good as they are at finding space. Produce players who are totally at ease with finding the space and taking the ball.
movements ANSWERS
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Where do I begin coaching little kids?? Do you start?

Where do I begin coaching little kids?? Do you start with skills or general conditioning??

Archived User Coach

Free-kicks from wide areas

Hi, I need some help with ideas on delivering free-kicks from full-back positions into the goal area. Do you have any tips on the movement of the forward players? Thanks James

Archived User Coach

Goalkeeping

My goal keeper can't jump very well, any ideas how to improve this ?

Archived User Coach

What is the best pre-game warm up routine for U9 boys?

What is the best warm up routine for U9 boys before a game? Thanks Coach Heath

Archived User Coach

How to encourage position discipline (U12's 9 a side)

I have a fantastic group of U12's (9 a side), who I encourage to play with the ball on the floor, quick passing football. We are a very attacking minded team, but that is our weakness - we need to remember that we do not have 8 strikers.Does anybody have any drills or tips for making sure that midfielders remember midfield?

Archived User Coach

How can I make easy but improving and fun stamina drills

How can I make easy but improving and fun stamina drills any suggestions or a guideline I should follow when creating one? Asked using Sportplan Mobile App

Alex Farragher Coach, England

How do I learn to do tricks and play like Messi?

I want to know how to go around a person cross them and shoot I want to learn the control dirribling and more but I just can't can you help me

Adamnelvin Coach, United States of America

, U13's Girls Pass and Movehow do you bring spatial awareness into play so the players are not just passing to whoever they see, at times putting the reciving player in a no win position

U13's Girls Pass and Movehow do you bring spatial awareness into play so the players are not just passing to whoever they see, at times putting the receiving player in a no-win position

Steven Good Coach, Australia

gymnast with amputated arm

Bar routine for gymnast with amputated arm

Mandi Smith Coach, United Kingdom

Team thrashed every week - whe...

Team keep getting thrashed every week - where to start? Having been the sole coach/manager of a little league team for the past two years, this year I lost all my senior players. I was therefore presented with 10 brand new lads, some of whom have never played competitive football. We are 8 games in and my lads are getting thrashed every week. The main problems are that they cannot get the ball out of their half, positions are usually a mess, finishing and chance creation are non-existent, and they don't apply any pressure or are unable to tackle. The main problems are keeping the ball as a team, getting it in the opponents half and staying there, and creating/finishing chances. I only have 1 and a half hours a week with them. I don't really know what to do, and I'm a little desperate. Does anybody have any advice? Thanks for literally anything.

Coach, England

best way to coach a ladies tea...

an amateur ladies team , we won only 2 matches then lost 5 games vs a strong teamsour fitness is bad then we make a fittness sessions but 5 players attend it out of 19 players, and the players need a lot of time with tecq skills , and the key players dont attend the training , and show up on the league match , after while i decide to " no training , no league " , furthermore i did alot of skills tec sessions, tactical, i can see some improvements , we lost before 14/0 but recently we losing 3/0 !any advice? should i bring a quality players?

ayman Coach, United Arab Emirates

Newbie, coaching U10s | Sportp...

Morning, I have just started coaching a local U10s team made up of kids (boys and girls) with varying skills and ability. We are viewed as one of the weaker teams in our region and lose much more than we win. I watched last season but wanted to help out this year. I am very new to coaching and would really appreciate some guidance on good drills to help players play with their heads up, looking for a pass, movement and positioning. They are good kids and I just want them to win a few games which will help them enjoy the game more.

Andrew Clarke Coach, Ireland

How do I stop my team bunching...

my players bunch round the ball so they have no pass options and at kick off's often go backwards rather than getting the ball forward..can you help

Archived User Coach

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