Football/Soccer Session (Beginner): Ball Mastery

Warm Up - Individual Ball Mastery (10 mins)

Players dribble around, practicing various skills and tricks

Progression

• Players have a bib and dribble around practicing skills whilst throwing catching the bib
• Players have to dribble and swap bibs
• Players dribble and play "tails" where players have bibs and have to pinch other players "Tails" - can they use their skills to get away from other players. 

Technical Turns (Unopposed) (10 mins)

Organization:

- 4 cones in the middle of the area, 4 groups

- Each player has a ball

Instructions:

- On Coaches command, players dribble out to the cone, perform turn and return to their starting point.

- When they reach starting point the next person in line goes.

- Perform inside cut turn

- Perform outside cut turn.

Progression 

Player gets to marker and plays the pass to the waiting player

Coaching Points:

• Close Control
• Head Up (check over shoulder to assess space and pressure)
• Accelerate after the turn
• Lower your body to give a better platform to accelerate
• Distance of touch (helps next action)
• Protecting the ball while dribbling

Progressions:

1. Make into a race with lots of inside & outside cuts

2. Make into race allowing players to leverage turn of choice (Inside or Outside cut, Stepover, Pullback)

• Perform the correct technique for the Outside or Inside Cut turn:
• Attacking the space forward on the field (looking to penetrate)
• Identification of the space and whether to use little kicks or big kicks (messi and ronaldo kicks)
• Decision whether to keep going forward or turn based on pressure and space
• Use of body, arms etc to fake
• Direction of touch (based on next action)
• Protecting the ball while dribbling