Football/Soccer Session (Moderate): U14 Losing a defender (Start Time: 2018-10-23 20:30:00)

Ball Mastery Warmup (15 mins)

Organization:

- As much space as needed, each player with a ball.

Instructions:

- Ball mastery warmup, focusing on dribbling using different parts of the foot, changing speed, direction, and allowing the players to incorporate different skills and movements with their dribbling.

- Challenge the players with added pressure of time or # of touches

Coaching Points:

- Preparing ourselves physically and mentally for the session

- What are the different areas of the foot we would use and why?

- Head up as we are looking for open space, instead of going in a circle or a line can we change our direction and try and cover as much of the pitch as possible.

- Close control, one step in between every touch, how is our body position? Position of our foot?

- When taking bigger touches and exploding into space, what changes with our body position?

- Turning to find new space, identifying where the space is and moving into it.

3v3+4 (20 mins)

Organization:

- Space adjusted as needed

- 4 target players on the outside each with a ball, 2 teams of 3 players in the middle.

- Players partner up in the middle with someone from the opposite color and solely focus on that "partner" for the beginning stages of the activity.

- If fewer players, can have less numbers in the middle or coaches can act as targets.

- If more players, can create two grids for the same activity and modify the numbers.

Instructions:

- One team of 3 starts on offense, with the other team on defense. Each group of two only focuses on their partner.

- Players on offense try and ffind a target on the outside, receive the ball, and play it back to the same target.

- 90 seconds for each round and rotating players on the outside after every 2 rounds.

- Progress into players receiving from one target and now finding a new open target to pass to.

- Final progression, 3v3+4 possession in the space provided with one ball.

Coaching Points:

- Receiving under pressure and composure to play in two touches, not always one touch.

- Scanning shoulders to see where pressure is coming from, where to take first touch away from incoming pressure.

- Losing our marker, how to check out of a space to create more space for ourselves

- Verbal and nonverbal communication and cues to indicate when to pass, where to pass, how to pass, etc.

- As it progresses, receiving and turning under pressure.

- Body shape to receive to open up, receive to block off pressure, and play forward rather than back the same way.

- Communication in both passing and receiving, providing clear instructions for the player on the ball

- What does our shape look like in possession with regards to the target players? Are we blocking passing lines with our positioning? Are we taking our teammates out of the game with our shape? How can we make the field as big as possible and create as many passing possibilities?