Football/Soccer Session (Beginner): Passing through gates

Description

Passing through gates is a simple game that allows players to grow in confidence passing the ball with accuracy under little pressure. At a young age, passing and sharing is a concept children haven't developed fully and shouldn't be forced in a scrimmage as individual technical ability, ability to express themselves, ball control and dribbling are arguably more important. Passing is an integral part of the game, especially as they get older and in higher-level competition. Fun passing games will help younger players gain understanding and develop a technical ability for when they have developed those concepts more.

Equipment and Setup

• Cone gates 2 yards apart
• Pairs with a ball between them

Directions

Start with the players 5 yards apart (2.5 yards either side of a cone) and get the players kicking the ball to each other to help them gain confidence and develop their passing ability. Encourage them to use the inside of the foot as it is the largest area of the foot to get accuracy. As they are in lines, it's slightly easier to go along and coach them this technique. Start them by just passing but after 5 minutes, introduce a rule they have to try and get 10 passes between the cones without missing the gates. If they do, ask them to take a step back and try again or to make the gate smaller

Coaching points

• Stay balanced and keep your eye on the ball when receiving.
• Cushion the ball - have a soft touch, like a cushion, not hard (like a brick wall) so it bounces away!
• When passing, a nice firm pass - not too hard so your teammate can't control it, not too soft so it doesn't reach them and an opponent could steal it

Changing the difficulty

• Move back one step for 20 successful consecutive passes - at a higher level players can compete with adjacent teams to be the first to get back to a line or cone
• Weak foot passing
• Make the gate smaller
• one/two touches only per player
• If the players are confident, can they alternate feet receiving and passing