Football/Soccer Session (Academy Sessions): Croydon City U10- U12 Academy I ATTACKING I PROGRESSION I Receiving in tight spaces (Start Time: 2025-04-11 17:45:00)

1. Reaction Warm Up

Practice Explanation:

- Players have balls in hand

- They must bounce their ball on command and catch another ball

- If any ball bounces twice players must sprint a lap of centre circle

4. Receiving in the box

Practice Objective:- Improve ability to receive and exit pressure

- Improve decision making on the ball to find space, and how to receive 

Practice Explanation:- 

10x10 inside 30x30- 3v2 in central box, other players free movement around the box

- Attackers to receive and exit the box on their first touch or bounce out to someone laterally

- If attacker exit laterally 1 point, if they exit at the opposite end 2 points

-- Progression: Can only bounce out laterally or first touch opposite end

- After passing into the box, move in to receive

- Defenders are live attempting to disrupt possession

-- If successful at winning or disrupting, change defender 

Coaching Points:- Receiving Quality (surface, direction of touch, body shape, scanning, weight of touch)

- Passing Quality (Ball speed, accuracy, surface)

- Receiving in relation to the defender: Beyond, Beside, Beneath 3*(3'/1')=15

2. Shooting Drill

Practice Objective: Repetition to disguise touch to create space in tight areas to finish.

• Setup on the outside of the area with three mannequins/Poles or cones positioned in a triangle on the outside of the box.
• Coach or resting player passes the ball into the attacker, who then looks to receive with a disguised movement & first touch before beating the nearest mannequin to the goal and then finishing.
• Work both sides.
• Sets of 3-5 reps per players
• Focus on quality of movement.

Coaching Points:

Movement: Use movements to create space away from the defender. The movement can be made prior to receive the ball by stepping towards one direction and then moving in another to disguise.

Receiving: When receiving use disguise to play one way and then receive and go the other to help you to create space to finish. As the players receives pretending to pass back and going another way is one way you can do this. The attacker look to shift the ball out of their feet once they receive to help them to create an angle to get a shot at goal.

Finishing: The attacker will need to show good composure and quality on the finish. They could use a side foot finish with disguise for more accuracy or a driven strike with the laces across the goal with power. Hips and body position to disguise the shot.

Progression:

• Passing Combination around mannequins furthest from the goal
• Add a Defender.