Football/Soccer Session (Moderate): Blind Second Player Runs

Setup

Setup as shown. If numbers are too high, see next slide. 

Positions should be described as:

A = 8/6

B = 9

C = 10

D = Winger (Can be a full back if you're working on overlapping)

The 6 plays to the 9, who plays to the 10, who plays a blind pass (A pass over their shoulder played in behind them) into the box. Meanwhile, the winger should start their run as soon as the ball leaves the foot of the 6. The winger is starting deep, with two mannequins taking the place of defenders. The winger is running around the second mannequin which should be roughly in line with the 9. The winger is aiming to break the offside trap and run onto the blind through ball and be in on goal. Finishes with the winger taking a shot. 

Players move down the line once they've played their part (I.e. 6 becomes the 9, 9 becomes the 10, 10 becomes the winger, winger becomes the 6). Rotation could also be done on coaches call if you want to focus on getting things right to start with, which might be recommended for the first time the session is run. 

Progression 1

Now we challenge the 10 and the 9 to be aware of the run that the winger is making. The coach will tell the winger (Quietly) to either "Go" or "Don't go" (Other words can be used). If the coach says "Go", everyone does the same as we've been doing, if the coach says "Don't go", the winger instead presents short, the 10 plays her the ball, and she instead plays the 9 in behind for the 9 to run on and shoot across the face.

For this to be effective, the 10 has to be aware of the run that the winger is making, so she has to look over her shoulder. It should be easy to see at a glance the run that the winger is making, one will be a far run around the defender, the other will be the winger presenting short. The 9 also must be aware, for she has to run in behind to get on the end of the pass. The pass from the winger should be first time. 

To make this a bit more challenging, cones can be placed down for the winger to have to pass between, representing defenders. 

Progression 2b

An added step for players if they are doing well. The winger can now call (Rather than being told by the coach), and we bring in another step.

2b = In this screen, the winger has chosen to play short, she plays in the striker as before, but this time the 10 follows in, and gives the 9 the option to lay off or to shoot herself. This will be mostly reliant on the quality of pass from the winger, if she's taken too far from goal, the pass (Or cut back as it might become) could become the better option.