Football/Soccer Session (Moderate): 1st Touch and Passing

Ignition Activity

Coerver 1st Touch:

Set up:

20x20 yard diamond grid with one cone in the middle. Players evenly spread out at each cone with one ball in front of each line. Players in lines opposite each other wear the same colored bib.

Instructions

Activity begins with pass and follow to teammate across the grid and follow. Alternate teams passing and following. Can progress to adding 3rd ball around the back.

p1 - Add cone defender in the center of the area. Player runs in front of the cone defender, receives and turns with the ball passing back to the line they originated. Teams alternate.

Coaching Points:

Quality of pass, major emphasis on a live first touch.

Stage 3

7v7 Quick Break

Set up:

50x40-yard area with a 20x20-yard box in the center of the pitch. We've used 14 players, playing 7 v 7 including keepers. You need bibs, balls, cones and two normal goals.

Instructions

The game starts with a 3 v 3 in the center box. There are also two defenders and an attacker at each end. The teams in the center box try to string three passes together. If successful, the ball is then played to the attacker, releasing the team's players from the center box. The three players of the defending team remain locked in, giving a 4 v 2 overload to the attackers who have 10 seconds to score - if they don't score or if they run out of time, play restarts with all players back in position and the ball with the opposition.

Coaching Points:

Quality of 1st touch, pass and run. All away from pressure. Look to combine. Look for good possession from the pass into the strikers. Pace and precision are important and the attackers must use width to pull the defense apart and make use of the overload.