Football/Soccer Session (Academy Sessions): 2023 National Grassroots Coaching Conference- Utilising Width (Ball Speed)- Cardiff Met

Technical (12 mins)

Organisation

- 8 blues working in the middle with 8 yellows on the outside acting as 'feeders'. 

- Yellows are required to play the ball into a blue who must control the ball, move through the central square and find a spare player on the outside to pass to before receiving the ball again from a different angle and repeating. 

- To begin, players are free to take as many touches through the box as they want/need. Players rotate in and out from the outside every block.

Adaptations (Progressions & Regressions):

Progression (1)- Players are challenged to take first touch through the box and play the pass out on their second touch

(2) - For the final block, players then pair up with another player in the middle and look to combine with their partner once receiving the ball from the outside  

Challenges

Condition- Try to play on 2 touch maximum where possible- Focus on ball speed- How can we encourage quicker ball speed? (Limit the number of touches we take) 

Challenge- How many successful switches of play can players make in 1 minute? 

- How many successful combinations can players make in their pair in 1 minute 

Mechanics/Key detail 

- Open body out to receive pass so you can switch play

- Receive ball on back foot where possible to allow us to create space 

- Create space and stretch the pitch by playing away from the ball (create width/depth) 

SSG (12 mins)

Organisation

40x30

8v8 directional game- Again, the pitch split into two half's that involves 4v4 in both where players can't move from their half i.e. teams have to transfer the ball from half to the other before scoring in the goal

Scoring system- If a team is able to transfer the ball from one end to the other by playing it through the grid then they gain a point

Adaptations (Progressions & Regressions):

Progression (1)- Encourage players to play on 2 touch where possible

(2)- Take half way line out and players can move anywhere in the grid

Challenges, Conditions or Targets:

Targets- The goals at each end of the practice are the targets for players to score in. Blues will score in pair of goals and yellows in the other 

Conditions- 2 touch where possible