Football/Soccer Session (Academy Sessions): 7th May - U14s FAW Girls Academy

Sequence 1

Organisation

• Position a full-size goal at the end of the exercise area furthest from the halfway line. Place a goalkeeper in the full-size goal.

• Mark out a 30m x 20m playing area that runs towards the halfway line.

• Place 2 mini-goals a short distance apart and facing the full-size goal along the line that marks the end of the playing area closest to the halfway line.

• Place a cone several metres behind and at the midpoint of the line that marks the end of the playing area closest to the halfway line, i.e. the cone sits between the 2 mini-goals. This is the recovering defenders’ station.

• Split the group into 2 teams of 7.

• Position three blue players on each side of the full-sized goal, and the remaining blue player at the recovering defenders’ station.

• Place 2 orange players at each corner cone of the 30m x 20m playing area closest to the halfway line and position 2 other orange players at the attackers’ station that between the mini-goals.

• Place the remaining orange player inside the penalty arc.

Explanation

The exercise comprises 3 sequences: 1v1 (2 circuits), a 2v2 and a 3v3.

First sequence

• The coach plays a pass into the orange player positioned inside the penalty arc.

• The first defender enters the exercise area to set up a 1v1 scenario, sprinting towards the orange player to close them down.

• The orange player has 3 touches to shoot on goal.

• Once the orange player has taken a shot, the first circuit is over, and the first orange player positioned at the corner cone of the playing area plays a pass into them. The orange player is asked to take on the defender that they just faced in another 1v1 scenario. In this scenario, there is no limit on the number of touches that the orange player has to finish on goal.

Second sequence

• The defender on the opposite side of the full-size goal to the coach plays a straight pass to the first orange player at the corner of the playing area.

• Both the blue defender who passed the ball and the orange player who received it join their team-mates who performed the first sequence inside the playing area to set up a 2v2 scenario, with the receiving orange player dribbling the ball into the playing area.

Third sequence

• The first orange player located between the mini-goals plays a pass to a team-mate positioned at the corner cone of the playing area.

• The receiving orange player advances a few metres from their station to receive their team-mate’s pass inside the playing area.

• As the orange player receives the ball, the first blue player positioned at the recovering defenders’ station joins the players who performed the second sequence inside the playing area to set up a 3v3 scenario.

• Attackers should look to direct their first touch into space and away from the opposition pressure, keeping the ball within striking distance to quickly set themselves up a shot.
• Intelligent off-the-ball movement from players out-of-possession can help drag defenders away from certain areas and create space for the ball carrier to exploit.
  
• 
  (3/4) Attackers, off-the-ball, should make use of parallel runs to attack th
• Attackers can also look to perform wall passes to attack the space in behind and create shooting opportunities.
  

Sequence 3