Football/Soccer Session (Academy Sessions): Tenby Reds Control & Pass Session 18.03.25 (Start Time: 2025-03-19 17:30:00)

Warmup: Ball mastery (10 mins)

Organisation:

• 20x20 grid
• 10 players each with a ball
• 10 cones randomly dotted about the grid.  Include 2 gates (purple cones) which will be useful for later
• Yellow cones spaced 5 yards apart mark out the edge of each grid but will also be used in the next session 
• Coach on the edge of the grid with a Red, Yellow and Green cone in their hand
• After session pick up all red cones, leave the purple and yellows as you'll need them next

Instructions:

• Players dribble about the grid, encouraged to get their head up avoiding the cones and each other
• When the players have become accustomed to that, the coach then can move around the area with the 3 coloured cones in their hand.  If the coach holds up the green cone, the players continue to dribble as they have been. If the coach holds up the yellow cone the players have to perform a ball mastery exercise of their choice e.g. toe taps, sole drags.  If the coach holds up the red cone, they have to freeze with their foot on the ball.

Coaching Points/Questions:

• Keep head up and eyes scanning
• Use all surfaces of your foot according to the situation you're in
• Use both feet to keep balanced and avoid obstacles

Regressions/Progressions:

• Regression: Coach can also say the colour of the cone they are holding up.  Increase grid size.
• Progressions: Change one player to be a live defender.  Be more instructive on the ball mastery skill players do when the yellow cone is held up

Technical: Receiving Progression (10 mins)

Technical, passing & receiving progression

Organisation

2x 20 x 10 yard grids

2 x Groups of 4 or 5

Use 4 yellow cones from one edge from the Ball mastery session spaced 5 yards apart.  Have 2 passers on one side of the grid and 2 other passers on the corners of the opposite side.  1 red (receiver) now in the middle of the grid.  Only 2 balls this time.

Instructions

Receiver leaves red cone (now in the middle of grid) to receive a pass from first passer, controls ball and passes back to a DIFFERENT player without a ball. They then return to the red cone and repeat the process from other passer with the ball (each time it changes the angle they receive the ball at and encourages them to take the ball on the back foot and half turn). They do this again for the remaining 2 then swap passer/receiver. Each player does the receiving 4 times, each time focussing on controlling the ball with a different part of their foot.  

- Inside right foot only

- Inside left foot only

- Laces right foot only

- Laces left foot only

Coaching points

Keep on toes

Eyes on ball

Get in line with ball on half turn

Consider where they want to play their next pass and angle their body towards the target

Decide and present surface of back foot towards ball to cushion it (think like a pillow)

Relax on impact

Progressions

Further distances between the players

Use different parts of the boys to receive ball (Thigh,Chest)

Regressions

Closer distances

SSG: Switching play (20 mins)

Organisation

40x44 pitch with 2x 5 yard end zones 

So all you should need to do is pick up the cones in the central square which will leave you with the outlines of the pitch and the 5 yard zones (feel free to add a few cones to the corners to round off the pitch)

Balls dotted at either end to encourage speed of play

Instructions

8v8 SSG with 6 v 6 in the middle zone and 1 player from each team in opposite end zones who can't be .

Players attempt to control the ball before making a decision to pass, dribble, or run with the ball.  No 1 touch passes (must control the ball) 

To score points, the ball must go from one end zone to the other. 

Players in the end zone must control the ball for a goal to count.

Passes can't be played from end zone to end zone.  Ideally 3 passes are made in the middle.

When a ball goes out of play, the game is restarted from an end zone.

Challenges, Conditions or Targets:

Points are scored when the ball is well controlled in the end zone.  The number of points scored depends on how many passes there have been in the middle phase (so a 3 pass move is 3 points, a 6 pass move is 6 points)

Bonus 10 points if all 6 players in the middle zone control the ball before playing into a target in the end zone.

Coaching Points

Focus on control

Basic...

Eyes on ball

Get in line with ball

Consider where they want to play their next pass and angle their body towards the target

Decide and present surface towards ball to cushion it (think like a pillow)

Relax on impact

Advanced

Tempo of getting their first touch out of feet

Working on deception with hips

Drop shoulder and go the other way

First touch forward and move with speed.