Football/Soccer Session (Beginner): Combination Play

Technical 1

Technical Phase 1

A plays to B, continues run, receives 1-2, and plays out to C. B now moves to A position and A moves to B position.

Coaching Points

- Communicate your intent. It's obvious that we want a 1-2 in the drill but won't always be obvious in games, build the habit of making your intent clear to teammates.

- Pace and accuracy of the pass. In game situations combinations are made necessary by pressure, so pass must be in to feet at pace to create a good angle (if the receiving player has to step towards ball the angle of the 1-2 becomes wider and more difficult to execute).

- Timing of run. Must be immediate, combinations must imbalance defenders so all moving parts must do so efficiently. Emphasize the next step after the pass being the one that initiates the run but be careful that players don't try to start the run and play the pass at the same time.

See next diagram for phase 2 progression.

Conditioned Game (40 mins)

Conditioned Game

Try and make this the bulk of the session and step in at every possible teachable moment to illustrate in a game situation where opportunities for combinations exist.

Conditions

- Every player on the team must touch the ball in all 3 sections of the field before team can score.

- Team can only move from one section to the next with a pass, no dribbling across. This will encourage forward runs and deliberate attempts to find advanced space.