
Staying on the ball – Practice
Allow your players to develop confidence and technique in this three-part session. By HANNAH DUNCAN MORE
BALL CONTROL 4
Dribble 3 yards, stop and pass 3 yards
“Touch the ball to move forward” • “Stop the ball in the square with the sole of your foot” • “Pass to a team mate”
Place two single cones 7 yards apart and mark out a 1 x 1 yard cone square in between them. Stand two players by each end cone and give one player a ball.
When you say “go”, the first player dribbles to the square and stops the ball.
When the ball is motionless, the player passes to the opposite end cone and then runs to that cone.
The first player on the cone stops the ball and then repeats the dribble-stop-pass sequence in the opposite direction.
Make sure the players are using the correct techniques when they are dribbling, stopping and passing the ball and try to get them to speed up once they have done it a few times.
Keep your eye on the stopping ball part of the activity as this will cause most problems for the players.
Players work in fours in the activity so they can stop and watch their team mates and learn from them.