Freeze football

Passing without movement isn’t going to get your team very far. This session encourages your players to make movements to receive the ball on the run in between the lines of the opposition.

What this session is about

1. Passing and receiving on the run.
2. Finding ways to split the opposition defence to create scoring opportunities.

What to think about

•  Are your players able to receive the pass on the move?
•  Can they quickly bring the ball under control while moving at pace?
• Is their first-time control technique appropriate?
•  Are the team able to keep the ball moving?

Set-up

1. 40 x 30 yard playing area
2. Two teams of four players
3. One goal, one goalkeeper (for development
   only)

Warm up	Session	Developments	Game Situation	Warm Down
10 minutes	15 minutes	15 minutes	15 minutes	5 minutes

What you get your players to do

• The coach passes a ball in to one team to keep possession.
• On the coaches call of “FREEZE” the team not in possession must stand still.
• The team with the ball must make 10 passes in between the opposition players as quickly as possible. This means they must move quickly into space, call for the ball, and control it first time before finding the next pass.
• Switch roles each time so that the teams take it in turn to have possession.

When the opposition “FREEZE” they need to make 10 swift passes through the gaps.

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Development

Now introduce a goal and goalkeeper.
Now when you call “FREEZE” the team in possession must use three quick passes and movement to create and complete a goal-scoring opportunity.

Now when they “FREEZE”, they need to make three passes to score.

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Game situation

Play a small-sided game with two goals and goalkeepers. Every now and then shout “BLUE FREEZE” or “RED FREEZE” and see if your teams can complete a three pass movement to score.

Play a small-sided game and be ready to capitalise on the call of “FREEZE”.

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What to call out

• “Always be on the move”
• “Keep the ball moving”
• “Use your imagination”