Passing

Keeping possession is the key to winning and these soccer passing drills will help your team achieve that. The best passing teams dictate the play, conserve energy, make the best of their resources and score more goals. Passing is about technique, judgement and vision.These passing drills give you some great advice on how to coach these attributes to your players. Long passing, short passing, side foot passing and crossing are all dealt with. We also have great passing games to really sharpen your players’ passing skills.

Movements to lose a defender

in Passing, Practice plans

This session is designed to improve movement off the ball in order to lose a defender and receive a pass. MORE

Fast with the pass

in Attacking, Passing

Fast passing games help teams to keep the ball when they play in matches. This unopposed game helps develop first touch, movement and accuracy. Great session to get teams passing the ball with speed. MORE

Reverse pass

in Passing, Practice plans

The reverse pass is a great attacking weapon because it uses disguise to surprise and unlock well-drilled defences. MORE

First touch warm up

in Passing, Warm Ups

Great activity to use before a game or training to warm players up with a simple passing exercise MORE

Close attacking passes

in Attacking, Passing

Often in crowded areas of the pitch teams lose the ball by trying to hold on to it or with misplaced passes. Short passing in areas like the penalty area is key to keeping the ball and creating space for the goal scorers. MORE

Long pass to switch play

in Attacking, Passing

This gets players to understand the importance of playing a long ball after keeping possession. It comes in handy in a match situation when your team is attacking and switching play from one side to the other or when hitting a long ball to the strikers to start an attack. MORE

Developing a number 10

in Email newsletters, Passing

Players who are creative are match winners... of that there is no doubt. I love to see a player dancing around with the ball slipping a pass through or taking on a challenge to whip the ball into dangerous areas of the opposition box. It's why they are so much in demand in the top teams around the world. MORE

No tackle zones

in Attacking, Passing

Young players need to have success in training or they will not know what to do in matches – this session gives them time to think about exploiting the final third MORE

Move in possession

in Passing, Tactics

Possession is key with players tactically keeping position in the midfield focal point of the pitch. Movement is key to keeping the ball and fast breaks will result. MORE

Be creative around the penalty area

in Passing, Shooting

This will help your team make killer passes into the final third, with clever play releasing players so they beat the offside trap and go 1v1 on the keeper. It is a great session for attackers to show off timing and technique. MORE

Are you coaching the right things?

in Email newsletters, Passing

This week I spoke to Alf Galustian the co-founder of Coerver Coaching about coaching the individual in a team. He makes some great points that are vital to think about when you are coaching your players. Is each individual developing to be the best they can be? It's not an easy question to answer. MORE

Freeze football

in Passing, Practice plans

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. MORE

Switch play

in Passing, Practice plans

Improve your players’ awareness of space and how to switch play to find room to attack with this simple-to-follow session. MORE

Midfielders feed attackers

in Midfield, Passing

Playing a pass from a deep lying midfielder into attacking players needs accuracy and speed but also it needs the midfielder to anticipate runs and movement MORE

Accurate long passes

in Attacking, Passing

Use this session to train your players to hit a team-mate with pinpoint accuracy. Good long passing from side to side or to an advancing player is important to the development of young players. MORE

Pass like you mean it

in Passing, Practice plans

Passing to maintain possession is one thing; passing to hurt the opposition by moving them around and breaking through defensive lines is another and requires instilling a sense of purpose in players. MORE

Possession: How do your players react?

in Email newsletters, Passing

Possession is so important it is worth spending as much time as you can on getting players reacting to having the ball and making decisions to keep it. They must be switched on and you must get them to look for supporting runs and make the runs themselves. MORE

Intelligent possession

in Email newsletters, Passing

Keeping possession of the ball is key to winning games – if you have it your opponents haven't got it. There are tactical musts that go hand in hand with a possession game. Being aware of where the ball is and where your teammates are is essential so get your players to have a picture in their head of what they’re going to do with the ball before it comes to them. MORE

Beat the block

in Attacking, Passing

Crowded penalty areas can allow attackers to disguise their shooting by shielding themselves from the keeper behind defenders. Can your attackers beat the blocking defenders and not hit their own players? MORE

Line chase

in Passing, Warm Ups

Simple to set up and simple to do, but this does need accurate passing and good player movement. Good for match days when you want a quick warm up for movement and technique MORE

Watch: position game with goals

in Ball Control and Footwork, Passing

Filipe Ragel the Under 19 head coach of Marcet Academy in Barcelona shares a video of his team working on possession, pressing and creating an product by passing into one of the goals. MORE

Flick the switch

in Passing, Practice plans

If you can improve your team’s ability to quickly switch play from one side of the pitch to the other, the attacking options are far greater. MORE

Finish your chances

in Attacking, Crossing, Passing, Shooting

Teams can get into the final third but often fail to convert chances. This focuses on finishing using combinations, passing, crossing and a variety of finishes. MORE

Third line pass

in Attacking, Passing

The third line pass is the creative pass that splits defenders and creates space for attackers to exploit. Helps players to understand the importance of creative passing but also to play easier passes when a defence splitting pass isn’t ‘on’. MORE