A simple warm-up to get your players thinking about speed – both when running without the ball and when dribbling with the ball.
Difficulty rating ☆☆★★★
This is a simple warm up that gets players to understand why speed matters when covering ground without the ball but with the ball they can only go as fast as their dribbling skills allow.
Set up
Mark out two baselines that are set 20 yards apart. We have used eight players for this warm-up. You will need balls and cones.
How to play it
Split the players into two teams and line them up on the far side of the playing area. One player from each team starts the session.
The two rival players must jump up and down and bounce around turning this way and that but stay in the area just in front of the far line. On your call the players must react and sprint to baseline of the area to see who gets past you first. The first player past scores a point.
Once all the players have had their turn, do the same warm-up again but players now have a ball and they must bounce around until your call, when they must try to dribble past you. This time the winner is based on their dribbling skills, not their speed.
Technique
In this warm-up players must be able to master ball control before they can go at full speed. This session gets young brains thinking about when to run full pelt and when to concentrate on their dribbling skills.
1. Players jump around and turn about on the spot2. On your call the players must now focus on where they are and sprint past you3. The first player past the coach scores a point for the team
4. Now the players have a ball and must bounce around ready to dribble with the ball5. Here good control and forward movement is more important than speed
Warm ups or arrival activities are the best way to get fuzzy minds focused on the game ahead. Afterall you don't want to be 3-0 down after 10 minutes before they wake up and react to the fact they are playing a game. MORE
This session sharpens an array of soccer skills at the beginning of a season when players need to get their bodies back into balance and refresh their technique on the ball. This is a great session to use for sharpening awareness and coordination. MORE
This session is set up so that as players arrive they can easily join in without you needing to stop or change the session. The arrival activity shown here is geared towards closing down the opposition in midfield. Set up You need balls, bibs and cones in an area 20×20 yards. Numbers build up as... MORE
When you are planning out your coaching sessions you need to think about how to make arrival activities work for your team. Depending on their ages the needs of the drill that kick starts the session will be different but one thing will be the same, they need to stretch bodies and be good fun. MORE
“I took a free trial and I was blown away by the drills; it made my training sessions so much easier. ”