U11 - U14
Overlaps
Area – 30 x 20. Player A starts the exercise.
1.Player A passes to player B. Player B passes the ball wide to Player C.
2.Player A overlaps Player C who passes Player A the ball.
3.Player A passes to middle Player D. Player D starts the exercise coming the opposite way and so on.
Variations:
•Same as above but player C passes back to B who then passes to Player A.
•After passing to player B, Player A overlaps player B. Player B passes to Player C and Player C passes the ball to Player A.
•Player A passes wide to either B or C. They then pass the ball back to player A who starts moving forward with the ball. Player B & C overlap central player A. Player A decides who to pass the ball to.
Coaching points:
Timing, weight of pass. Movement and communication
Functional phase - Area: Third of a field. Six cones are placed on the field to imitate 2 center midfielders, 2 wide players and 2 forwards.
1.Player A passes to player B who has checked to the ball.
2.Player B controls the ball. The two forwards switch places. Player B passes to Player C who passes one touch to Player A.
3.Player A switches the point of attack to Player D. Player E makes an overlapping run and receives the ball from Player D.
4.Player E crosses the ball for the 2 forwards, wide player B and Player A will be on the edge of the penalty area.
5.Work both sides.
6.You could add a defender who becomes active when the ball gets played wide.
Coaching points:
Make it look realistic – control and move the ball quickly Body shape when controlling the ball.
Crosses
Area – Half a field. Place three small goals at the end lines for teams to attack. Each team has a player (sweeper) staying behind the three goals.
1.Normal rules apply.
2.To score the ball has to be passed through one of the three goals.
3.The ‘sweeper’ behind the goal moves along the end line to stop a goal being scored. This encourages the players to move the ball quickly.
Coaching points:
Quick ball movement
Movement off the ball and communication Quality passing – to feet or into space.