FineSoccer Drill 45

The drills shown here are designed to work on both playing and receiving long chips and driven balls which are integral parts of the game at the higher level.

First start with 3 players in two lines 30-40 yards apart (distance will depend on the abilities of the players).  Player A chips the ball to player B and then runs right at Player B.  Player B receives the ball and one touches the ball back to Player A who one touches the ball softly to the side for Player B to then chip the ball to Player C and then Player B sprints toward Player C and Player C one touches the ball to Player B who lays it off for Player C's chip back to Player A (see diagram below).  This is working on chipping, receiving, laying balls off and following your pass (how many times do you see a player clear a ball from the back and then stand or slowly jog up the field when the truth is they should be sprinting up to support their pass (Click here for more on that subject!).  This simple short, short long passing drill can help to develop a lot of really good habits.

The next drill requires 4 players in two lines 40 yards apart or so.  Player A drives the ball to Player B.  Player B one touches the ball to Player C who is slightly in front of her.  Player C one touches the ball to the side for Player B to drive the ball to Player D who is slightly behind Player A.  Player D one touches the ball to Player A who one touches the ball to the side for Player D to run onto and drive the ball to Player C.  This rotation continues.  (See diagram below).  One of the keys here is that while at first this might seem like a very static drill, in order for it to work properly, the players will be constantly moving and communicating as the player who wants to receive the ball must get somewhat behind the other player.  There also must be communication between the two players regarding which side to lay the ball off to and where the players should be positioned.  Done properly, this is a very quick moving and difficult drill.

Some variations you can add to the above drill is to put a goalkeeper in the middle.  Each of the chips or driven balls must be done over or around the keeper which just adds another variable to the mix.  Also, you can add some conditioning to the mix by saying that once the ball is played away from your side, both players have to do 5 push ups or any type of conditioning exercise which will force them to move quickly and think a bit more.

Give these two drills a try and let me know what you think of them on the FineSoccer Forum.

Have a great day.

Lawrence