TRAINING DRILLS
Possession drills to develop ball circulation, movement and the ability to retain the ball against opposition.
29 drills for your training sessions
Standard library
In a 10x12 rectangle, 1vs1 duels are played with the aim of keeping possession of the mobile. The defender chases the attacker (still without the ball). The attacker receives the ball and at that moment the defender fights for possession. The game ends when the ball leaves the rectangle or is stolen by the defender. The task is self-regulating so that another pair waits outside the square.
Create a square field and smaller grid (no-touch zone) in two width space and inside the space two balls placed on markers at opposite ends of the field. Yellow Team (Defenders): Starts with the ball on their side of the field. Red Team (Attackers): Positioned on the opposite side of the field. Place one ball on a marker at each end of the square grid, within the small grid. A Yellow defender starts by passing the ball to a Red attacker on the opposite side of the grid. The Red attacker receives the pass and dribbles quickly toward either ball placed on the markers and knock it off without stepping into the small grid around the ball. If the defender successfully clears the ball, the attacker must retrieve it and return to the side where they start. If the attacker knocks the ball, the defender will take the ball and place it on the marker and joins to their starting point without ball and attacker will takes the ball which he use to knock it off and goes back to the starting place. After all players have had a chance, Red becomes the defenders, and Yellow becomes the attackers. Key coaching points Attacking: Receiving, Scan, Dribbling, turns, shielding, speed,accelerate,accuracy. Defending skills: Block,Cover,tackle types,accelerate.
In a 10x12 rectangle, 1vs1 duels are played with the aim of keeping possession of the mobile. The possessor starts the game from the centre of the space. The defender attacks him from one of the corners. The game ends when the ball leaves the rectangle or is stolen by the defender. The task is self-regulating so that another pair waits outside the square.
2v2+1 wild card. At the signal, the participants go out onto the playing square. Objective: Receive a through ball from the wild card into the designated area and finish. Rules for provocation: 7 passes are worth 1 point (this forces the defending team to release their marker, also press the wild card and leave space behind them for the pass to be made after breaking free). Variation: Finish in small goals (ideal for teams that are not able to frequently secure finishing actions, thus preventing the goalkeeper from not intervening).
Mark out a rectangular pitch and divide it into three vertical zones. Place one defender in each zone, and have two attackers start from one end of the pitch. The attackers must combine and progress through each zone by beating the single defender in that area, using dribbles, passes, or movement. After successfully advancing through all three zones, the attackers finish by scoring in either of two target posts at the end of the pitch. If the defenders manage to win the ball in any zone, they quickly combine and attempt to score in the attackers’ single target post on the opposite side. This drill promotes 1v2 defensive resilience, attacking creativity, quick transition play, and counterattacking efficiency.
This drill start with the rondo and ends by cross finish. The rondo had 4v2 and after 5 consequtive passes the 3 attackers moves to the D-box and 1 attacker dribbles the ball to the corner side of the field by coaches instructionn either left or right cross. the player dribble and cross the ball where 2 defenders actively ready to clear the ball. once the cross came the attackers meet the ball and finish it by scoring. after score they come to the rondo area and coach against start it. Key coaching point Ball possesion Crossing Finishing Scan communication Decision making
The drill is divided into two zones, each containing 4 attackers and 2 defenders. In Zone 1, attackers try to complete 10 consecutive passes under defensive pressure. Once successful, they must switch the ball to Zone 2, where the other group of 4 attackers continues the same task with their own 2 defenders pressing. If the defenders in either zone win possession, they immediately transition and attempt to score in one of two small goals placed on the outside of the zones. This creates a high-intensity environment for both maintaining possession and reacting to transitions. kcp The drill sharpens passing accuracy, spacing, defensive anticipation, and fast recovery during turnovers.
The possessing team must maintain possession of the ball until all members of the team manage to contact the ball and must make a pass to the opposite square. The team positioned in the center of the field can avoid this by pressing with 2 players inside the square or intercepting the pass with 2 other players in the delimited area.
Conservation 6c6 +1, playing 7c3. The team that starts as possession of the ball must accumulate six passes to be able to score a goal in any mini-goal or reach up to 12 passes to score a point (Two ways). The team that starts as a defender must recover the ball and try to get it to the outside supports as quickly as possible (we can make it count). Depending on the level of players and in the face of so much superiority, we can make contact with the outside supports or increase/decrease the number of passes.
This drill is building from back with 5+1 versus 4defense. Keeper starts and coach will supply ball incase the ball goes out There will be 2 grids where 2 points if attackers reached. After 5 touches to maintain possession then 6th touch the pass must in in the 2 grids and one player should reach the ball before it goes out of the grid. If the opponent gets the ball they should shoot with in 5 seconds. Key coaching point Passing, speed, acceleration,team work, decision making, communication, through ball.
21 players are split into 3 teams of seven. Exercise takes place inside a 45x20 yard area with a yard median line area . One team starts as the defensive team.. Two possession teams are organized with a back four around the perimeter, and three center midfielders on the inside. Objective of the game is for the inside players to combine with the back four and complete 5 passes before transferring the ball across. Four pressing players can go at each time. If the ball is transferred across, the pressing team must re-organize their numbers to get four players to press immediately. If the defensive team win possession, they can score in any of the mini-goals.
ECB: Positional conservation with superiority of 1 wild card x1 point is added if all 4 squares are conquered. CONSERVATION -PTP ESB: when there is a robbery, if you manage to play in a different square than the one in which the robbery occurred, x1 point is added and it gives you the possibility of finishing in mini goals. PRESSING-TDA
In a delimited space, two teams of 8 players compete to maintain possession of the ball, with the help of 4 wild cards (neutral players) who always support the team in possession. This creates a situation of numerical superiority for the team with the ball, encouraging quick ball circulation and intelligent decision making. Objectives: Improve ball possession: Players must work on maintaining possession with precise passes and constant movement. Develop spatial and positional intelligence: Promote understanding of how to position yourself to receive the ball in optimal conditions and how to move to create passing options. Encourage communication: Players must communicate constantly to indicate passing options, movements without the ball and changes in game strategy. Increase resilience under pressure: Improve players' ability to stay calm and make good decisions even when they are being pressured by the opposing team.
10 Passes vs ADT (Advance Decision Making) Two teams compete with the goal of completing a series of 10 consecutive passes. The team in possession seeks to reach the goal while the opposing team tries to recover the ball as quickly as possible. The drill focuses on the players' ability to anticipate actions, make decisions under pressure and communicate effectively to maintain possession. Objectives: Encourage early decision making: Players must read the game and anticipate the opposing team's movements to maintain possession and complete the series of passes. Improve ball possession: Develop the ability to make precise and controlled passes under pressure. Develop communication and understanding between players: Encourage teamwork and communication to create space and passing opportunities. Increase ability to work under pressure: Teach players to remain calm and focused even when they are being intensely pressured.
4c4+2 conservation where the goal is to finish in mini-goals once one of the doors has been conquered by passing or driving. If there is a theft, I keep possession.
1. Create a rectangular playing area about 20 x 10 meters, and add two smaller rectangles, each around 1-2 meters wide, to represent defending lines inside the larger square. Pair up the players into twos, leaving one player unpaired in the middle of the square. Position two pairs as defenders inside the small rectangles and distribute the remaining pairs on each side of the square. Adjust distances between cones based on the age and skill level of the players 2. The starting pair passes the ball to each other as they navigate to the opposite end of the square, aiming to pass through the two defending lines with the assistance of the free player in the middle. If successful, they pass the ball to the next pair, who repeats the process. Emphasize that players cannot dribble through the defending zone; they must pass through it. However, if the defenders intercept the ball or force it out of play, they switch positions with the pair who made the mistake, and a new round begins. Defenders must stay compact and communicate to effectively close passing lanes. Rotate the free player in the middle every 3 minutes, adjusting based on the age and skill level of the players. 3. Communication between the players, both for the possession and defending players. Encourage players to stay on their toes, maintaining a state of readiness to receive the ball. The drill should be seen as inspiration. So feel free to adapt the drill to suit your team’s specific needs or focus areas..
The drill is performed in 30*40 m area divided in the middle, 2 teams of 7 players and 2 neutral participate. In the half of the field, the blue team starts possession of the ball 4v3, while the red team immediately presses.The goal of the blue team is to pass to a neutral payer. Then a 4v3 numerical advantage attack is carried out. If the red get the ball in the first half they can score. Once a team is done after few minutes another teamcan start. Key coaching points speed of passing unmarking Neutral movement and offering to pass. Quick finishing Changin roles of the teams at the end of the phase.
Conservation with 3vs3 inside, each team has three supports on the outside and 1 static wildcard inside + 1 mobile wildcard that can move freely. Objective: ball conservation, repetition of control-pass.
It is played 4c4+4+PT, in which we delimit a central subspace within the playing space. The team in possession of the ball activates the goals after conquering the central zone. The team in the defensive phase, if it steals the ball, can finish in any of the 4 goals.
Two teams of four players Each team has one player on the pitch and three players on the outside To start, the coach passes a ball into the pitch. the two players compete for possession the player who wins the ball attempts to pass out to a team mate if successful, the team mate enters the pitch and makes a 2v1 the winning team is the one that has all four players on the pitch and completes 6 consecutive passes
Possession of 3v3+3. 10 passes = 1 goal. Contact within the same possession with the two outside wild cards = 1 goal. A pass from outside wild card to outside wild card is not valid. The team that loses the ball goes on to steal and the team that steals takes its place.
3 teams play one possession where 1 team is placed as a wild card, with two outside players and one inside player, and the other two teams fight for possession with the premise that there can never be two offensive players from the same team in the same square. The team that loses the ball changes roles with the team that recovers it.
20*10 yd with 2 post on one ends of two sides and another side two cones where red and yellow team stands and center to that coach stands with the ball to start. Coach pass the ball to the team an adavance pass and the red player run for the ball parallely the yellow runs to defend .The red will finish it near the goal area and should not go inside the goal area. Once the red finished then sudden transition happens to defender where the coach gives the advance pass to yellow player and now yellow gets the ball to finish . If the defender gets the ball then he can finish it. but the cycle should not change a players who comes as attacker and defender no matter if the defender clears or recovers or finish it. The next cycle will the attacker will change as defender and defender will goes to starting place. Players should sprint around to the starting place after getting the ball Key coaching points Speed,Acceleration,decision making,scan,shielding, transition to defends ,defends to attack, accuracy, First touch
Two teams plus a wild card compete for possession in which both teams have two players inside the square and two players outside, positioned on alternate sides as in the graphic. 10 passes = 1 goal Outside players only intervene in the offensive phase.
Positional possession with two zones to gain confidence and be able to touch the ball according to position, focus on profiles and controls with the far leg. Every 5 passes I can change zones, there can only be 2 people putting pressure. After important theft the PTP. If blue recovers he can score a mini goal.
Possession 4vs4 + 4. After loss, role changes, focus on rapid change of mentality in defense - attack and attack - defense transition.
Within a square, the players who have the ball must escape from the players who do not have the ball, who must try to steal one. RULES: It is not allowed to steal the ball from the player who just stole it from you. If you leave the field of play while escaping from a player, then you are caught and must go and steal a ball from another teammate.
There are 7 players in the drill and 2 half sections are there 2 goal post in one side and in center there must be 2 poles where 2 players will be there and another side there will be one poles in center and 2 section has 2 pairs of cone and each pair has one player they are the 3rd man. The player near the goal post starts the drill to the staright man to the otherside and the player should give a pass to the 2nd man who is near the central pole . when the ball passes to the 2nd player the 3rd man between the cone should start run and ask for the ball . The 2nd man should give an advance ball and join to the 1st man place. the 1st man will join the 3rd man place between the cones. The 3rd man will finish it by shooting or placing to the target and run to the starting area. When one side of the 3rd man start shooting to the post the another starter player should start by passing to the 1st man. now the 1st man will pass the ball to another section of the central part. and the cycle repeats. This drill must focus on one touch pass,quality,weight,scan, commmunication, quick change of run. Position and accelerate.
Each player tries to keep his or her ball under control while trying to knock the rest of his teammates' ball out of the field of play. RULES: You cannot throw a teammate's ball out if you do not have your own ball under control.
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