Receiving
Aerial Control Practice
Control a bouncing or lofted ball cleanly
Receiving
First Touch
Aerial Control Practice is a 12-minute receiving drill for 4-16 players, suitable for Under 5 to Adults at beginner, intermediate, advanced level. You need balls, cones. Below you will find the objective, the set-up, how to run it, coaching points, common mistakes, progressions, regressions and variations.
Back to drill libraryReceiving
First Touch
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Technical Practice
Beginner
Intermediate
Advanced
Full Squad
Minimal Equipment
Foundation Phase
Youth Friendly
Adult Suitable
Duration
12 min
Players
4-16
Pitch size
15 x 10 yards
Ability levels
Beginner / Intermediate / Advanced
Pitch diagram
Aerial Control Practice — Pairs facing each other · 15 x 10 yards
Step 1 of 4Server throws or lofts the ball for the receiver to control.
- 1. Server throws or lofts the ball for the receiver to control.
- 2. Rotate through thigh, chest and instep control.
- 3. Ten reps each surface, then swap roles.
- 4. Rotation: Rotate through thigh, chest and instep control.
- Ball
- Pairs working across a marked lane
- C = coach / server
- Dotted arrow = rotation between repetitions
- Solid arrow = pass, thick = shot, dashed = run / dribble
Objectives
- -Control a bouncing or lofted ball cleanly
- -Cushion with thigh, chest and instep
- -Bring the ball under control in one or two touches
Setup
- 1Players in pairs 8 yards apart.
- 2One ball per pair.
- 3Cones mark a small control zone for each receiver.
Coaching instructions
- 1Server throws or lofts the ball for the receiver to control.
- 2Rotate through thigh, chest and instep control.
- 3Ten reps each surface, then swap roles.
Coaching points
- -Get in line with the flight early
- -Relax the controlling surface on contact
- -Cushion the ball into space, not straight down
- -Second touch sets the pass
Common mistakes
- -Rigid surface making the ball bounce away
- -Waiting for the ball instead of moving to it
- -No plan for the second touch