Ball Mastery
Continuous Figure Eight Mastery
Develop close control through continuous direction change
Develop close control through continuous direction change. Set up the area, follow the steps and use the coaching points below.
Back to drill libraryAge
Under 5 to Adults
Duration
12 min
Players
2-16
Area / pitch size
18 x 12 yards
Difficulty
Beginner / Intermediate / Advanced
Equipment
Balls, Cones, Poles
Coaching focus
Develop close control through continuous direction change
Objective
- -Develop close control through continuous direction change
- -Link ball manipulation to a change of pace
- -Repeat quality touches with both feet
Setup
- 1Two poles eight yards apart with a figure-eight route marked around them in a 18 x 12 yards area.
- 2Load a ball at each starting station so the next rep can begin immediately.
- 3A ball each and a rest cone at the start of the route.
How to play
- 1Players dribble the figure-eight using inside and outside of the foot only.
- 2Each lap finishes with an explosive three-yard burst out of the last turn.
- 3Swap the leading foot every lap.
- 4As soon as one sequence ends, the next server plays in without waiting.
- 5Run 4-minute blocks and count total completed sequences as a squad score.
Coaching points
- -Ball stays inside the frame of the body
- -Outside foot on the way out of the turn
- -Accelerate after the turn
- -Reset fast — the value is in the volume of good reps
Progressions
- +Add a second ball into the rotation
- +Raise the demand once the group is consistently successful
Regressions
- -Pause 15 seconds between reps to reset positions
- -Simplify the area or the service until success returns
Variations
- -Split into two competing halves and compare block totals
- -Run the practice on the opposite side of the pitch
Common mistakes
- -Slowing to a walk around the poles
- -Only using the strong foot
- -Long queues while balls are collected
Related Football Drills & Sessions
- More football ball mastery drills
- More football dribbling drills
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- Football drills for U7s
- Football drills for U8s
- Football drills for U9s
- Football drills for U10s
- Football drills for U11s
- Football drills for U12s
- Football drills for U13s
- Football drills for U14s
- Football drills for U15s
- Football drills for U16s
- Football drills for 4 players
- Football drills by age, topic and squad size
- Football session plans built around this theme
Related drills
- Age band
- Under 5 to Adults
- Players
- 2-16
- Time
- 12 min
- Area
- 20 x 14 yards
- Kit
- Balls, Cones, Poles
- Focus
- Technical Practice
Overload Figure Eight Mastery
Develop close control through continuous direction change
- Age band
- Under 5 to Adults
- Players
- 2-16
- Time
- 10 min
- Area
- 16 x 10 yards
- Kit
- Balls, Cones, Poles
- Focus
- Technical Practice
Two-Touch Figure Eight Mastery
Develop close control through continuous direction change
- Age band
- Under 5 to Adults
- Players
- 2-16
- Time
- 10 min
- Area
- 18 x 12 yards
- Kit
- Balls, Cones, Poles
- Focus
- Technical Practice
Tempo Figure Eight Mastery
Develop close control through continuous direction change
- Age band
- Under 5 to Adults
- Players
- 2-16
- Time
- 12 min
- Area
- 16 x 10 yards
- Kit
- Balls, Cones, Poles
- Focus
- Technical Practice
Rotation Figure Eight Mastery
Develop close control through continuous direction change
- Age band
- Under 5 to Adults
- Players
- 2-16
- Time
- 10 min
- Area
- 20 x 14 yards
- Kit
- Balls, Cones, Poles
- Focus
- Technical Practice
Combination Figure Eight Mastery
Develop close control through continuous direction change
- Age band
- Under 5 to Adults
- Players
- 2-16
- Time
- 10 min
- Area
- 22 x 16 yards
- Kit
- Balls, Cones, Poles
- Focus
- Technical Practice
Wide Channel Figure Eight Mastery
Develop close control through continuous direction change