Possession
Overload Target Player Possession
Keep the ball with a forward purpose
Possession
Passing
Attacking
Keep the ball with a forward purpose. Set up the area, follow the steps and use the coaching points below.
Back to drill libraryPossession
Passing
Attacking
Small-Sided Game
Intermediate
Advanced
Full Squad
Minimal Equipment
Youth Friendly
Adult Suitable
Overload
Age
Under 9 to Adults
Duration
20 min
Players
8-18
Area / pitch size
38 x 30 yards
Difficulty
Intermediate / Advanced
Equipment
Balls, Cones, Bibs
Coaching focus
Keep the ball with a forward purpose
Objective
- -Keep the ball with a forward purpose
- -Play into a target player under pressure
- -Support the target quickly after the pass
Setup
- 1A pitch with a target player in an end zone at each end in a 38 x 30 yards area.
- 2Split the group so the attacking side always has one spare player, and park the spare bibs on the halfway cone.
- 3Balls with the target players, two sets of bibs.
How to play
- 1Teams keep the ball and score by finding their target player.
- 2The target sets the ball back and the team must keep it.
- 3Targets rotate with outfield players every three minutes.
- 4The spare player joins whichever side has the ball, so the attack always works with a plus-one.
- 5A goal or completed end action counts double if the spare player touched the ball in the build-up.
Coaching points
- -Look forward before playing sideways
- -Support the target on both sides
- -Set the ball into space
- -Find the free player quickly before the defence shuffles across
Progressions
- +Remove the overload for the last two rounds
- +Raise the demand once the group is consistently successful
Regressions
- -Give the attack two spare players
- -Simplify the area or the service until success returns
Variations
- -Rotate the spare player every 90 seconds
- -Run the practice on the opposite side of the pitch
Common mistakes
- -Hitting the target with no support
- -Only passing sideways and backwards
- -Spare player standing still instead of offering an angle
Related Football Drills & Sessions
- More football possession drills
- More football passing drills
- More football attacking drills
- 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 8 players
- Football drills by age, topic and squad size
- Football session plans built around this theme
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- Age band
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- Kit
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