Ball Mastery
Ball Mastery Maze: Shadow Pressure
Build comfort on the ball in tight space
Ball Mastery
Dribbling
First Touch
Ball Mastery Maze: Shadow Pressure is a 12-minute ball mastery drill for 4-20 players, suitable for Under 8 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 libraryBall Mastery
Dribbling
First Touch
Technical Practice
Beginner
Intermediate
Advanced
Full Squad
Minimal Equipment
Foundation Phase
Youth Friendly
Adult Suitable
Opposed
Under Pressure
Game Realistic
Duration
12 min
Players
4-20
Pitch size
20 x 20 yards
Ability levels
Beginner / Intermediate / Advanced
Pitch diagram
Ball Mastery Maze: Shadow Pressure — Cone maze — dribble in traffic · 20 x 20 yards
Step 1 of 4Players dribble around the maze without touching a cone.
- 1. Players dribble around the maze without touching a cone.
- 2. Coach calls a surface: sole, inside, outside, laces.
- 3. Every 45 seconds players exit through a gate and re-enter.
- 4. A shadow defender applies half pressure and can win the ball only after the first touch.
- Cones mark the area
- Scattered cones = obstacles / targets
- Ball
- Solid arrow = pass, thick = shot, dashed = run / dribble
Objectives
- -Build comfort on the ball in tight space
- -Repeat sole, inside and outside touches
- -Improve control at speed
Setup
- 1Scatter cones randomly across a 20 x 20 square.
- 2Every player has a ball inside the area.
- 3Mark four exit gates on the outside.
Coaching instructions
- 1Players dribble around the maze without touching a cone.
- 2Coach calls a surface: sole, inside, outside, laces.
- 3Every 45 seconds players exit through a gate and re-enter.
- 4A shadow defender applies half pressure and can win the ball only after the first touch.
Coaching points
- -Small touches close to the body
- -Head up between every touch
- -Use both feet equally
- -Take the touch away from pressure
- -Protect the ball with the far foot and body
Common mistakes
- -Ball too far ahead
- -Only using the strong foot
- -Eyes fixed on the ball