During the winter my teams play Futsal. I have always been frustrated by my team's lack of movement and interchanging of positions. The players tend to stay in a small area which creates fewer options.
I put the following session together in order teach my players to pass, move and be aware of the movements of their teammates. If each time a player passes and moves another player slides to fill the gap there will always be options for the player on the ball.
Coordinated Movement and Awareness
The players jog to the middle and shuffle to the right. They all shuffle until one of the players turns to jog back into the middle. The players must be aware of the movements of their teammates so that they can time their runs.
The runs are changed after a few minutes so that the players shuffle to the left.
Progressions
- One player has a ball in their hands and all of the other players time their movement off of this player. The player with the ball can pass it to another teammate to shift the focus to that player.
- One player has a ball at their feet and the other players time their movements off of this player. As before, the ball can be passed to another player at any time.
- All of the players have a ball.
Passing and Moving to Create Space
The player opposite of the ball checks to it and receives a pass that is one-touched back to the passer.
The moving player then shuffles to the right and the player in that space slides to the left to fill the empty space.
The original passer passes the ball to the teammate on his right which resets the exercise and the pattern begins again with the player opposite of the ball checking to it to receive a pass.
This pattern continues for a set period of time before you move a new player into the position opposite of the ball.
After all four players have taken a turn the exercise changes so that the player shuffles to the left and the ball is passed to the left.
Variation
The checking player is allowed to shuffle either to the right or left. This means that the other players must react to his movement to pass and move accordingly.
This is not only a good dynamic passing exercise but it is also great for working on awareness and rotation of positions.
To apply this to Futsal the players are arranged in a box formation and the ball starts with one of the defending players. He passes wide to a forward that has checked back to create an angle. The defender then runs through looking for a return pass. The opposite side defender then slides into the middle to provide support for the forward on the ball. The weak side forward drops back to provide a wide option should the supporting defender receive the ball.
In a game situation the wide player with the ball has the option to complete the give-and-go with the defender who is running through, turn and take the ball down the line himself or pass backward to the supporting defender. But in this exercise I want the players to learn the movements and rotations so the ball is always passed back to the supporting player. That player then has the option to pass back to the same wide player and run through, switch the ball to the other side or pass diagonally to the defender that has complete their run by opening up to the opposite side of the court.
Controlled Scrimmage
Once the players have developed a level of comfort with the movements we play a controlled scrimmage. The team in possession has to complete the pattern of passing, running through and passing back to the supporting player three times before they can go forward. The exception is if the give-and-go is completed the team can go forward and attempt to score even if they have not completed three rotations.
The session ends with a free scrimmage to evaluate what the players have learned. Do they make the run through and does the player on the ball make the right choices.[wpsharely id="6889"][/wpsharely]
This session has worked well and my players are using the pattern in matches.
Do you have a passing and moving session that works well for you?
Have a Great Day!
Tom
