Tag Archives for " running with the ball "

0 Circle Drills - Running with the Ball and Dribbling

In this week's Animated Drills Video I share a great environment for working on technical skills. Changing the shape of the area that you're working in will change the challenges that the players face. Circle drills are a great way to change things up and engage your players. This video shows you one setup for

0 Four Goal Game

0 End to End Possession

0 1 v 1 Flying Changes

0 Dribble and Pass

0 Four Squares

0 #076 Breaking Down and Teaching Skills

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0 #059 Are Your Players Ready for 11 v 11?

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0 Running with the Ball

This week's Animated Drill Video shares a great environment for working on an often neglected skill, running with the ball. The same set-up can be used for the warm-up, technical practice, small-sided game and expanded small-sided game. [wpsharely id="6889"][wpsharely][/wpsharely] The diagram is being created with our online Session Designer that is available through the Member Drills Database.

0 #056 It's Not the Same as Dribbling

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0 Developing Explosive Power

By Alex Trukan The presented practice incorporates physical as well as technical and tactical focus of the game. From the conditioning point of view, it develops Explosive Power, which is needed to accelerate over short distances and win a sprinting race. That is relevant both for the attackers or defenders chasing for the ball, recovering

1 Four Grid Game

By Alex Trukan This practice is a fun game that can suit all age groups, ability levels and can be adapted in many different ways. From a conditioning point of view, high intensity, short periods of work are designed to develop sprinting power that can be repeated in the game as many times as possible.

1 Running with the Ball and Anaerobic Endurance

By Alex Trukan

This practice is based on developing an ability for repeated and regular high intensity efforts. That is achieved in a technical practice combining elements of running with the ball, passing and acceleration off the ball. It can also be used as a part of tactical programme focused on developing counter attack and transition play. Ideal number for this practice is between 8 to 10 as it then automatically manages work to rest periods.

Set Up and Directions

Organise two channels of 15-30 yards. Place two gates between them as shown on the diagram below. Divide the players into two groups and place each group at the

0 Team Reaction Game

By Alex Trukan

Reaction time and speed over short distances are often deciding elements between losing and winning in soccer. This practice is focused on developing these physical components integrating dribbling and running with the ball skills what links both conditioning and technical side of the game. The following exercise requires players to be in constant alertness and awareness in order to be able to react to a trigger before other teammates. That increases competitiveness and motivation.

Set-Up and Directions

Organise a middle square of approximately 15x15 yards. Set up four poles, one 5 yards from each of the four corners of the square. Designate players inside the middle square. Every player needs a ball. Take up appropriate coaching position to see the whole picture.

The players start dribbling inside the square. The games starts on

2 Break Through Attack 3 v 3 + 3 Game

By Alex Trukan

This modification of a small sided game is aimed at improving endurance capacity and power. However it also challenges players to make short duration high intensity busts in a counter attack scenario. From a tactical perspective, it focuses on transition to attack. Relatively big space and the middle zone challenge players to run with the ball. This practice ideally works with three players on each team but also can be adapted to suit the numbers!

Set-Up and Directions

Organise a pitch of approximately 35x45 yards. Divide the area into three thirds with the middle one being the smallest one (up to 10 yards width). Divide the team into three groups, set goalkeepers into goals. The game starts with two teams playing on one goal using one third of the

0 Running with The Ball Practice to Improve Endurance

By Alex Trukan

From a conditioning perspective, this practice is focused on improving players’ capacity to sustain the quantity of actions throughout the match. Therefore, as an outcome, players will be less fatigued and able to cover bigger distances. In terms of the technical area, this exercise focuses on running with the ball technique and decision making whether to run with the ball or dribble.

Set-Up and Directions

Organise two cones on each side of the square as shown on the diagram below. Set a 4x4 yards square in the middle of the area. Divide the

4 The Exchange Game

By Alex Trukan

This practice is focused on helping the players to improve the ability to produce high quality sprints throughout the whole match. That is achieved in a high intensity and engaging game which also develops ball manipulation, dribbling and running with the ball skills from a technical point of view. As an outcome of this exercise, players will be able to produce more sprints and also sustain the number of sprints despite fatigue accumulation.

Set-Up and Directions

Organise two squares of 10x10 yards as shown on the diagram (squares can be also organised next to each other). Divide the team into two groups. Each group should consist of 3-5 attacking players with one ball each and 1 defending player. There should be one group in each of the two squares. Attacking players try to retain possession, while defending players try to win the ball. Player without the

0 Improving Your Team's Speed of Play

I think that most coaches have a couple of resources that they go back to time and again. Improving Your Team's Speed of Play by David Williams is one of those books for me. The quality of the sessions and thoughtful coaching points always give me ideas that I can use in training with my teams.

This excerpt is from the Small-Sided Games section of the book.

Suppose I have seventeen players, including two goalkeepers, of a reasonably high standard to work with. My aim for this session is to improve the players understanding and ability to run with the ball.

The two teams are set out in a 3-2-2 formation plus a goalkeeper, and I have included the extra player as a floater ( F ). In the defending zone three defenders play against two strikers and

0 Running with the Ball

A topic I don't see coaches cover very often is running with the ball. We all spend a good bit of time on dribbling sessions but running with the ball is a different skill. When you're dribbling the idea is to have the ball close to your feet and under tight control. When you're running with the ball you're trying to take space quickly so you get the ball out of your feet and run after it.

A session from the Manchester United Soccer School is great for working on this skill. I came across the session in our book, 'Technical Practices of the Pros'.

I've used this session with teams as young as U10. It's been