Objective

This drill focuses on keeping possession. Passing, receiving, movement, and angle of support can be singled out. Causes players to look up and be aware of the surrounding players.

Equipment Needed

Disc Cones/Markers Scrimmage Vests Soccer Balls

Setup

  1. Start with building a 20x20 grid. 
  2. Create 3 teams of 3. 
  3. Each team should be a different color (one team yellow, red, and white).

Instructions

  1. Instruct the yellow team to be defense first. 
  2. The other two groups, red and white, are responsible for keeping possession among the 2 groups.
  3. If the defending team (yellow) wins the ball, the team who made a mistake becomes the defending team. For Example, if red has a bad first touch into the defender (yellow), then the red team would become defense, and the yellow and white teams keep possession from the red team. 
  4. Any ball played out of the grid is considered a loss of possession by that group, and that group should become defense.

Coaching Points

  • Good First Touch
  • Good Passes to Feet
  • Proper runs/angle of support
  • Facing the field

Variations

  • For lower level players, rotate the defenders every 2-3 minutes rather than automatically switching after loss of possession.
  • Adjust the size of the field to make it more or less challenging
  • Restrict the number of touches per player
Coach's Tip: Train Vision & Scanning Use the free SoccerXpert Scanning App during this drill to flash colors or numbers, forcing players to shoulder-check and scan before receiving.