As a coach, it is essential to have a variety of football training drills in your back pocket that you can use to help your players improve their skills.
So this blog post will give you 10 football training drills for your coaching book.
These drills are designed to help players of all ages and skill levels improve their technique and understanding of the game. So whether you are just starting as a coach or have been coaching for years, check out these drills!
Ten football drills:
1. Intense Square Pass and Move Exercise
2. Dribbling Bombs
3. Pressing and Passing Drill
4. Catch Me If You Can
5. Around The Clock
6. Awareness With Control And Passing
7. Time Challenge: Pass, Control, and Dribbling skills
8. Quick Speed Finishing
9. Ball Thief
10. Head For Goal
1. Intense Square Pass and Move Exercise
This exercise is a short intensive passing training drill that works on quick sharp passing and getting the players to move quickly after their pass.
Description:
Three players stand behind one of the four cones (set out in a square), with P1 starting with the ball.P1 passes to P2 and then quickly moves to the unoccupied cone. Next, P2 passes the ball to P3 and does the same thing. This is continually repeated for a short period before changing direction.
Objective:
- Quick movement after each pass, looking to receive the ball again
- Good first-time control
- Good weight of pass
- Stepping away from the marker (cone) to receive the ball
2. Dribbling Bombs
We all know how important it is to keep that soccer ball under control in tight spaces. This simple training drill is excellent for attacking players who want to dribble the ball like Lionel Messi, as it will help improve their ability to dribble the ball around tight spaces.
Description:
Set out several cones in a small area. When the player is ready, they dribble around the playing zone, attempting to avoid touching the cones (bombs) using all parts of their foot to dribble the ball.
Objective:
- Vision
- Quick feet
- Ball control
3. Pressing and Passing Drill
This is a great drill to start a training session focusing on pressing the ball and defending well.
Description:
Set out four markers, North, South, East, and West, with several players at each one. For example, P1 passes to the player to their left (P2) and then runs to the right. All players repeat this sequence (pass to the left; run to the right).
Progression:
This time the coach starts with the ball and passes to P1. As P1 receives the ball, the player opposite (P1) has to sprint and close the ball down (without actually stealing the ball). P1 will then pass the ball to the left and run to the right, with the opposite player (P3) joining the line which P1 came from.
4. Catch Me If You Can
Again, this simple soccer drill can begin as a fun tag exercise. Firstly without the ball, to understand the concept of an attacking player attacking a defender quickly, and then introduce the ball to work on a player’s ability to go past the defender.
Description:
On the whistle, both players quickly run out, with the red player attacking and the yellow player defending.
The red player must try to run past the yellow player and get through one of the two gates without being tagged.
The defender must try to stop the red player by simply tagging them with their hand.
Progression:
Same scenario as the previous drill, but this time the attacking player (red) has a ball at their feet and must try to run through one of the gates with the ball under control. The defender (yellow player) attempts to make a tackle and steal the ball from the red player.
5. Around The Clock
This is an excellent arrival activity that your players can play as you finish setting up your cones before you begin your training session.
Description:
In small groups of two’s or three, players control and pass the ball to each other, keeping the ball off the ground. The first round starts with each player only having one touch; in the second round, each player has to have two, three, four, etc. This goes up to twelve and then returns to one touch.
[Photo of 2-3 players juggling 1 ball]
6. Awareness With Control And Passing
This technical passing drill aims to improve a player’s ball control, passing technique, and quick speed of thought and movement.
Description:
1. P1 checks to one of the coloured cones *shouted out by P2( and then returns to receive the ball x2
2. On the third pass, P1 controls the ball towards the side of the square and returns the ball to P2.
3. P1 then drops back, behind, and to the side of the pole.
4. P1 receives a longer pass, controls the ball around the pole (towards the inside), enters the square, and passes the ball back to P2.
Repeat 2, 3, and 4 on the other side.
7. Technical combination speed drill
Here we have a training drill that will test the player’s ability to control, pass and dribble the ball, with the added pressure of completing the task in the least amount of time possible.
Description:
The player begins by making four passes (two right and two left) against the rebound board. Then the player dribbles in and out of the cones, to the end cone, and back. When the player returns to the start, they pass the ball into the mini goals before receiving another ball and repeating the exercise.
8. Quick Speed Finishing
An excellent but simple rotation shooting drill that players enjoy and gives them plenty of opportunities to practice shooting with both feet.
Description:
Player 1 passes to Player 2, who has stepped away from the pole to receive the pass. Player 2 controls the ball (pushing it in front of them) and executes a shot at goal.
Players rotate clockwise, repeating the drill, left and right, continuously.
9. Ball Thief
A great game to play at the start of a session to get the players in an excited mood for training.
Description:
Four players start at a cone with seven balls placed in the centre of the square. When the coach blows the whistle, the players run to the middle to steal a ball and dribble the football back to their cone.
This continues until one player has three balls in their corner. After that, however, any player can steal a ball from another player’s corner.
(Picture coming soon)
10. Head For Goal
The head for goal is a fantastic game to create a good atmosphere at the start of a training session.
Description:
Split the group into two teams and have each team start at either side of the goalpost. The first player from the red team runs out around the pole before heading the ball at goal.
After the red player has finished, the blue player quickly runs out and does the same. This is repeated until every player has a turn, with the team scoring the most goals as the winner.
(Picture coming soon)
Keep the drill quick and sharp!
I hope this article gives you some good ideas to help with future training sessions.
If you want more training drill ideas, check out the exercises below.