hello ive got a under 10s team im trying to make them?

hello ive got a under 10s team im trying to make them pass and move and get the player who has the ball support we are playing seven a side at the moment i play 3-2-1

Hi Gavin,

this week's session of the week was actually on Passing and Moving off the ball. Try it here!

All the best,

The Sportplan Team.

Sorry sportplan team, but that really is a bad example of pass and move. That is so typical of the old school English coaching. Make your game far more dynamic from start to finish. Gavin you have to be patient, it will come if you set up the right games and understand your coaching points..

Hi Dave,

Thanks for the feedback, I agree that the session is quite an old school way of teaching players to pass and move. However, with younger players it is sometimes necessary to get them performing these sort of exercises before you can hope to see some natural off the ball movement in a game situation.

With more experienced players I agree that you should look for some more dynamic drills, remove the cones and allow players to move freely into space but with younger players these sort of 2 vs 1 drills are great for introducing players to passing and then moving to look for a return pass.

The Sportplan Team

Hi Sportsplan, I have tried to look at the session again, but it has now been changed, can you give me a link to it again please.

 "Thanks for the feedback, I agree that the session is quite an old school way of teaching players to pass and move. However, with younger players it is sometimes necessary to get them performing these sort of exercises before you can hope to see some natural off the ball movement in a game situation."

You would think that is the case would nt you, but in reality especially with grassroots kids, you have the problem of lack of motivation if the drill does not stimulate the mind, this is so often the case. A real life scenario, 2 teams of U8s, playing in the lower divisions of their local leagues, no stand out kids, all just average children, who lost more than they won. The coach never used one drill EVER, from start to finish every session they play 4v4 or as near as possible conditioned games, such as 4 goal game, Brazilian Lane game, 1st team to have all players score a goal wins, Argentina game etc. In 3 years these teams have gone onto beat county champions, but even more inpressive is the way in which they play, pass and move, rotation of positions and the sheer enjoyment of playing the game. They were coached by the way, as many coaches think that if you play games you cant be coaching. This is not unusual, street footy games taught many children the game without any coaching, now add coaching with a focus and you have games that children want to play.

Hi Dave,

The session is still online, but as it's from two weeks ago it has now been moved to the Features part of the site.

The session in question is split 50/50, with two drills which introduce players to passing and moving in a pairs activity and then two conditioned games which enable the players to learn the basics (controlling the ball, passing and moving) and put into practice what it is they have just learnt.

In the end every team is different, what works for one team might not work for another. However, with a mixture of skills and games your players should never really lack motivation as they will know that everything they are practising in training has focus and a deliberate purpose and that later in the session they will be given the opportunity to play a fun game which utilises the skills covered.

The Sportplan Team

Dave, all sounds good, where can i see details of the conditioned games you mention, would like to try with my team. Thanks Euan

All, just a view use other sports to make the point. To make a pass easier the player off the ball has to move to a position where he is free of a marker and the passing line to him is free of an interception. If he's free the pass is simple, to emphasise the point use NETBALL, yes NETBALL is ideal. The player on the ball has to look up and whilst still stationary the players off the ball has to move to create a passing chance. Once this idea has been grasped, put the ball on the floor and see what happens. The netball game can be used for aireal ball control. Instead of catching it the player has to control it via head, chest , thigh before he can use his hands to pass. Keep changing it from hands to feet and it does make a difference. If the passing is quick then the movement off the is quicker therefore the passing distance is shorter and less risk of losing the ball.

Can someone tell me where I can find this session please.