Practice 1: Receive to play forward

WHY USE IT

These practice provides players with an opportunity to develop their ability to receive the ball with an open body and on their back foot, so they can play forward quickly. The practice is unopposed so they can focus on their movements and body shape.

SET UP

Set up a square area, with an additional small central area within that. The size should be suitable for your players. Split the players in half, with one set (the servers) situated outside of the area. Each server has a ball each. The other group of players are positioned inside the area.

HOW TO PLAY

The players inside the area collect a pass from a server. They then travel through the central area before passing it to any server who does not have a ball. After this, they travel through the central area once more, before receiving a pass from a server again and repeating the process. After a set period of time, the two group of players swap roles.

COACHING POINTS

This aims to replicate a midfielder receiving a pass from a defender and travelling forward. Therefore, before receiving a pass, players need to check their shoulder, create an angle between themselves and the server and receive with an open body. The server then needs to play the pass onto the player’s back foot.