Direct central passing

Teams do a lot of work passing out wide and working the wings but sometimes the direct route is open and fast passing can create swift attacks and counter attacks. 

Set up

You need balls, bibs, cones and goals. Set up an area 40x30 yards with a 15x10 yard box on the half way lines on each wing. We used 14 players in the session.

How to play it

Split the players into two teams of 7 including goalkeepers. Play starts with one of the keepers who rolls the ball out to a player in his half of the pitch. The ball cannot go into the two wide zones at any time during the game although players can run through it without the ball – if the ball does go in it is turned over to the opposition. Attacks are forced through the central area. Time penalties can be added as a progression. You can adjust the width of the no-go zones as the 11v11 match progresses. The bigger they are, the more intense the requirement is for players to construct tight passing moves through the middle, because the margin for error is greater.

Technique

Players’ body angle is important – in particular, receiving on the half-turn – so as to encourage rapid forward play. It’s important to consider too that while the ball cannot go into the no-go zones, players can still run through those areas in making forward and defensive runs. This can help create space in defence and attack.