Practice 1: Hitting on the break

WHY USE IT

This progressive, three-part session develops speed of play and the awareness and ability to hit teams on the counter-attack.

SET UP

Set up using just over half a pitch. One end should have a full-size goal with a goalkeeper and the other should have three mini-goals. If you have two goalkeepers, the other can be feeding balls in from the sideline.

Divide the playing area into thirds, and split the outfield players into two teams. All outfield players should start in the middle third.

HOW TO PLAY

Blues defend the full-size goal and start in 4-2-2. Reds attack the full-size goal and start in 2-4-2. Play always starts in the middle zone, with the ball served into the Reds. Reds have 10 seconds to score. Blues can’t drop in to defend the end zone until the ball is in that area.

COACHING POINTS

• Pass forward
• Run forward
• Strikers’ runs
• Direct play with quality
• Midfield support
• Exploit space