Don’t panic under pressure

What this session is about

1. Maintaining possession.
2. Controlled passing.
3. Creating space.

What to think about

When trying to retain possession, players must consider:

• Good passing technique – e.g correct pace, timing, accuracy.
• Good receiving technique – e.g. first touch into space, away from the defender.
• What they plan to do with the ball before they have received it.
• Spreading out to make the pitch big. Communication – verbal, eye-contact, signals.
• Adopting a composed attitude when on the ball.

Set-up

What you get your players to do

Mark out a 10-yard square and use three teams – each has four players. One team of four (attackers), starts inside the area. The other players (defenders) pair up outside the grid, and will take it in turns to enter to create a succession of 4v2s.

The aim of the drill is for attackers to keep possession for as long as possible, while the defenders try to force the ball out of the area.

To begin, you, or an assistant, pass the first of the six balls to the attackers, at which point the first pair of defenders enters the area and you start the stopwatch. Only when a ball leaves the playing area can the next ball be passed in and the next pair of defenders immediately runs in to defend.

Stop the clock once all six balls have left the playing area and record the time. The drill is then repeated with the other two teams being the attackers. The team able to keep possession of all six balls for the longest time wins.