Catch and pass skills

Most passing exercises line up players neatly so they know exactly where their support players will be, but that often isn’t the case in a match. In this session, players have to pass and catch under pressure, time their runs and be aware of where team mates are.

Warm up time: 5
Session time: 6-9
Development time: 6-9
Game time: 15-20
Warm down time: 7

What to think about

Repetition of core catching and passing skills is always beneficial. This session aims to put players in differing situations so they have to use those skills in sometimes novel ways. Not every player will be able to complete the skill as efficiently as the next. Sometimes it is worth splitting into groups of similar standards to help players develop at a pace suited to them. However, everyone will benefit from working with other players of different abilities as it replicates match-like situations.

set-up

1. Reach for the pass with the fingertips.
2. Keep the ball off the chest.
3. Turn hips up the pitch.
4. Pass, following the hands through to the target.

What you get your players to do

Set up three columns of players about 5m apart. Put at least two players, each with a ball, about 5m in front of the middle column. Mark out two gates as in the top picture. Shout which gate to run to. The player at the top of the middle column runs through that gate and receives a pass. He then passes to a player from the nearest outer column who has now run forward. The ball carrier runs to join the middle column of feeders, the feeder joins the middle column and the passer runs around to join the outer column nearest to him.