The three primary principles of passing

Handling should be in your practice plan for every session.

It doesn’t need to be 30 minutes focused on the fundamentals of passing; it can just be a simple drill to warm up the hands, a five-minute activity at the beginning or end of your session, or both.

Here are the three key principles of passing:

Follow through

What it looks like: Players not taught proper technique from the beginning will compensate in their passing. In other words, they make other compromises to find the right outcome. If you take a moment to notice where your athletes’ hands are at the end of their passing you will see they follow through in all sorts of different directions. 

Where players can go wrong: If a player is not effectively using their follow-through, their passes will lack length and accuracy.

Best things to say and do to encourage better execution of this principle: 

• "Finish with hands to target"
• "Throw your hands towards your target"
• Make your athletes hold their follow-through for three seconds. This may feel uncomfortable for them but will get your point across

Hand placement

What it looks like: Where you put your hands on the ball and how you catch it will affect a player’s delivery. Do drills that are over short distances initially, so that players are not putting extra effort into pushing the length of their pass and they can just focus on the catch-pass process.

Where players can go wrong: Keeping the ball away from the athlete’s chest is key to a solid pass. As a coach, you want to encourage players to reach for the pass, catch away from their body, get their placement right, transfer the ball across their body and follow through to the target.

Best things to say and do to encourage better execution of this principle: 

• "Reach for the ball"
• "Catch the ball away from your body"
• "Attack the catch"

Footwork

What it looks like: You may notice a lot of passes going to players’ shins instead of hands. Instead of focusing on the passer, check the run of the support player. Are they drifting away from the pass?

Where players can go wrong: When the focus is so much on what your athletes’ bodies are supposed to be doing, they can end up overthinking their movements. It is important to let your athletes get used to this concept slowly so they can be successful when you start to pick up the pace.

Best things to say and do to encourage better execution: 

• "Straighten up your running"
• "Don’t drift off the pass"
• "Attack the catch"
• "You have to catch before you can do anything else"

Encourage players to use their inside foot to straighten up when they catch and, combining with the elements above, reach for the pass and use their other foot to open up to add power to their pass. 

I find a lot of repetition work beneficial. It can start at a walk and then increase to a jog, then run, then add some defensive pressure.

Practising in training – the primary principles of passing