Short and long passes

Set up

A 5m box and two sets of four cones.

What you get your players to do

Put a ball carrier on one corner at one end with another player on the other corner. Have the ball carrier run out and step inside the line of cones. He then passes to the other player who is running on to the pass. The players run to the other end, turn and run back up the box, with the ball carrier running straight and the receiver changing his angles before receiving a longer pass. Swap roles and repeat.

Look for

The receiver running on to the ball – is he calling, are his hands ready? The pass being the right strength. The receiver not taking the ball into his chest.

Development

Change the cones positioning to create different angles. Put a defender into the box who starts from the end line. Allow only one-handed passes. Make the players use a switch pass for the first pass.

Notes

Make sure players swap at the end of each up and down. Flip the box around so the short passis left to right and the long pass is right to left. Challenge better players to make longer passes. Ask better players to use sidesteps to “beat” the cones in front of them before releasing the ball.