A warm up passing drill that focuses on foundational skillsets
Set Up
Put players in groups of 4 or 5 on the sideline. Put one of the players 10-12 yards away using a cone for reference and add another cone about 5 yards further, and star the ball sideline. The 1st player in line will make a pass to their teammate, who will catch it and they drop it to either side. The player will follow their pass and go scoop a ground ball running around the second cone. The player who dropped the ball will break out over the shoulder and receive a pass from their teammate and give the ball to the next teammate in line. The Player who threw the long over the should pass, is now the point player
Coaching Points & Principles |
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- Passing – making good passes to our teammate in the 10 yard range
- Ground balls – accelerating through the ball and running/curling away from pressure
- Running away from pressure with ground balls, make sure th kids dont stop, they continue curling around the top cone
- Over the Shoulder passes – Being able to catch the ball on the run away from a teammate
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his is a great drill for recognition and build up into different situations for the players
SET UP
Put players into two teams (dark and light) Set up 2 lines of players right about the restraining line. In each line the colors are alternating, and its mirrored in the other line. Coach picks a color to start on defense (Say Dark), and put in crease. The first two lights player get a ball from coach and play 2 v 1. Once the play ends, the 2 next players come in, but are now dark.. and dark is on 3v2 offense, and 2 light are now on defense (roles changes). Continue drill until 5 v 5 finishes, then restart, and flip who starts on defense.
PRINCIPLES & COACHING POINTS |
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- Recognition, switching from O to D every play.
- Defense – Understand taking away the space and playing man down zone approach. One player on ball, others back protecting the house.
- Try to let every rep be 10 seconds max.
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A fast paced, half field drill to get your players competing.
Set Up
Split the group into two teams, and put them in alternating lines at the midfield. On a Half field, we would have 4-6 lines of each color, being a full team drill. If working in smaller spaces like video, you can do 3-4 of each color. The drill starts with coach rolling a live ground ball into the play. The first player in each line will go try to win the ground ball. Which ever team wins the ball, gets the ball to the goalie and initiates a clear. If you don’t have a goalie, just have the players clear to a Coach up top. Once they successfully clear the ball, they will go back in on offense, and attack the goal. Coaches can manipulate the rules or constraints to make uneven situations or get players to explore other team concepts like picks, off ball play, etc..
Coaching Points and Principles
Progressions
- Add extra players in on offense to creat uneven looks
- Number the lines up top, so only select players go into the drill (1,2,3,4 would be a 2v2 groundball play)
- Shot Clock – Once on offense, create a shot clock to speed up play
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- Ground balls – players should be working hard to win ground balls to start the drill
- Clearing – Team is spread out and finding open spaces
- Even & Uneven scenarios
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Steal the Bacon is a competitive small-area game for youth players that develops ground balls, reaction speed, and the ability to quickly transition from winning possession to attacking the goal.
SET UP
Split players into two teams lined up opposite each other and give each player on both teams a matching number. Place a ball in the middle of the playing area. The coach calls a number, and those two players race to compete for the ground ball. The player who wins possession immediately becomes the offensive player and attacks the goal, while the other player transitions to defense and tries to stop them. Progress the game by calling two or three numbers at once to create live 2v2 or 3v3 situations.
COACHING POINTS & PRINCIPLES |
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- Compete for the Ground Ball: Get low, protect your hands, and use your body positioning to win possession rather than simply racing to the ball.
- Win It & Attack: Once you secure the ball, immediately recognize the transition from ground ball to offense and attack the cage.
- React to Your New Role: If you lose the ground ball, transition immediately to defense—recover, get between your player and the goal, and compete for the stop.
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