u/LittleVTR

Following feedback that was a resounding “no” and with constructive criticism to the drill I designed I thought I’d share the session I ended up running with tonight.

Thank you for the responses.

1. Red Light, Green Light (8–10 Mins)
   Setup: Half pitch.

2. Three-Person Line Passing (10 Mins)
   Setup: Three players spaced evenly across the sideline of half the pitch.
   Focus: Weight of pass and running into open space.
   The Goal: Players sprint sideline-to-sideline while maintaining their lanes, practicing passing ahead into open grass for their teammate to run onto, rather than hitting them directly in the feet.

3. Gate Passing in Pairs (10 Mins)
   Setup: 10 pairs of random cone "gates" scattered across half the field.

4. 5v5 Dribble-to-Score Match (10 Mins)
   Setup: Half-field scrimmage using the halfway line and goal line as sidelines. 6-meter-wide goals on each side.
   Goals can only be scored by dribbling through the goals

5. Goal Kicking & Tech Correction (10 Mins)
   Setup: Shooting at goal from at least 1.5m outside the penalty box.dribbling ball around outside of play back to position. Kickers who only toe poke don’t have to move if they kick with any area of foot other than toe.

6. 5v5 Standard Game (10 Mins)
   Setup: Same half-field dimensions, finishing with standard 2-meter cone goals. Normal kick-through scoring allowed.

U/8’s coach. I designed this tonight after watching some kids keep leaving their position. As it developed it seems like a fast drill with all the right elements b it unthought run it past some coaches for feed back.

Drill Title: The Eagles Nest
Personnel: 3 Red Players, 1 Blue Player (plus 1 player in waiting for the next set).
The Setup
• Red CB: Starts halfway into the forward half.
• Blue Attacker: Starts next to the center circle on the left side.
• Red LB: Starts halfway in the defensive half, slightly left (one step) of the Blue attacker.
• Red RB: Inline and mirrored with the LB on the right side.
• Gates: Two gates set up around the LB (one to the right of the LB, one to the left of the LB).
The Game
On the whistle, the Blue attacker tries to drive down the court and score a goal in the empty net. The Red CB immediately sprints backward, racing to get back into the play.
The Rules
• Red LB: Cannot tackle until Blue makes it to the penalty box.
• Red RB: Cannot tackle unless Blue crosses the vertical center line.
• Red CB: Cannot engage until they have run backward past the LB.
• Blue Attacker: Cannot shoot until they reach the penalty box.
Scoring
• Blue: 1 point for getting through the center gate, 1 point for a goal.
• Red: 1 point if they force Blue through the sideline gate.

The game finished with a goal or a clearance, and the spare player is ready at the back to start it again.