Football/Soccer Session (Academy Sessions): Passing - Lofted Pass

Technical Repititions

Organization:

24x10 yd areas, with 4x4 yd box for receiving player on each endline

groups of 4 set up as shown, 1 ball per group, extra balls nearby

Instructions:

- player with the ball plays lofted pass accross area to player on opposite side of the grid

- after playing lofted pass, player follows pass to support the ball and exchange double pass with recieving player

- player on opposite side exchanges double pass with checking player then plays lofted pass in the opposite direction

- rotation is continuous

- each succesful lofted pass gets 1pt for the group

Coaching Points:

- first touch at an angle out of feet, head up to observe target

- position of standing foot

- angle locked, toe pointed down and away

- make contact with big knuckle of big toe at bottom half of the ball to create loft

- follow through toward target

- get in line with the ball to receive

- choose appropriate surface to receive with (use warmup to review techniques to receive out of the air)

- cushion touch to maintain possession inside the receiving area

Progressions:

Small sided possession game

Organization:

32x10 yd area, with an 8yd zone in the center for the defenders

3 groups of 4 set up as shown

Instructions:

- 4v1 in box

- team in possession trys to connect set number of passes (3 or 4), then play the ball to the opposite side with a lofted pass

- if the ball is succesfully played across the area, the receiving team controls the ball and looks to connect their own 3 or 4 passes before switching the ball back with another lofted pass

- defending team sends in a new defender every time the ball is switched

- 1pt for succesfully playing the ball accross the area, bonus point if the ballis played over the heads of the defenders

- if defending team wins the ball, or it is played out of bounds, the defending team is replaced by the team that lost possession

Coaching Points:

- all previous points

Progressions: