The objective of the day is to get plenty of repetitions with 1V1, 2V2, and 3V3s to goal. Your players will be engaged immediately! Here is a very competitive warmup to set the tone for the entire training session. Focus on the defensive side, attacking side, or perhaps both. After 8-10 minutes of dynamic movements and injury prevention this activity was used the last 4 minutes of the allotted warmup time. From a coaching perspective, use the four minutes as an opportunity to see how your players naturally react in this 1V1 scenario, from there you can target a mental checklist of coaching points for the group as well as certain individuals for the rest of the session.

*Don’t miss the drone video footage of this activity below!

Setup:

Set up as shown, split your team evenly. Use cones or hurdles for the desired theme or objective for the session: footwork, agility, bounding, mobility etc. Two small goals and plenty of balls with the coach in the corner of the playing area.

Instructions:

The first player in each line starts at the same time and initiates the fast footwork through the cones. As they progress through the cones, the coach plays a perfectly weighted and timed ball to the center of the playing area. As the two players exit the footwork they must try secure possession of the ball first and then go to goal. Once the ball is either scored or goes out of play the next two players start the footwork and the sequence starts over again. The video shows a 4 minute clip, keep track of goals scored. Adjust the size of the area according to ability level.

Coaching Points:

Encourage the players to keep their head up as they work through the cones in order to track the ball as the play is developing. Recognition of whether they are going to get to the ball first and become the attacker or take on the roles of the defender. If the theme of the day is defending then focus on individual defensive principles: body control, angle of approach, speed of approach, cutting off passing lane to small goal, recognizing the appropriate moment to win the ball etc. If you want to focus on attacking principles look for: eliminating the defender with the first touch, efficient penetration towards goal, prepping body and feet for a first time finish if possible, encourage creativity and aggressive attitude to score goals.

See our drone footage of this activity below!