The most popular game in the world, soccer is one that requires a lot of communication among teammates to get right. Passing drills can help players understand one another better and play the right pass in order to keep the ball with their team.
Here’s one such passing drill which can improve your team’s communication and help them trust each other better.
Communication Passing Drill
It’s important that players have positional awareness while playing because it gives them the exact idea of what to expect from the opposition. This could be a tackle from behind, or the attacker being marked upfront. Whatever the situation is, the player receiving the pass can gain an advantage if someone feeds him information about things he cannot see.
Passing the ball requires players to put the right amount of weight on the pass so that their teammates can receive it, stop and lookup. The other alternative is to pass back the ball in the same movement.
This drill gives the receiver an idea of what to expect from the passer. Have players split up into practice squads and play keep-away, focusing on keeping possession of the ball for their team. Pass the ball from teammate to teammate until the other group is able to successfully steal. While your team has the ball, use call-outs to inform them of their play condition. For example –
- “Man on” – This means the receiver is being attacked by the opposition from behind or from the side, and he must play his subsequent pass quicker.
- “Time” – This means the receiver is in no immediate danger of being attacked, and can look up.
- “Turn” – This means the receiver must turn in the opposite direction and spread the play to the other flank or move forward.
With this drill, your team will start understanding one another and improve their passing game.