This game is a great way to improve passing and receiving skills as well as the ability to spot and execute a through-pass.
Age group: U8s and upwards.
Number of players: Whole squad.
Set-up: Create 20-yard square playing area.
Divide your players into two equal teams of between five and seven players.
Note: If you have more than 14 players, create four teams and play two games of Pass! It doesn’t matter if teams are not equal in size.
How to play: A player from team A stands on one end line and a player from team X on the opposite end line.
The rest of the players compete for the ball and try to pass to their team mate on the end line. If they succeed, they join their end player on the line.
The team that gets all its players on their end line first is the winner.
Note: To be counted as successful, a pass must be controlled by the end player.
Progression:
The end lines are now called jails.
The game begins in the same way as before – with one player from each team in jail (i.e., on their end line) – but now if you make a successful pass, you don’t join your team mate on the line.
Instead, you get to send a player on the other team to their end line – in other words, send them to jail.
The winning team is now the team that can send all the players on the other team to jail first.
Coaching notes
Generally, the more players you have, the bigger the playing area needs to be.
If I had ten U10s playing this game, I would begin with a 20-yard square playing area. If I had 16 players, I would use a 30-yard square.
But regardless of the number of players you have (or their ages), it is good practice to progressively shrink the playing area.
Making the space smaller requires players to play faster, more accurately and is a good way to build the tempo of your coaching sessions.
With my ten U10s, for example, I would start with a 20-yard square but as they got used to the game I would gradually move the cones inwards until they were playing in a 15-yard square.
For more soccer coaching tips and products visit Soccer Coaching Club.