Top Three Soccer Passing Drills
Soccer passing drills can help your team not only move the ball, but score more. In fact, most knowledgeable soccer coaches know that the key to a winning team comes down to passing. This is because the ability to pass quickly and accurately can help a team to reveal the weaknesses in a defense. So what are the best soccer passing drills?
Accuracy Drill
One of the keys to improving passing is getting a team used to controlling the ball. Although some coaches use the following drill to help players improve their ability to advance with the ball, you will find it is actually useful for getting players to pass more accurately. To highlight this for players, you should first place two cones about a yard apart at the edge of the box. Then have the players try to pass the ball through the cone from about 20 yards away. These are passes, so they should kick the ball side foot and keep them skimming along the ground. They should not try to put lift on the ball.
Then set up an obstacle course with several cones and have your players move the ball along the obstacle course with a ball. They can only move the ball by skimming their foot over the top of the ball. (It should take the average player about 5 minutes to move from one end of the course to the other, constantly skimming the ball as they go—never striking the ball on its side.) At the end of the obstacle course, the players should pass the ball through the cones again from the same distance. The goal of the course should not be difficulty. The cones should place the cones wide enough that no players should have difficulty maneuvering through them.
What will usually happen is that after they have gone through this drill, they will get the ball through the passing cones at a higher rate. This is because, as they skim the ball with their feet along the course, they will slowly get a better sense of the ball as they go. By the time they reach the end of the course, they will be much more accurate at kicking the ball.
Zigzag Passing
The perennial favorite, as far as soccer passing drills go, is zigzag passing. Have pairs of players start at the goal posts on one side of the field and have them move down the field passing the ball to one another at no more than ten yards to the pass. The idea is for the player to move forward and pass the ball forward to his partner at such a pace that the partner can reach the ball without changing his or her stride and then for the passer to get into position to receive his or her partner’s pass.
For added fun, have the goalie stay at the other end of the field and the final pass be a set up for shot on goal. (Good training for both players and goalie.)
Passing into the Box
Another very useful skill for players is learning how to lift the ball into the box for headers. To have the players practice this, set up a row of standard outdoor trash cans outside of the penalty box about five to seven yards from the ball. Have the players come and try to strike the ball so that it lifts up and over the trashcans and lands just past the edge of the goalie’s box. The idea is to float the ball to set up headers.
For extra fun, set up a trashcan at the far corner of the goalie’s box and have the players try to get the ball to fall into it.
These are not the only soccer passing drills of course. With imagination and forethought, you too can make up drills that will capture your players’ interest and make them excited about the world’s most popular sport.