Outside Passing - U9
Outside passing is a well known soccer drill for younger players. It involves dribbling, passing and awareness and combines the three throughout the drill.
Preparation
Take a look at the diagram below. You will notice that cones have been placed to make a square a decent distance apart. You will need half the amount of soccer balls that there are players. For example, if you have eight players, you will only need four soccer balls.
Explanation
This game is about focusing on many aspects of soccer and relates to a real game scenario. You will have half your players on the outside of the coned area and the other players inside with a soccer ball each.
When you say 'go' the players in the middle will dribble around the area with their soccer ball and the do some outside passing to the players with no soccer ball. The outside player will control the ball and then pass the soccer ball back to the player in the middle.
Progression
There are lots of ways to change this game.
1) Once the player on the outside receives the ball, instead of passing it back, he now dribbles in to the middle and the other player goes on the outside.
2) Instead of the player on the outside controlling the ball, he will now pass the ball back straight away to create a 1-2 pass.
3) Once the person on the outside has controlled the soccer ball, he will keep it. The player in the middle then has to run off and find another person on the outside to receive the pass from.
Coaching Points
-> Ensure that the correct passing technique is used. I.e. side of the foot and not the toe
-> Make sure the players keep looking around and dribble/move in to good space
-> The outside players don't have to stay still, they can move about to ensure better passing angles
