A. Warm - Up:

Idea 1: Players form two lines side by side - jog 2 laps, when the whistle blows the last person in each line must sprint to the front of the line. Can also reverse it so that the first person in each line must turn and sprint to the back of the line, or they could weave in and out of the players in line as they sprint to the front of the line.

Idea 2:  Jog two laps - on your command they 1) touch left, right or both hands to the ground, 2) they lay on their stomach and get up quickly, 3) they jump up and do a fake header, and 4) they lay on their backs and get up quickly.

B. General Technique:

Make a grid 20 x 20 or larger depending on the number of players

Dribbling: inside, outside and sole of the foot

* each player has a ball, all the players dribble among each other within the practice area

* the object of this exercise is to keep the ball constantly under control and to avoid bumping into the other players - no static training!

Option 1: Line up on the goal line with a ball - dribble to the other goal line and back using different parts of the foot and different speeds. Several times blow your whistle to indicate which foot they should dribble with, what speed and have them stop dead with the ball and continue when they hear the whistle again.

Option 2:  Make a 30 x 30 yard grid and assign each corner cone a number (1-4), as the players dribble with different parts of their foot call out numbers at random. They must all sprint dribble to that cone as quickly as they can and then continue to dribble as they wait for the next command. Call out the numbers quickly, do this drill for 3-4 minutes.

Juggling Exercises:

Start simple and then get more complex as their touch improves. Work on one body part, encouraging them to get as many as they can.

Left thigh and right thigh - drop ball to right thigh, lift, let ball drop, lift and catch - then alternate between left and right thighs - must get 6 touches before catching the ball and so on.

Left foot and right foot - same as above, make sure toe is pointed and ankle is locked

* then add to the sequence - let ball drop to right thigh, lift, let ball drop to right foot, lift, let ball drop to left foot, lift, let ball drop to left thigh and catch . . . increase as touch improves

Continue with this sequence, as they get their touch allow them to juggle without having to catch the ball - we have them catch to the ball to force them to stay under control and work on touch..

Crossing Technique:

1) Players partner up with one ball each. Line up 15 yards apart and practice their lofted balls. Accuracy and correct trapping technique are important in this drill as well.

Coaching Points: Player approaches ball at an angle, support foot is slightly behind the ball, players lean back, toe pointed down, ball is struck left or right of middle.

2) Challenge: Same as above except now you are going to add a little pressure. Have all the balls on one side and one at a time they will try to pass the ball in the air to their partner. They are allowed one bounce and their partner must trap the ball in front of her/him in order for both of them to continue to the next round. Once the last person has gone it goes back to the first pair and now the other partner will try to pass it in the air across the field.

3) Drill: Set up two 5 x 5 yard grids 15 yards apart, have two people in each 5 x 5 yard grid. One person will send a flighted ball across to the grid in front of them, one player in that grid must trpa the ball and pass it to the second player who will take a touch and pass a flighted ball back to the grid they just received a ball from. They continue to pass it in the air between the grids for 5 min.

4) Drill: Have a line 5-10 yards away from the sideline (A), a line 5 yards behind and 3 yards to the side of this first line (B) and then lines for near and far post runners. The first line on the outside dribbles toward the end line at top speed and tries to cross the ball in the air in front of the goal to the near and far post runners. Line A's first touch is the starting signal for line B, who tries to catch up and block the cross - adjust the distance between A and B so that A can still manage to play the cross on most plays, in spite of the opposition pressure.

5) Drill: Same as above but add a defender in the middle of the goal box to add pressure to the near and far post runners who are trying to score off the cross from line A above.

Coaching points for 4&5: Players in line A must dribble at maximum speed, before they cross the ball a small touch to the inside will allow them to plant and get their hips around the ball, crosses should land between the top of the six yard box and the 18 yard box.

Scrimmage/Cooldown