Passing Drills and Games for all ages PDF

Passing Soccer Drills - How?

Passing is easier if the ball is moving so take a little push with the side of the foot to get the ball out from under your feet to start any passing move. You can pass the ball in many ways but the one thing all players should practice every day is what should be the simple art of playing a sidefoot pass. Easily the most accurate way to pass and with practice you can make sure you hit the right weight for your teammate to run onto or receive on his/her back foot.

Push Pass - Side-Foot Soccer Passing Technique

A side-foot pass uses the area from the big toe to the main area of the foot between the ankle bone and the base of the foot.

• Face the ball and kick with the foot at right angles to the ball.
• Make sure your standing foot is alongside the ball.
• Knee and ankle joints held firm
• Body over the ball.
• Keep your head steady with your eyes on the ball Use the arms for balance.
• Aim to kick the ball through the horizontal middle, too low and the ball will go up in the air, too high and it will threaten being a miss-kick
• Kicking foot follows through towards the target

These are tips for kicking the ball but there are other factors that come into kicking a ball with the side of the foot: timing and weight.

1. Timing of Pass

Timing is essential for keeping a passing move going – passing too early or too late will kill the momentum of the move. Passing before a teammate has started to run will make it difficult for him/her to get to the ball and if they do manage to get to it control is much harder. Delaying a pass can mean your attacker is offside or give defenders time to get across and cover.

2. Weight of Pass

Weight of pass is important because you want it to be as perfect as possible so the player receiving the ball is not hit by a hard pass that bounces off him/her and too light means the receiving player is going to have to move back towards the ball or risk losing it to an opposition player.

The Chip Pass

This can be a pass over any distance depending on where the player is and where the receiver is. Getting your foot under the ball is vital in making this pass. Chip a defence to get behind it or chip the goalkeeper into the net. Aim to kick below the horizontal line, swinging the leg through like a golfer chipping a golf ball

The Driven Pass

A driven pass can be done over longer areas like switching play or passing to a player on the run. 

• Foot Pointed Down - Keep the foot locked and pointed down as you kick the ball allowing a solid contact.
• Land On Passing Foot - For a nice low driven ball try and swing through the ball and land on that same foot you are kicking with. This will help to keep the ball straight and low to the ground.
• Arm Swing - Swinging your arm out is a great way to keep balance during the kick. A right footed kick uses the left arm out wide just before you kick the ball.
• Hit Across the Ball - You want to get slightly under the ball but don't hit it straight on. If you can imagine the ball as a clock you want your foot coming in at it at about 5 o'clock.
• Head Down - Keep your head down. Pick out your target then keep your head down and focus on the ball until you swing completely through it.

The Wall Pass One - Two

A one-two is a great way to keep possession of the ball in all areas of the pitch working in triangles. Great to use in the opposition penalty area. It involves timing, passing and speed of play. Acceleration after the first pass to move into a position to receive the ball back is key to the success of the skill.

The Back Heel Pass

A backheel pass is a great skill to use to fool defenders in the attacking third of the pitch or to pass to a teammate in space when the way forward is blocked. It is a clever pass but beware of using it in the wrong place as a counterattack could result.

Passing with Both Feet

Nearly all players, especially youth players will have one well-developed foot and one less well-developed often referred to as the weaker foot although this is not an accurate description as it is just underdeveloped for playing the game. But using both feet is key in some areas of the pitch – a striker for instance will not always get the ball onto their preferred foot and will often shoot with the less developed foot so they should practice with it.

Goalkeepe r Passing 

It is very fashionable to have goalkeepers who can become an extra defender to pass to when playing out from the back or when a defender is in a tricky situation and needs a get-out pass. Being able to use their feet is important so they should be part of your passing drills when you are at training.

Passing Tips

• SCANNING - Make early decisions by scanning and knowing where your teammates are.
• TWO FOOTED - Using two feet to pass and receive and to dribble helps to keep possession of the ball and gives you options when receiving in the attacking penalty area.
• OPEN BODY POSITION - Try to be on the half turn or side on so the next pass is much easier.
• KEEP IT SIMPLE - Keeping possession is much easier with short accurate passes.
• BE CONFIDENT - Don't hide away always be open to receiving a pass from a teammate.
• ONE OR TWO TOUCHES - Quick passing moves are better with just one or two touches before the ball is passed on.

Keeping possession is the key to winning and these soccer passing drills will help your team achieve that.

The best passing teams dictate the play, conserve energy, make the best of their resources and score more goals.

Passing is about technique, judgement and vision.

These passing drills give you some great advice on how to coach these attributes to your players.

Long passing, short passing, side foot passing and crossing are all dealt with.

We also have great passing games to really sharpen your players’ passing skills.

The soccer drills in this section will help you coach your players in the core skills of the game.

We’ll tell you what to look out for, how to get the ideas over to your players, and we’ll give you games and exercises to really power-up their skills.