Juggling

- start with: drop to knee, catch. Move to knee, knee, catch.

- Add feet, head as players get better.

Warmup: Look Up (5 mins)

n players, each with ball

In a confined space, all players are dribbling. Coach walks around, holds up fingers. Players immediately stop the ball and call the number of fingers.

- other warm-ups: leapfrog, …

- Confined space forces ball to remain at feet.

- Stopping the ball immediately shows that player has control

- Calling number of fingers forces players to look up off the ball while dribbling

Stretches (5 mins)

- stand on one foot, pull other foot up and count

- cross feet over, cup hands, reach down with back straight and count

- sitting, feet together, knees apart, count

- don’t stretch before warming up

- use time for coach talk

Two-touch back and forth (10 mins)

Pairs, each with ball

Players stand fairly close (5-10 paces apart) facing each other. Pass the ball to other player, who touches it away and passes it back.

- Variation: one player running backwards, the other forwards.

- Variation: how many passes can the pair complete in 60s?

- look at ball when you kick it

- non-kicking foot points at partner, other foot hits ball on instep like a golf club (follow through)

- emphasize both feet

- (advanced) use outside of foot instead of instep

- look at ball as you touch it to receive, knock it offline, look up, look back at ball, make the kick

Slinky (10 mins)

2 teams, 1 ball

Teams line up behind first player facing each other. Ball is passed from team to team. Entire line must move to position to receive a pass.

- how many good kicks in a row?

Poison Ball (10 mins)

2 teams

Teams line up horizontally facing each other about 20 yards apart, with balls. Between them, a line of 4-5 balls, one of which is distinctively colored (the poison ball). The object is to kick your ball to knock balls in the middle over the other team’s line, without touching the poison ball. If a ball doesn’t reach your team’s line, you can go retrieve it. You can’t block an incoming ball with your foot, but you can deflect it by kicking a ball at it.

- balance the teams

- makes them keep the balls on the ground

- look for pace (fast enough to knock balls around), accuracy

Scrimmage (10 mins)

- just observe (if you can) and see what sticks, what doesn’t. Good guidance for your next practice.

- comment on only those things that you’ve been teaching this practice, ignore the rest.