Training Library › Keeping the ball
4v4+4 Possession (No Passes to Your Own Colour)
Possession that includes perceiving your teammates
Players: 12Age: U-12Time: 20 minLevel: AdvancedIntensity: HighPhase: Keeping the ball
Use this when…
- Passes are off target, and players aren't properly seeing their teammates' movement.
- Players don't perceive changes in the situation.
Setup & rules
- Teams of 4–5 players (three teams)
- The team that loses the ball defends
- The attacking teams may not pass to a player of their own team (same colour)
Key factors
- The ball carrier doesn't locate teammates by guesswork, but finds them by really looking
- Supporting players prepare the timing and positioning to receive in advance
Progressions
Once players get used to it, add complexity with touch limits and similar constraints.
Kazu's notes FROM THE COACH
I designed this from a hypothesis: in matches I felt that "there are many passing errors even when a teammate is free", meaning players were not fully picking up (perceiving) their teammates. I want to train players to look, visually and deliberately.
Use this drill in your own session
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5v2 Rondo with Position Changes5+2 players · U-11 and up · Keeping the ball
I'm Kazu — a youth football coach in Japan since 1995. These are sessions I actually use, shared from the Japanese coaching site I have run for years (Junior Soccer College). I also write a free weekly newsletter on how children learn the game.