Triangle passing combinations
Transcript
Pass and move in a triangle, and quick one-twos help you play forward. Here's how. Warm up first. You need three players, a ball and three cones. Make a triangle, eight metres a side. Watch. Pass it in and move. They set it back first time. You play it on to the third player. First, pass, then move. Then, open up, so your first touch goes towards the next player. Not this. Standing still after your pass. Our target is four rounds of two minutes, resting a minute between. Change direction every minute, for both feet. Then take the free test at footballreach.com.
What it trains
Pass and move in a triangle, then add a one-two to play forward. England Football coaches the one-two as a core two-player move: pass, move into new space, and be ready to receive again.
Set up
- 3 players
- 1 ball
- 3 cones
- Triangle, 8 m a side
How it works
- Warm up first. On flat grass, set 3 cones in a triangle, 8 m apart, with one player on each cone. Use a size 4 ball at U12-U13 and a size 5 from U14.
- Pass round the triangle along the ground. Open up as the ball comes, touch it towards the next player, then pass. After every pass, move.
- Add the one-two: pass in and move forward, the receiver sets it back first time, and you play it on to the third player.
- Change direction every minute so both feet get work. Play 4 rounds of 2 minutes with 1 minute of rest.
Coaching points
- Pass, then move. As soon as the ball leaves your foot, move into new space, so the receiver can play it back to you. Weight every pass so it can be played first time.
- Open up, touch it on. Before the ball arrives, turn your body so you can see the passer and the next player. Let your first touch go towards the next player, then pass.
Not this
Standing still to watch your pass. The receiver has nobody to play it back to, and the move stops.
Dose
- 4 x 2 min, 1 min rest
- Change direction each min
Our target: 4 rounds of 2 minutes with 1 minute of rest, changing direction every minute (the Football Reach target, not an FA rule).
Harder / Easier
Harder
All one-touch. With a fourth player, start two on one cone and follow your pass to the next cone, so the ball and the players never stop.
Easier
Two touches every time and no one-two, until the passes arrive on the ground and on target.
Safety
- Flat, dry grass with space all round, never a road or a driveway.
- Spread out from other groups so a stray ball does not run into them.
- Passes along the ground only, nothing lifted into the air.
- Stop if anything hurts, and tell an adult.
Sources
- England Football Learning - combinations to play forward (opens in a new tab)
- England Football Learning - passing and receiving to score (session programme) (opens in a new tab)
- FIFA Training Centre - directing the ball with the first touch (opens in a new tab)
- FIFA Training Centre - technical activation circuit 2 (first-time one-two) (opens in a new tab)
- England Football FutureFit - ball sizes by age group (opens in a new tab)
Not sure which skill to work on first? The free Football Reach test gives you a Player Development Score and shows which of the four corners of your game to work on next, in about two minutes.
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