Winger: beat them, then cut it back
Transcript
Wingers, beat your defender to the byline, then cut it back. Here's the drill. You need a partner to defend, a runner, a ball, a goal, and a channel ten metres wide on the wing. Watch. Dribble at them, reach the byline, and pass it back along the ground to the penalty spot. First, burst past them down the line. Then, look up, and pass it into the runner's path. Not this. Lifting it into the air. Our target is six goes on each wing, then swap roles. After any knock to the head, if in doubt, sit them out. Then take the free test at footballreach.com.
What it trains
The winger's end product: beat a defender towards the byline, then pass it back along the ground for a runner to finish first time. The FA suggests trying a cut-back when you get near the byline.
Set up
- A partner to defend
- A runner
- A ball and a goal
- 10 m wide channel
How it works
- Warm up first. Mark a channel 10 m wide on one wing, running 15 to 30 m back from the byline, next to a goal.
- You start in the channel with the ball, 10 m from the defender. The runner starts about 5 m behind the penalty spot.
- Beat the defender towards the byline. They try to win the ball, staying on their feet.
- Near the byline, look up and pass it back along the ground to the runner arriving at the penalty spot. They finish first time.
- Walk back and go again: 6 goes on each wing, with 1 minute of rest between sets, then swap roles.
Coaching points
- Burst past, down the line. Dribble at the defender, fake inside, then push the ball past their outside and sprint after it down the line, towards the byline.
- Pass into the runner's path. Near the byline, look up before you pass. Pass it back along the ground into the space the runner is arriving in, not behind them, so they can finish first time.
Not this
Lifting the ball into the air. Keep every cut-back on the grass, so the runner can finish it first time with their feet.
Dose
- 6 goes on each wing
- Then swap roles
Our target: 6 goes on each wing with 1 minute of rest between sets, then swap roles (the Football Reach target, not an FA rule).
Harder / Easier
Harder
Add a second defender who recovers and tracks the runner. Or start with a pass in from the runner, so you take the defender on from your first touch.
Easier
The defender only jockeys and does not try to win the ball, and the runner starts on the penalty spot, until the cut-back is clean.
Safety
- If in doubt, sit them out: anyone with a suspected concussion stops straight away, does no training for at least 24 hours and plays no matches for at least 21 days (UK concussion guidelines).
- Defenders stay on their feet: no slide tackles. Ground cut-backs only: the ball stays on the grass, never in the air.
- The goal must be anchored or weighted down, and nobody climbs or swings on it. Flat grass with space all round, never a road or driveway.
- Under 16: if your knees or heels hurt when you run, stop and tell an adult. The FA says not to play through pain during growth spurts.
Sources
- England Football Learning - attacking session: width for deception (opens in a new tab)
- England Football Learning - dribbling session: attacking principles (opens in a new tab)
- The FA - goalpost safety (opens in a new tab)
- England Football - UK concussion guidelines for grassroots sport (opens in a new tab)
- The FA Boot Room - growth and the physical corner (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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