Annual training plan · U14–U23

Week 27: Beating an Opponent in a 1 vs 1

3 complete training sessions with 12 drills – created by licensed coaches. Open every drill in the easy2coach web app with one click.

This week’s focus

The winter preparation is ideal for deepening the playing philosophy further or making necessary adjustments. At the same time, after the winter break, a fitness foundation for the second half of the season has to be built and technique refined once more.

In the 6-week preparation for the second half of the season, the first 3 weeks focus on technique and coordination. During this period, work is also done repeatedly on the 1 vs 1 to coach duelling behaviour once more before the second half of the season. Both in terms of intensity and individual tactical behaviour.

The 2nd part of the preparation will then be about team tactics and athletics. This covers acceleration speed but also sprints over medium and longer distances. This is also a good opportunity to take a closer look at the players' running style and correct mistakes if necessary. Endurance is not trained specifically during the preparation but is built through the intensity of the small-sided games and practices.

This week, the work is on dribbling and the 1 vs 1. All 3 forms of dribbling (to keep possession, to beat an opponent and at speed) will be part of the training week. Feinting will also be a further building block of the dribbling training.

Author Luis Österlein

Session 1

4 drills

If a player on the ball is faced with one or more opponents and cannot pass the ball, the player has 2 options. They choose either dribbling to beat an opponent or dribbling to keep possession.

Today is mainly about the 2nd option – dribbling to keep possession. It helps if the player…

  • …can dribble confidently with both feet. That way the player can always dribble with the foot furthest from the opponent, which makes it much harder to attack the ball.
  • …looks up from the ball again and again while dribbling. This makes it possible to spot options for a follow-up action.
  • …performs quick changes of direction and feints. In this way the player in possession can create the space needed to carry out a follow-up action.
Coaching points for this session
  • Close ball control
  • Two-footed dribbling
  • Keep looking up from the ball
  • Carry the ball with the foot furthest from the opponent
  • Perform feints, changes of pace and direction to get away from the opponent
Drill 1

Chain Tag

15 min20 x 20 metres or larger, depending on the number of players
  • The drill starts with one catcher; the remaining players move around inside the playing area.
  • As soon as the catcher has touched a player, that player also becomes a catcher.
  • Hand in hand, the two of them catch further players.
  • If four or more players are holding hands as catchers, the chain of catchers may be split.
  • A round is over when all players have been caught.
Equipment & set-up

Pitch: Four cones mark a square.

Equipment: 4 cones.

Players: The whole group; one player starts as the catcher.

Coaching points
  • Communicate with each other.
  • Use body feints to unsettle the catchers.
Drill 2

Running with the Ball + Change of Direction

20 min12 x 12 metres
  • The players standing opposite each other always start at the same time.
  • The dribbling routes are carried out as shown in the graphic: dribble around the yellow cone at the front; dribble around the yellow cone and a red cone; dribble around two yellow cones, in each case to the left or to the right.
Equipment & set-up

Pitch: Four red cones mark the corners of a square, four blue cones lie in the middle of each of the four sides, four yellow cones form a diamond in the centre of the playing area.

Equipment: 12 cones in three colours and several balls.

Players: At each blue cone there is a pair of players with a ball; the pairs stand opposite each other.

Coaching points
  • Keep the ball close to the foot.
  • Look up from the ball regularly.
  • Dribble around the cones by the shortest route, not in an arc.
  • Dribble with both feet.
  • Watch out for collisions.
Drill 3

1 vs 1 After Activation

20 min
  • The coach plays or throws the ball roughly into the middle of the playing area.
  • One player each from Red and Blue starts towards the ball.
  • The players may only score a goal once they have dribbled through one of the four yellow cone goals.
  • The finish is on the two goals that are further away from their own starting position.

Variations: It can also be played 2 vs 2.

Equipment & set-up

Pitch: Eight yellow cones form four cone goals about two metres wide; plus four mini goals.

Equipment: 4 mini goals, 8 cones and several balls.

Players: Two teams — Red and Blue — waiting at opposite starting positions.

Coaching points
  • Dribble with the foot furthest from the opponent.
  • Use feints and changes of pace to get away from the opponent.
  • Keep the ball close.
  • Get to the finish promptly.
Drill 4

6 vs 6 on Changing Goals

20 min25 x 25 metres
  • It is played 6 vs 6 on four mini goals.
  • The goal the teams attack is specified — for example yellow attacks goals 1 and 4, blue attacks goals 2 and 3.
  • During the game the goals are changed.
Equipment & set-up

Pitch: Four tall cones mark the playing area; on the sides there are four mini goals numbered 1 to 4.

Equipment: 4 mini goals, 4 tall cones and several balls.

Players: Two teams of six players each.

Coaching points
  • Make the game wide.
  • Look for lots of 1 vs 1 situations.
  • Stay focused throughout in order to keep track of the changing goals.
The complete session as a ready-made training plan – with animated drills in the web app. Go to the web app

Session 2

4 drills

The focus of today's training session is dribbling to beat an opponent. A successful dribble can easily throw the opposing defence into disorder. Because once a player has dribbled past an opponent, another defender has to leave their own opponent to close down the player on the ball. This creates space for the team-mates.

But which dribbling skills are needed to beat an opponent?

  • A repertoire of a few feints is definitely helpful for opening up a side to break through
  • Once the opponent has been wrong-footed with a feint, a change of pace with the ball must follow. Ideally, the defender has now been left behind
  • What is needed now is a fast dribble (dribbling at speed) or a follow-up action, so as not to give the opponent a 2nd chance of a duel.
Coaching points for this session
  • After winning the dribble, keep up the pace and/or cross the running path of the opponent
  • Go past the opponent with feints and a change of pace
  • When feinting, shift the centre of gravity sufficiently
Drill 1

Grid Dribbling with Various Tasks

15 min20 x 20 metres

The players dribble in their square freely or only with the right or only with the left. On visual and acoustic signals they carry out additional tasks:

  • Clapping hands: crouch over the ball
  • Raising the right arm: swing the ball between the legs
  • Raising the left arm: control the ball with the sole
  • Two whistles: change square clockwise
  • Three whistles: change square anticlockwise
  • One whistle: change square diagonally
Equipment & set-up

Pitch: One large square with four smaller squares at its corners.

Equipment: Cones and tall cones as well as one ball per player.

Players: The players are divided evenly among the four smaller squares.

Coaching points
  • Pay attention to close ball control.
  • Look up from the ball.
  • Constantly build in changes of pace and direction.
Drill 2

1 vs 1 on Dribbling Lines

20 min
  • The yellow player starts the action with a pass to the blue player standing opposite.
  • The blue player takes the ball forwards with the first touch.
  • Inside the marked playing area it is played 1 vs 1 against the yellow player.
  • If the yellow player wins the ball, the yellow player can counter-attack towards the red dribbling goals.
  • Afterwards both players join the queue on the other side.
Equipment & set-up

Pitch: Cones in different colours mark a square as well as the red dribbling goals.

Equipment: Cones in different colours and several balls.

Players: A yellow and a blue player stand opposite each other.

Coaching points
  • Take the ball straight into the movement.
  • Pick up speed.
  • Get past the opponent with a feint and a change of pace.
Drill 3

3 vs 3 to Dribbling Goals

15 min15 x 20 metres or 20 x 20 metres
  • The game is played as a free 3 vs 3.
  • Goals only count if a player dribbles over the opposition's dribbling line — the red team over the right line, the green team over the left one.
  • If a team scores a dribbling goal, possession passes to the other team and a new 3 vs 3 starts.

Variations:

  • As a competition, until one team has scored 3, 5 or 10 goals.
  • With considerably more than six players, change the attacking team after every goal or mark out several playing areas and play in parallel.
Equipment & set-up

Pitch: Four cones form the dribbling goals on the left and on the right, further cones mark out the playing area.

Equipment: Cones and at least 1 ball.

Players: At least six players, split into two teams of three.

Coaching points
  • Demand plenty of 1 vs 1 situations.
  • The goals are very wide, so switches of play create a lot of space.
Drill 4

4 vs 4 on Goals + Coordination and Endurance Course

25 minAbout 40 x 20 metres
  • Two teams play 4 vs 4.
  • The other four players complete the course: the agility ladder is run through with small steps, at the hurdles fast, explosive jumps follow. Behind the goals the players jog gently, on the fourth side they sprint.
  • After five minutes a rest of about two minutes follows, then the groups swap.
Equipment & set-up

Pitch: Cones mark out the playing area, two goals stand at the ends. The agility ladder and the small hurdles are laid out all around.

Equipment: Cones, 2 goals, 1 agility ladder, small hurdles and at least 1 ball.

Players: Three teams with four players each.

Coaching points
  • During the 4 vs 4, pay attention to how the players get free on the move.
  • Demand feints, changes of position and showing for the ball in a free position.

Session 3

4 drills

Dribbling at speed, also known as dribbling to cover ground, is needed above all when the player on the ball has a lot of space ahead. A match situation that arises, for example, after a 1 vs 1 has been won, after a switch of play or after a pass in behind the defence.

The player in possession can push the ball further ahead in order to cover the available space as quickly as possible. If the dribbling player comes under pressure from an opponent behind, cutting is not the preferred solution. Because the defender behind gets back behind the ball and the attack loses pace, which allows the opposition to reorganise.

A much better solution is to cut across the defender's path. This forces the defender to slow down somewhat in order to avoid a foul. To keep the risk of losing possession as low as possible, the ball should be carried with the foot furthest from the opponent when cutting across.

Coaching points for this session
  • Spot open spaces and increase the dribbling speed immediately
  • Keep looking up from the ball to recognise possible follow-up actions
  • Cut across the path of opponents behind you
  • Cut across their path with the foot furthest from the opponent
Drill 1

Various Passes

20 min
  • Player A passes to Player B, who lays the ball off.
  • Player A plays a pass to Player C.
  • Player C dribbles to the cone and joins the back of the queue.
  • Player A runs to position B, Player B to position C.
  • After the lay-off, Player A plays alternately with Player C and Player D.

Variations:

  • Players C and D include a slalom dribble or a feint.
  • Player A plays a pass to Player C, who lays the ball off to Player B. Player B then plays a ball into the path of Player C.
Equipment & set-up

Equipment: 6 cones and several balls.

Players: The players at positions A, B, C and D.

Coaching points
  • Pay attention to the right pace of the pass.
  • Pass with both feet.
  • Carry out a preparatory movement.
  • Player B lays the ball off with the foot furthest from the opponent and then moves off sideways to the side that is not being played on.
  • Player A plays a firm forward pass to Player C or Player D.
  • Players C and D first drop back, then set off towards the pass and take the ball straight into their stride.
Drill 2

Dribbling and Endurance

20 min20 x 20 metres
  • Group A begins with dribbling at speed towards group B.
  • Level with the cone, player A passes to player B.
  • At the same time the first player of group C sets off dribbling at speed.
  • Player A immediately switches into a backwards movement in order to still intercept the player from group C.
  • After the pass from player C to player D, player D also sets off dribbling.
  • As the pass is played, the next player of group A sets off dribbling and is chased by player C; in this way the drill runs on continuously.
Equipment & set-up

Pitch: Four tall cones mark the playing area, eight cones indicate the group positions and the passing line.

Equipment: 4 tall cones, 8 cones and several balls.

Players: Four groups A, B, C and D.

Coaching points
  • Take the ball straight into the movement.
  • Run with the ball using the foot furthest from the opponent.
Drill 3

Situational Drill: 1 vs 1 on the Wing

20 minAs shown in the graphic
  • The coach starts the drill with a pass into the marked playing area.
  • The attacker tries to dribble over the inside line or, after crossing the edge of the penalty area, to score with a square pass.
  • The defender can finish on a counter-attack goal after winning the ball.
Equipment & set-up

Pitch: Cones mark a narrow wing channel from the halfway line to the goal line. In the penalty area there is a mini goal as the target goal, behind the starting position a second mini goal as the counter-attack goal.

Equipment: 2 mini goals, cones and several balls.

Players: One attacker and one defender in different bib colours, plus a coach with the balls next to the counter-attack goal.

Coaching points
  • Dribble with the foot furthest from the opponent.
  • Cross the running path of the opponent.
  • Dribble at the highest possible speed, in order to give the opponent no chance of a duel.
Drill 4

1 vs 1 up to 4 vs 4

25 min30 x 20 metres
  • Every game starts with a 1 vs 1.
  • The task is to dribble through a goal on the opposite side or to pass along the ground through it.
  • After a goal or after the ball goes out over the goal line or the touchline, one more player from each team moves into the playing area — making it 2 vs 2, 3 vs 3 and finally 4 vs 4.
  • To do so, the new player of the team entitled to the ball dribbles in.
Equipment & set-up

Pitch: Cones mark out the playing area; eight tall cones form four goals.

Equipment: 8 tall cones, cones and several balls.

Players: Two teams of four players each.

Coaching points
  • Look for the 1 vs 1 bravely.
  • Get past the opponent with a change of pace and a feint.
More on this topic 1v1 duels · 2 ready-made sessions View sessions →
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