Annual training plan · U14–U23

Week 40: Individual Training – Passing Against a Wall

2 complete training sessions with 6 drills – created by licensed coaches. Open every drill in the easy2coach web app with one click.

This week’s focus

To improve dribbling, a few items of clothing can simply be placed on the training area as opponents and beaten with feints. As long as attention is paid to a match-realistic tempo, progress will be made here too.

If your players want to improve their passing and receiving, a wall is the ideal training partner. The wall reflects the quality of your players' passes very well. If the ball is played inaccurately, it comes back even more inaccurately. If the ball dies on its way to the wall, it may even stop on the way back. If the “team-mate” is played an unusable, knee-high ball, it comes back nastily too.

No opponents are needed to train finishing either, just a ball and a goal or a wall. Players can work on improving a shooting technique, do some target shooting at the crossbar or finish after a dribble. In shooting practice, too, the rule is to train in match-realistic ways. This means that finishes should be taken with both feet and from dribbling.

Whether dribbling, heading, passing, shooting or receiving the ball: every technique can really be trained alone. All it takes is a bit of creativity and organisation. To improve in individual training, you do not need masses of training equipment. It is enough to juggle the ball. This is an excellent way to train feel for the ball. If simple juggling is no longer a real challenge, the level of difficulty has to be increased. For example, the ball can be kept up only with the left/right foot or the head.

Author Luis Österlein

Session 1

3 drills

As well as working with the ball, you can of course also work very well on athleticism on your own. After 2 drills working on coordination and technique, the session ends with a short but intense endurance and sprint workout. A sprint interval session is carried out. This involves alternately sprinting 50 metres and running at a relaxed pace for 15-45 seconds. Interval training is an excellent training method for achieving a large training effect in a short time.

Interval training is characterised by the alternation between intense and recovery phases. What is important in the recovery phases is that the body does not shut down completely but keeps moving easily. In the intense sections, the aim is then to give everything again. If your players are not yet very familiar with interval training, you can make the recovery phases a little longer to begin with.

Another advantage of interval sprints for football is that this training is closer to the actual game than an endurance run. In a match there are repeated short, intense sprints, but also stoppages or match situations in which players only have to run at a relaxed pace.

Coaching points for this session
  • This session requires a training partner for Exercise 1. Alternatively, however, the training mat can also be placed in front of a wall, and the player throws the ball themselves.
Drill 1

Passing and Coordination with a Training Mat

3 metres distance to the mat

The player stands on the mat exclusively on the ball of the left or the right foot. The feeder throws the ball; the following tasks are carried out:

  • Pass with the inside of the left and with the inside of the right foot, six times each.
  • Pass with the left and with the right instep, six times each.
  • Head the ball back, four times each standing on the ball of the left and on the ball of the right foot.
  • Jump up and head the ball back; after the header, land again on the ball of the left or the right foot, four times each.
  • Control with the chest and pass back with the inside of the foot, six times per foot.
Equipment & set-up

Pitch: One training mat; the feeder stands about three metres away from it.

Equipment: 1 training mat and 1 ball.

Players: One player on the mat, plus a training partner or the coach as the feeder.

Coaching points
  • Find stability in the ankle and knee joint.
  • Build up body tension.
  • Do not lean back when passing and tense the stomach.
  • Play the balls back with power and not in an arc.
  • When controlling with the chest, turn the upper body slightly in order to direct the ball towards the foot that plays the pass.
  • Meet the ball with the large surface of the forehead and build up arched body tension while doing so.
Drill 2

Juggling over a Distance

15 min8 to 12 metres

The player juggles the ball from the first marker to the second, around it and back again. The following tasks are carried out:

  • The ball may not be touched with the thigh.
  • On the way, the ball must be touched with the head at least three, five or ten times.
  • Every time the ball touches the ground, the player sprints back to the first marker before juggling on.
  • The player tries to complete the distance with as few touches as possible.
  • The ball is juggled in strict alternation with the left and the right foot.

Note: The difficulty of the tasks and the length of the distance are adapted to the level of ability; if necessary, the distance is completed without the way back.

Equipment & set-up

Pitch: Two markers eight to twelve metres apart.

Equipment: 2 tall cones, cones or poles and one ball per player.

Players: Every player works alone.

Coaching points
  • Stay patient.
Drill 3

Sprint Intervals

20 min50 metres
  • The player starts at the first pole and sprints to the second pole.
  • The player then runs for 20 seconds at a very relaxed pace; at the end of these 20 seconds the player should be back at the second pole.
  • From there the player sprints back to the first pole and again completes 20 seconds of relaxed running.
  • This sequence is repeated several times.
Equipment & set-up

Pitch: Two poles 50 metres apart.

Equipment: 2 poles.

Players: Every player works alone.

Coaching points
  • Carry out the sprints at top speed right to the end.
  • During the 20 seconds keep it completely relaxed, but do not stand still — this is the recovery time.
  • Keep a neutral head position.
  • Move the arms in a straight line.
  • Pay attention to sufficient knee lift.
The complete session as a ready-made training plan – with animated drills in the web app. Go to the web app

Session 2

3 drills

Motivation has a very significant influence on sporting performance. For many athletes, social motives play an important role in taking part in a sport. This can be maintaining and making contacts or the recognition of sporting achievements.

When individual training is carried out, many social motives are not directly felt. However, when training independently, it helps to think long-term in order to drive yourself on. In addition, it should be borne in mind that there are many more motives for doing sport. If you want to motivate your players for individual training, mentioning the following motives can help:

  • Achieving goals as a team: If you have set goals for the season with your team, you can remind the players of them again. This makes the players think in the longer term, and they can also overcome short-term lapses in motivation
  • Promoting health: This can be losing body weight but also reducing stress
  • Standing and responsibility within the team: If time away from training is used effectively to improve, standing within the team can increase. Especially in youth sport, standing within the team depends heavily on performance. If the coach also recognises the progress, the player can put themselves forward for areas of responsibility. This can be, for example, the role of captain, taking set pieces or securing a regular starting place
  • Delivering outstanding performances: Sporting performances make it possible to prove something not only to the team or to others, but also to yourself. This self-efficacy also gives the player confidence for future tasks. This does not have to be limited to sport, but can also help with social, school or work challenges
Drill 1

Ball Control and Passing with High Balls

15 min

The player takes up a position two to three metres away from the rebounder and carries out the following tasks:

  • Play the ball against the wall first time and high with the inside of the foot. If the task is too difficult, the ball may bounce once after each pass.
  • Play the ball high against the wall with two touches. Here too the ball may bounce once if needed.
  • Throw the ball against the wall, play it back with the left or right instep and catch it again.
  • Throw the ball against the wall, control it with the chest, play it against the wall with the inside of the foot and catch it again.
  • Head the ball against the wall.
  • Play the ball against the wall exclusively with the inside of the left or the right foot.
  • Play the ball against the wall as a drop kick.
  • Play the ball against the wall alternately first time and with two touches.
Equipment & set-up

Pitch: A wall or a rebounder; the player stands two to three metres in front of it.

Equipment: 1 wall or rebounder and 1 ball.

Players: One player.

Coaching points
  • Do not lean back.
  • Lock the ankle.
  • Stay in a ready position to receive the ball.
Drill 2

Training Speed with Poles

15 min

Upright poles:

  • Run through in a slalom.
  • Run through in a slalom backwards.
  • Run through in a slalom sideways.
  • Run all the way around every second pole clockwise; the body always faces forwards.
  • Run all the way around every second pole anticlockwise; the body always faces forwards.
  • Run through in a slalom sideways with crossover running.
  • Alternately two poles forwards and one pole back; with every change of direction the side is changed as well.

Poles lying on the ground:

  • Two steps between the poles.
  • Run through the poles in a slalom with side steps.
  • Run through the poles in a slalom with crossover running.
  • Two steps between the poles, sideways.
Equipment & set-up

Pitch: Five poles stand as a course two metres apart one behind the other; five further poles lie on the ground one metre apart.

Equipment: 10 poles.

Players: The players complete the tasks one after the other.

Coaching points
  • Keep a low centre of gravity.
  • Work on the balls of the feet.
  • Bring the hands along.
  • Take enough rest between the run-throughs.
  • Always choose the shortest route and do not run around in an arc.
Drill 3

Feints, Dribbling and Cutting

15 min

The player dribbles up to the dummy and goes past it on the left or right after a feint. Then the player dribbles up to the cone ahead, performs another feint and cuts sharply.

Variations: Feints at the dummy:

  • Step-over.
  • Lunge.
  • Double step-over.
  • Combination of step-over and lunge.
  • Matthews trick: knock the ball with the inside of the foot, then push past with the outside.
  • Shot feint.

Variations: Feints at the cone:

  • Scissors.
  • Body feint.
  • Pass feint.
  • Shot feint followed by cutting behind the standing leg.
  • Combination of scissors and body feint.
Equipment & set-up

Pitch: Set up as shown in the graphic. The dummy stands 8 to 10 metres from the starting cone, the other cones another 8 metres behind it.

Equipment: 1 dummy, 3 cones, 1 ball per player.

Players: The players start one after the other from the starting cone.

Coaching points
  • Pick up speed at the dummy.
  • Shift the centre of gravity far enough on the step-over, the Matthews trick and the lunge.
  • Try not to lose any speed while feinting.
  • Start the feint in good time.
  • Make an explosive change of pace after the feint.
  • At the cone, cut sharply after the feint and push the ball forward rather than just stopping it.
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