Annual training plan · U9–U13

Week 41: Ball Mastery on Your Own – Juggling

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

Training alone is a great way to develop a good feel for the ball. Players can practise complicated tricks, juggle the ball or dribble through courses with lots of changes of direction.

When practising a new feint, you do not have to start straight away with dribbling at speed. The ball can first be placed still and the feint practised standing. With feints such as the step-over or the lunge, the ball does not even have to be touched. A feel for the movement pattern can be developed first. As soon as the movement pattern has been internalised and the feint works well standing, the next step can follow. The feints can now be performed while dribbling and the speed gradually increased until the trick is mastered at full speed. Once the classic feints are no longer a challenge, more complicated feints can be practised. Even though many complex tricks are rarely used, they still help to improve the feel for the ball.

It is similar with juggling. First, the basics should be mastered. Once players can juggle confidently with the left, the right, the head and strictly alternating, new challenges are needed. Juggling tricks such as “Around the World” can also be practised.

Author Luis Österlein

Session 1

3 drills

Today's session will be about, among other things, feints for dribbling past an opponent. Of course, skill moves such as the shot feint, the step-over or the lunge will be brushed up.

However, the somewhat more difficult Matthews trick will also be trained. The skill move takes its name from the English winger Stan Matthews, who regularly used this feint to get past opponents. But Matthews, who was named European Footballer of the Year in 1956, was not the only one to make use of this feint. This skill move still comes into play in modern football too. Arjen Robben used the Matthews trick regularly, almost exclusively. Proof that a winger does not necessarily need a huge repertoire of feints to be successful. Seen from the outside, Robben was actually a very predictable player. But because Robben has mastered this feint perfectly and has a superb burst of pace, defenders still came off second best.

In the Matthews trick, the ball is carried with the inside of the right foot. The body weight is shifted slightly to the left side of the body to feint going past on that side. At the right moment, for example when the opponent comes to a standstill or even steps in to engage, it all happens quickly. With a sudden burst, the ball is pushed past the opponent with the outside of the right foot.

Coaching points for this session
  • Feint with the whole body (shift the body weight)
  • Go past the opponent with a change of pace and direction
  • Start feints in good time
  • Make sure the feints are performed with a fluid movement
  • Pick up speed. However, still leave some room for a change of pace
Drill 1

Juggling with Different Variations

15 min
  • The player juggles the ball inside the marked area.
  • The player tries to juggle the ball at least 15, 30 or 50 times without the ball going to ground and without leaving the area.
  • If that happens, the player starts again from the beginning.

Variations — after the first task:

  • Juggle at least 15, 30 or 50 times with the left foot only or the right foot only.
  • Juggle at least 15, 30 or 50 times strictly alternating left and right, changing feet with every touch.
  • Juggle at least 5, 10 or 20 times with the head only.
Equipment & set-up

Pitch: Four cones mark out the area.

Equipment: 4 cones and 1 ball.

Players: One player.

Coaching points
  • Put the foot back down on the ground after every touch.
  • When juggling with the head, head from the knees and lower the centre of gravity after every touch.
  • The power does not come from the neck; the neck stays static.
Drill 2

Ball Work on the Spot and While Dribbling

20 min

Station 1 on the spot:

  • Roll the ball from side to side between the feet.
  • Touch the ball with the left and the right sole in turn.
  • Perform body feints and feints in front of the ball without touching the ball.

Station 2 while dribbling:

  • Carry the ball only with the left or only with the right foot, using all surfaces of the foot — sole, inside, outside and instep.
  • Roll the ball from side to side between the feet, forwards and backwards.
  • Pull the ball back with the left and the right sole in turn.
  • Touch the ball with the left outside, the left inside, the right outside and the right inside of the foot in turn.
  • Roll the ball through the legs with the left and the right sole in turn.
Equipment & set-up

Pitch: Three cones mark the two stations.

Equipment: 3 cones and 1 ball.

Players: One player.

Coaching points
  • Look up from the ball.
  • Keep the ball close.
  • Keep a low centre of gravity.
  • Increase the tempo as soon as the ball stays well under control.
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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Session 2

3 drills

In the 2nd drill, the players work on speed with and without the ball. When training speed, attention should be paid to match-realistic training. In football, longer, straight sprints over long distances are rather rare, at most during counter-attacks or passes in behind the defence. Most sprints are very short and also often combined with changes of direction.

Unlike in athletics, in football it is not enough just to be physically faster to win a foot race. It is at least as crucial that the player is also mentally quick. The “starting signals” in football are much more complex than in a 100-metre race. But to gain a head start over an opponent, a player has to be alert, have a good understanding of the game and anticipate a lot.

In addition, an attacking player should also be aware that they will make many sprints without getting the ball. But the runs are necessary to offer team-mates options. And even if the player does not receive the ball, they have tied up an opponent and created space for their team-mates.

Coaching points for this session

Sprint training in football:

  • Varying distances
  • Build in changes of direction
  • Combine the start with visual signals
  • Integrate sprints into drills
  • Combine sprint training with technique (dribbling at speed, first-time finish while sprinting, taking the ball in stride at speed)
Drill 1

Passing and Ball Control with Two Benches

15 min

The player stands in the area and plays the ball against the first bench. The returning ball is controlled with the first touch and then played against the second bench. In this way the player switches continuously between the upper and the lower bench.

Variations:

  • Perform a body feint before the first touch.
  • Do the drill against the clock: how long does the player need to play each bench five times?
Equipment & set-up

Pitch: Square marked out with four cones. There is a bench along each of two opposite sides; alternatively two walls serve as rebound surfaces.

Equipment: 2 benches or two walls, 4 cones, 1 ball.

Players: One player works in the area, the others wait outside.

Coaching points
  • Work in an open body position.
  • Pass with power.
  • If the ball is controlled with the left foot, the pass is played with the right.
  • If the ball is controlled with the right foot, the pass is played with the left.
  • Do not lean back when passing.
Drill 2

Sprint with and without the Ball

15 minSlalom course with six poles
  • The player completes the course six, eight or ten times.
  • The player runs around the poles alternately to the left and to the right and takes the long diagonal between the third and the fourth pole.
  • The first half of the runs is completed without a ball.
  • In the second half the course is dribbled through.
Equipment & set-up

Pitch: Set up six poles in a zigzag so that the player runs around them alternately on one side and then the other. Between the third and the fourth pole there is a noticeably longer diagonal than between the others. The start and the finish are each marked by a cone at the two ends of the course.

Equipment: 6 poles, 2 cones, 1 ball.

Players: One player, with the ball ready at the starting cone.

Coaching points
  • Bring the hands along.
  • Keep a low centre of gravity.
  • Build up body tension.
  • Land on the inside foot when changing direction.
  • Do not stray from the ideal line.
  • Work with both feet.
Drill 3

Dribbling Course - Individual Training

15 min

The player dribbles through the cones in a slalom. The following tasks are carried out:

  • Carry the ball only with the left or only with the right foot.
  • Carry the ball with the left outside, the left inside, the right outside and the right inside of the foot in turn.
  • Drag the ball backwards through the course with the sole.
  • Carry the ball with the sole only.
  • Juggle the ball through the course.
  • To finish, complete three to five runs against the clock.
Equipment & set-up

Pitch: Six cones form a slalom course.

Equipment: 6 cones and 1 ball.

Players: One player.

Coaching points
  • Keep the ball close.
  • Do not stray from the ideal line.
  • Look up from the ball.
  • Complete the runs at a high tempo, with technique coming before speed.
  • Take enough rest between the runs.
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