Tight First Touch

Players: 2+ | Difficulty: 4 |

Description:  Taking a first touch under pressure in a 1v1 scenario.

Application: Efficient and elusive first touch under pressure.

Instructions

BASED ON EXAMPLE DRAWING:

1. The Red Player plays a pass through the middle gate to the Blue Player.

2. The Blue Player's goal is to dribble through any of the three gates using either an effective first touch or deceptive movement.

3. The Red Player's goal is to kick the ball out of play or steak and dribble into the gate themselves.

The reason this drill is 4Stars is due to the tight space. The defender will be on top of the attacker right after their first touch, so the Attacker must either have a good first touch that puts them right in front of their targeted gate, have a deceptive first touch that fakes out the defender, or use their body to maneuver past the defender.

Rules

• The middle gate is worth 2 points due to its difficulty (dribbling AROUND a defender and forward).

• Players must stay within the cones imaginary lines.

• Players MUST HAVE CONTROL OF THE BALL when dribbling through the cones. If it is questionable the players must agree on the decision.

Setup

• 3 Cone Gates that are 2 feet wide, each set up 1 foot apart.

• Defender starting cone 1 foot behind the middle gate.

• 1 Attacker cone 3 yards away from the Defender's starting cone.

Rotation

• Defender becomes attacker.

• Attacker goes to back of the defender line.

Coaching Points

• Let players play as intense as they want. This game can be very physical for some types of players, or very elusive for others.

• Watch how and when players stab for the ball, critique the longer stabs and body positioning.

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