Small Group Possession - Technical Practice 

Setup: 

● Passing square technical practice.  

● Players pass around the edge of grid and follow pass.  

Progressions: 

● Add a combination to go around 

● Add some ball manipulations and turns by going into middle and performing turns after 
each pass.  

Key Points: 

● The aim of this practice is largely technical. It will work on the key foundational passing 
and receiving techniques that can then be taken into the following practices. 

 
 Small Group Possession - 2vs1 

Setup: 

● Players in groups of three. 

● Diagram shows the practice in different stages.  
● Player on end cone starts with ball, and plays a pass to middle player who checks away 
from cone to receive. Middle player gets turned, and plays to opposite end player. 
● Middle player then pressures ball - to begin first use passive defending - and then end 
player plays a 1-2 with opposite end player who has made a movement to support the ball 
and provide the passing options.  
● Move to full defending and also give the player the option to play a 1-2 or dribble past 
defender in a 1vs1.  

Key Points: 

● This practice aims to introduce young player to a 1-2/wall pass/give & go, and is a simple 
interaction and way of combining with a teammate.  
● Players will have to give correct angles to receive the pass.  
● Timing will also be important, along with weight and direction of the pass.  

 
 Small Group Possession - 2vs1 

Setup: 

● The diagram above shows this practice in its most rudimentary form (bottom) and also in 
one of its progressions (top). 
● To begin, attackers (reds) have to possess ball between themselves. The defender is 
restricted to movement across the line and has to try to screen and block passes.  

Key Points: 

● This aims to develop all of the principles that apply to possession.  

● It also provides opportunities in the progression where players will have to stay on the 
ball themselves as there will not always be immediate passing options available.  

Progressions: 

● Practice moves to two defenders, where one is blocking the line and the other can 
pressure ball and is not restricted to line. Therefore, attacker will have to use 1vs1 skills to 
keep the ball until a passing option is available.  

 
 Small Group Possession - 2vs1 

Setup: 

● Simple 2vs1 practice going to goal.  

● Attacker plays ball to teammate, then makes an overlapping run to provide a supporting 
option in front of the ball.  
● Player who has the ball can use the runner, or dribble themselves.  

Key Points: 

● Practice aims to introduce younger players to an overlapping run.  

● The practice will also aim to help young players think about whether or not they will use 
the overload, or whether they will go themselves.  
● If chosen, the timing of the pass will also be important.  
● Committing the defender before releasing pass and taking available space that will allow 
you to go forward.  

 
 Small Group Possession - 2vs1 Repetition Circuit 

Setup: 

● Two teams split up and position themselves as in diagram.  

● Coach serves ball to one team. The team that receives ball brings out two players whilst 
the defending team brings out one.. 
● Attacking team has to dribble ball or pass ball to a running teammate over defending 
teams endline to score.  
● If defending team wins ball, they have to dribble over opposite endline.  

Key Points: 

● This practice aims at getting players plenty of repetition in a 2vs1 scenario. 

● When to dribble and when to pass will be a key part of this activity, and trying to commit 
the defender with forward progress - with and without the ball - to advance forwards.  

 
 Small Group Possession - 2vs1 Small Sided Game 

Setup: 

● Small sided game looking at exposing players to plenty of repetition in a 2vs1 scenario.  
● Play for x amount of time and red players have to score as many goals as possible in that 
time. Players score by dribbling ball or passing ball to a runner over endline.  
● Switch roles after time limit and play again.  

Progression: 

● Game now progresses to 2vs2 with one defender locked into each half. Players score in 
same way as in previous practices. 

 
 Small Group Possession - 2vs1 

Setup: 

● 2vs1 with possession players in opposite halves with defender in middle zone.  
● Attackers have to possess ball. They can do this in two ways: 
○ Pass the ball back and forth across zone where defender is located.  
○ They can choose to dribble the ball forward to commit the defender. If they do 
dribble forward, defender can leave zone to press ball. They then have to pass 
across.  
● Attackers have to stay in their half.  

Key Points: 

● This practice looks at helping players learn when to pass and when to dribble, and how 
they can manipulate defenders.  

 
 Small Group Possession - Rondo 

Setup: 

● One person on each side as in diagram with defenders in the middle.  

● Number of defenders can be adjusted accordingly. Good numbers for the rondo include 
3vs1/4vs1/4vs2.  
● Players, simply, look to keep possession of the ball.  
● If defenders touch ball, they switch with the person who made the mistake.  

Progressions: 

● Could add a transitional element to the practice for defenders. For example: 
○ If defenders win ball, they have to dribble ball outside of grid. Possession players 
have to stop it from happening.  
○ Could add mini goals outside of grid, so when defenders win the ball, they have to 
pass ball into them.  

Key Points: 

● For such a simple activity, this practice will help develop most of the principles that have 
been described.  
● Options will need to be provided to the person on the ball to be able to retain possession 
of the ball. This will require movement, awareness perception etc.  
● There will plenty of repetitions of these various principles.  

 
 Small Group Possession - Rondo 5vs3 

Setup: 

● 5vs3 possession rondo with players positioned as in diagram. 

● Practice is 4vs2 in one half with one player located in central zone.  
● Aim is to progress ball from one half to the other. 
● When ball is switched, one defender moves across to increase numbers to two. 
Possession players along edge will also shift across to create a 4vs2 in opposite half. 

Progressions: 

● Could add x amount of passes before you can go across.  

Key Points: 

● Once again, this practice works on the aforementioned principles of keeping possession.  
● This could also be viewed as a functional possession practice for older players looking at 
playing out from the back, with players positioned as needed.  
● Another key aspect of this practice is third man runs that can arise from paying into the 
middle then outside to play across.  
● This practice is a bigger version of the rondo that was introduced earlier.  

 
 Small Group Possession - 2vs2+4 

Setup: 

● 2vs2 in middle of grid with 4 target players who play for team in possession and work 
along their side of the grid.  
● Aim is to keep possession of the ball for as long as possible.  
● Target players can play to each other when needed. 

Key Points: 

● Example constraints that can be used are: 

○ Try to play a one touch pass to a teammate.  
○ Try to receive the ball without a defender on your back. 
○ If tagged on back just before you receive ball, the ball turns over. 

 
 Small Group Possession - 3vs3+3 

Setup: 

● 3vs3 in middle with 3 outside target players who play for team in possession.  
● This practice is a possession team vs. defending team. Switch roles every so often. 
● When defending team win the ball, they have to try and pass ball into one of the mini 
goals around outside.  
● Upon loss of the ball, the target players can come inside and try to anticipate and block 
passes into goal and steal ball back. When possession is won back, they go back to 
starting positions.  

Key Points: 

● Although a possession practice that will help develop the principles that have been 
described, this practice can also be used to help develop the mentality of pressing upon 
immediate loss of the ball. When the possession team lose the ball, they have to prevent 
the defending team passing ball into mini goals. Therefore, they will be playing in different 
moments of the game, will have to react accordingly.  

 
 Small Group Possession 

Setup: 

● Possession game playing from target (yellow) to target player. 

● 3vs3 in middle 
● Target players can move laterally across line to provide options to play forward.  

Progressions: 

● Adjust numbers and size of grid accordingly. 2vs2 is a good starting point for this practice. 
Could also use overloaded/underloaded scenarios, e.g 2vs1 to further progress/regress 
practice.  

Key Points: 

● Could zone off the middle section into thirds or quarters for example, and then use 
various constraints/conditions to help bring out the desired outcome. For example: 
○ Cannot be in the same zone as a teammate, but have to move (this will force 
players to be aware of each other's movements.  
○ Receive the ball with a defender not in your back.  
● This is a great practice for helping to develop movement, awareness, and perception, and 
the overall principles of the game.  

 
 Small Group Possession - Positional Possession Practice 

Setup: 

● Play through the thirds from target to target.  

● 2vs1 - 1vs2 for team in possession as they progress through.  
○ 2vs1 to build out. 3vs1 if you include target player. 
○ 1vs2 in opposite half. 

Possible conditions/progressions: 

● Once in opposite half, you cannot go backwards. 

● In defending half, can play directly into target player.   
○ Must be a controllable pass. 
● Could add wide players to practice to play for team in possession along the sides of the 
grid.  
● Target player can play directly into opposite half. 
○ Could possibly add a condition where if this happens, they have to play a one 
touch pass to a supporting player who joins from the defending half.  

 
 Small Group Possession - Passing/Receiving/Movement/Support 

Setup: 

● The field is split into zones as in diagram above.  

● To begin, all players are locked into their respective zones with movement and freedom 
allowed within those zones.  
● Reds aim to pass ball through the zones playing from end to end.  
● Blues aim to block, screen, and intercept passes if they can. If blue's do intercept, they 
can go to any of the mini goals that are nearest to them.  
● When reds lose ball, they can leave their zones to press and win ball back quickly before 
blue has the chance to go to goal.  
● If reds do win ball back, they go back to their respective zones, and the game continues 
playing from end to end.  

Progressions: 

● Upon reception of the ball in middle, blue defender can pressure from behind. This will 
then force red to outplay blue to be able to play forward.  
● Could progress it, so red can be pressured from both blues in a 1vs2. 
● Could remove zones and play 1vs2 in middle at all times.  

Key Points: 

● This is simple but effective practice that will help develop many principles that apply to 
retaining possession of the ball.  
 ● To begin, The player in the middle will have to provide correct supporting angles to the 
person on the ball based on the position of the defender and the available space.  
● Receiving skills to be able to play forward efficiently will also be required.  
● Due to the blues being able to go to mini goals upon winning the ball, the practices also 
includes a transitional element, so players have to react to this accordingly, and counter 
press the ball to prevent blues from scoring.  

 
 Small Group Possession 

Setup: 

● Grid split up into two halves as in diagram 

● 2vs1 in each half with a middle player who plays for team in possession and can float 
between the both halves.  
● Possession game playing from end to end through middle player as much as possible (not 
all the time as the situation dictates).  
● If defender wins ball, they have to dribble over end line closest to them under control.  

Key Points: 

● This practice aims to simulate playing out from the back scenarios and patterns within a 
constant possession practice.  
● So, the two possession players could mimic two centre defenders, for example, with the 
central player being a central midfielder.  

 
 Small Group Possession 

Setup: 

● Grid setup with multiple smaller squares as in diagram. 

● Two teams with one ball between them, passing and moving around the grid.  
● This practice can be adjusted in many different ways. The possibilities are endless. It aims 
to provide a format and guideline to progress from.  

Progressions: 

Different constraints can be added to this game. For example: 

● Cannot be in the same grid as a teammate when you receive the ball.  
● Have to make a run into a empty square to receive the ball.  
● Have to switch grids with a teammate to receive ball.  
● Have to take first touch into an empty grid.  
● Have to make a run into an empty square to receive and then take first touch into another 
grid.  
● Try to receive and play the ball through gaps as much as possible.  
● As soon as the ball is played you have to make a movement into another grid.  
● Play a 1-2/overlap into an empty grid.  
● Play a one touch pass to a teammate (3rd man movement/awareness). 
● Drive through and carry ball through gaps. 
Could also progress as follows: 

● Turn practice into a possession game playing from target players where you can place 
the conditions above into the practice as needed. 
● Place goals and play a game and make practice more positionally applicable.   

Key Points: 

● The main point of this practice is to explore cognitive process within the game of soccer.  
● Awareness, movement, and perception will also be key concepts within this practice.