North, south, east, west

LEARNING
 OBJECTIVES
This session will help players:
• move to receive the ball
• receive to play forward
• use different techniques to receive the ball in different areas.

ORGANISATION
• Set up a square area approximately 30x30 yards
• Along each side of the area, attach a zone around ten yards deep – name these zones
north, south, east and west
• Play in two teams of seven – divide each team into two defenders, three midfielders and
two attackers
• Position the players to play across the pitch in different directions
• One team will have their defenders and attackers in the north and south zones – the
other team will have theirs in the east and west zones
• Both teams’ midfielders will play in the middle zone

HOW TO PLAY
Unopposed with interference
• The practice starts with an unopposed activity
• The aim is for each team to move the ball back and forth through their three zones
• Having both teams playing across each other adds interference and increases the need
for decision-making
• Players should stay in their zones
Opposed practice
• Remove one of the footballs
• The ball starts with the defenders in the end zone
• One defender passes to their team-mate who then plays into midfield
• The aim is to play through the midfield zone and into their attackers to score a point
• When a team scores, the attackers play the ball to the opposing team’s defenders to
start the activity again
• If the defending team’s midfielders win the ball, they can play it into their attackers to
score a point

Match
• Turn the practice into a match
• Remove the east and west zones – the attackers and defenders from each team now
occupy the north and south zones
• Extend the north and south zones to add a new area for a goal – ask a defender from
each team to become a goalkeeper
• If you don’t have goalkeepers at training, outfield players could take turns, or you could
play without a GK and set a challenge, such as scoring with a one-touch finish
• Players stay within their zones, but you can slowly remove the restrictions
• The aim is to play the ball through the thirds and score