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Pre Academy Session 1

This is a fun session designed to get your players a ton of repetitions on the ball practicing a variety of ball mastery techniques and lots of time dribbling and stopping the ball. Focus on trying to get the players to look around at their surroundings through the session.

Set up a grid where the players will do the activity, do not make the grid too large you want the players to have to keep the ball under close control. All Players will need a ball the goal is for the players to complete all of the ball mastery techniques whilst keeping their ball inside of the grid and not hitting any of the other players. 

Skills

Toe Touches
Foundations – Tik Toks
Drag Back Touch Forwards
Tik Tok Sole Roles
Outside Of Foot Touch Drag Back
V -Pulls Inside & Outside Foot
Drag Backs Alternate Foot
Sole Roles With Partner

Blocked

Repeat the same skill focus on teaching good technique and the player starting to master the skill. Do 30 repetitions. Do the skill for 30 seconds. How many can you do in 30 seconds. Go slow speed, go medium speed and go fast. Vary the speeds. Add in Freeze and Go commands.

Serial

Serial practice refers to practicing several different skills in a fixed order. Unlike blocked practice, where one skill is repeatedly drilled, serial practice involves a sequence of different skills, but this sequence remains consistent throughout the practice session. Combine 2 or 3 skills and practice in the same order. Try and do one of each skill in order. Keep making new series of skills and repeat them. How many of the series can you do in 1 minute. Do 5 repetitions of the series then create a new one

Random

Random practice involves practicing a variety of skills in a random order, rather than in a fixed sequence as in serial practice. Create a sequence of skills then change it for the next sequence keep changing it. Let the players come up with theor own random sequences for everyone to copy. Call out random skills for the players to do.

Have all your players line up together each player has a ball.When the coach shouts GREEN LIGHT players can dribble
their ball forwards. As soon as the coach shouts RED LIGHT the players must get immediate control of their ball
with a toe touch stop. When the coach shouts ORANGE LIGHT the players must turn around and dribble back in the
direction they came from. If the player does not get control of their ball the coach sends them back to the start
line. The winner is the first player to get across the pitch to the finish line.

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This is a fun dribbling relay race game played in teams of two or more. Try and keep your teams as small as possible so players get the most repetitions without too much waiting. If you have uneven numbers simply make players on the team with less players go more than once. All players start with a ball at the corner of the playing area. The first player in line has to dribble their ball into the Drop Off Zone in the middle of the grid they must stop their ball in the Drop Off Zone then they sprint back and tag the next player in line who repeats the task. The first team to have all their balls in the Drop Off Zone and back at their starting cone are the winners. You can then play the same game in reverse where the first player sprints out and collects a ball and dribbles back and tags the next player in line who then sprints out and gets another ball.

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Finish up your sessions with two 3v3 games. Make your 4 teams balanced and have them all play each other once rotation the teams every 5 minutes. You should be coaching the players on: 1. Don’t Kick The Ball Away When It Comes To You – Tell players they must take at least 2 touches or more every time they get the ball 2. Encourage Players To Get Away From Their Team Mates when they have the ball let them have space to play. Find your own space