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Home/Training Drills/Passing Drills/Eight Stations, Two Balls
PassingIntermediate

Eight Stations, Two Balls

Combine a ten metre transfer with a short set, at a tempo set by having two balls in the circuit. Players must know where their next pass goes before the ball arrives, because the second ball never allows a pause.

Create your own drill
Live animationPAS
Duration
12 min
Total drill time
Players
8
Recommended
Pitch
Full Pitch
Setup space
Level
Intermediate
Skill required
Intensity
Medium
Physical demand
Age band
U13-U14
Any format

Setup & instructions

Set four mannequins as a central rectangle with a marker at each end, and put eight players on stations around it. Run one ball until the circuit is understood, then introduce the second on the opposite side so the two are always well separated. Each sequence is a long transfer of around ten metres, a short set at the receiving station, then another transfer. Two touch. If the balls converge, stop and reset the spacing.

Setup time: 2 min

Tactical breakdown

A single ball on a passing circuit gives every player about seven eighths of the exercise to stand and watch. They stay warm, they get a few touches, and they have as much time as they like to look up, which means the habit of scanning early never has to form.

Two balls removes the spare time without changing anything else. The second one is always on the opposite side of the circuit, which means a player receives roughly twice as often and, more importantly, has no interval in which to watch his own pass travel. The head has to come up between receiving and passing rather than afterwards, and that is the only real difference between a passing drill that transfers to a match and one that does not.

The rhythm within each sequence is worth protecting. A ten metre transfer and a three metre set are different passes: one struck, one cushioned. Groups tend to flatten them into a single middling weight once they are concentrating on the second ball, and the two-range alternation quietly disappears. It is worth calling out when it starts happening.

The practical test of whether it is working is the spacing. If the two balls stay on opposite sides for a full minute, the group is passing at the tempo the circuit sets. If they converge, somebody is rushing to get rid of the ball rather than raising his head, and the fix is a cleaner first touch rather than a quicker pass.

How to run this drill

  1. Decide before it arrives. With two balls running there is no gap afterwards in which to look up. Your next pass is chosen while the ball is still travelling toward you.
  2. Long is struck, short is cushioned. Ten metres and three metres are different passes. Once players are concentrating on the second ball, both flatten into one middling weight.
  3. Play past the mannequins. Circulating around the outside of the rectangle makes the obstacles decoration and removes the reason body shape matters here.
  4. Keep the balls opposite. Half a circuit of separation is what lets both run without either catching the other. Closer than that and it collapses within a minute.
  5. Head up between receive and pass. This is the entire reason for the second ball. Watching your own pass is the habit it exists to break.
  6. Reset rather than collide. When the balls converge, stop and restore the gap. Playing on through a pile-up teaches the group that the spacing does not matter.

Coaching focus

FROM SESSION PLAN

Coaching points

  • Know your next pass before the ball reaches you
  • Transfer long and firm, set short and cushioned
  • Play past the mannequin rectangle, not around the outside
  • Keep the two balls on opposite sides of the circuit
  • Head up between receiving and passing, every time
  • Reset the spacing rather than playing through a collision

Common mistakes

  • Watching your own pass and being caught by the second ball
  • The two balls drifting onto the same side of the circuit
  • Circulating round the outside so the mannequins never matter
  • Setting the short pass as firmly as the long transfer

Progressions & regressions

VARIATIONS

Progressions

  • One touch on the sets
  • Add a third ball, which leaves very little gap
  • Reverse the circuit direction on a call

Regressions

  • One ball only until the circuit is automatic
  • Unlimited touches
  • Remove two of the four mannequins
Equipment
Mannequins×4
Markers×2
Tactical principles
two ball passing drillpassing circuit drillwarm up passing drilleight player passing drillu13 passing drillawareness drill footballmannequin passing drilllong and short passing drillgroup passing drilltechnical warm up drill
Audience
U13-U14

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