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Home/Training Drills/Finishing Drills/Lob It, Volley It
FinishingAdvanced

Lob It, Volley It

Train striking a dropping ball cleanly. The server has to lift a controlled ball over the wall into the runner's path, and the finisher has to time his arrival and hit it before it settles.

Create your own drill
Live animationFIN
Duration
12 min
Total drill time
Players
5
Recommended
Pitch
Full Pitch
Setup space
Level
Advanced
Skill required
Intensity
Medium
Physical demand
Age band
U15-U16
Any format

Setup & instructions

Mark a narrow lane of about nine metres to the goal, with a small mannequin wall midway and a serving station at the far end. The server lifts the ball over the wall, and the attacker times his run to meet it and finishes from around seventeen metres, first time where possible or with a single touch. Keep the lane narrow so there is no option to take it wide. Rotate servers and finishers, and work both feet.

Setup time: 2 min

Tactical breakdown

Almost every finishing drill serves the ball along the ground, and almost every player therefore practises finishing a rolling ball. Then in a match the ball arrives dropping out of the sky off a clearance, a cross or a deflection, and the technique required is one they have barely rehearsed.

The narrow lane is what makes this work. Nine metres of width means the attacker cannot take a touch sideways to make life easier, and cannot let the ball run across him to a comfortable angle. It arrives in front of goal, dropping, and it has to be struck. Widen the channel and players will immediately start controlling it, which is the natural instinct and the thing the drill exists to remove.

The server's job is harder than it looks and is where most repetitions are wasted. A ball chipped high drops almost vertically, which is close to unstrikeable and produces a lot of air shots and frustration. The serve wanted here is lifted rather than chipped: over the wall, but flat enough that it is still travelling forward when it meets the runner. Getting servers to understand they are setting up a finish, not just clearing an obstacle, changes the quality of the session immediately.

On the strike itself, the single correction worth most is getting the knee over the ball. Players lean back because the ball is dropping and they want to get under it, and the result is a shot over the bar every time. The knee over, head down, striking through the middle rather than the bottom, is what keeps a volley on target, and it is worth stopping the drill to fix.

How to run this drill

  1. Lift the serve, do not chip it. A high chip drops vertically and is close to unstrikeable. The ball wanted here clears the wall but is still travelling forward when it reaches the runner.
  2. Serve in front, not onto him. The finisher should be running onto the ball. Delivering it onto his head or feet means he has to stop, and a stationary volley is much harder.
  3. Attack it, do not wait for it. Standing and letting the ball come lets it drop too low and too close. Moving onto it means meeting it at the height you choose.
  4. Get your knee over the ball. Leaning back is the instinct when a ball is dropping and it is why volleys go over. Knee over, head down, and the strike stays under the bar.
  5. Strike through the middle. Hitting underneath the ball lifts it regardless of your body position. Contact through the centre keeps the flight flat and the shot on target.
  6. Do not let it bounce. The controlling touch is the natural escape and it turns this into an ordinary shooting drill. One touch at most, and ideally none.

Coaching focus

FROM SESSION PLAN

Coaching points

  • Server lifts it, does not chip it high: a flat trajectory arrives usable
  • Serve into the space in front of the runner, not onto his head
  • Finisher attacks the ball, he does not wait for it to arrive
  • Get the knee over the ball on the volley to keep it down
  • Strike through the middle of the ball, not underneath it
  • One touch at most. Letting it bounce hands the keeper the moment

Common mistakes

  • Chipping the serve too high, so the ball drops vertically and cannot be struck
  • Waiting for the ball to arrive instead of moving onto it
  • Leaning back on the volley and putting it over the bar
  • Taking a touch to settle it, which turns a volley drill into a shooting drill

Progressions & regressions

VARIATIONS

Progressions

  • First-time volleys only, no controlling touch
  • Serve to alternate feet without calling it
  • Add a recovering defender behind the wall

Regressions

  • Serve underarm so the ball drops predictably
  • Allow a controlling touch before the strike
  • Move the finish to twelve metres while the technique is built
Equipment
Mannequins×3
Markers×1
Tactical principles
volley drill footballvolley finishing drillstriking a dropping balllofted pass drillchip and volley drillu15 finishing drillfirst time finishing drillaerial finishing drillshooting technique drillhalf volley drill
Audience
U15-U16

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All Finishing drillsAll drill collectionsFinishing for U15-U16

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