Strike a clean lofted long pass over an obstacle and control the return. Get the plant foot right, lean back to lift it, strike under the ball, and land it into the receiver's control over 20 to 30 metres.
Two players stand about 25 metres apart with a mannequin or post mid-way. Loft the ball over the obstacle for your partner to control and return. Plant foot a little behind and outside the ball, lean back, strike underneath with the laces and follow through. Build the distance as the strike gets cleaner, and work both feet. Receiver takes a controlled first touch before the return.
Plant-foot placement decides a lofted pass before the striking foot has moved. Put it alongside the ball and the strike comes down through it and the pass stays low, however hard the player tries to lift it. Put it behind and outside and the body naturally leans back, the striking foot gets underneath, and the ball rises. Almost every failed attempt at this pass is diagnosable from where the standing foot was, which makes it unusually satisfying to coach.
That is worth knowing because players and coaches both tend to correct the wrong thing. A player whose lofted passes keep coming out flat gets told to lean back, or to get under it, and he tries and fails because his standing foot has already made that impossible. Move the plant foot and the rest follows without further instruction.
The strike is under the ball with the laces and a locked ankle. A loose ankle at contact is the second most common fault and produces a pass that has height without distance, which is the worst of both outcomes.
At twenty to thirty metres over a press, the target is the receiver's control rather than his feet exactly. A ball that lands where he can take it in one touch has done its job, and asking for pinpoint accuracy at this range produces players who slow the pass down to aim it, which defeats the purpose of playing over pressure.
Be clear about when it applies. This is the escape when the ground is blocked, not a first option, and a team that reaches for it early is avoiding the harder work of playing out.
Save it to your private drills, then change the animation, adjust positions, swap equipment, or drop it into a session block. Or start from a blank pitch and build your own.