Passing
Square Passing 4: Third Man
Teach the third man combination at match speed: the player who gives the ball away keeps moving to get it back off someone else, and every pass is first time.
Duration
12 min
Total drill time
Players
5
Recommended
Pitch
26 × 26 m
Setup space
Level
Intermediate
Skill required
Intensity
Medium
Physical demand
Age band
U9-U10
Any format
Setup & instructions
Mark a square of four cones 15 metres a side, one player on each corner and a fifth coming up the side into the corner with the ball. The corner man receives the diagonal and plays it first time back down the side to the runner. The runner plays it first time across to the next corner. Meanwhile the corner man goes round the outside of his cone and halfway along the side, and the player on the next corner lays it back to him first time. He plays the diagonal to the far corner, and the same four passes start again from there. After his lay-off the next-corner player runs up the next side to be the runner; the runner takes over the corner he ran towards; the corner man carries on to the corner the lay-off came from. One touch all the way round. Go one way for a few minutes, then reverse.
Setup time: 2 min
Tactical breakdown
The third man is the combination that breaks lines: a player gives the ball away, and instead of getting it straight back off the man he passed to, he gets it off someone else. This square teaches it in four first-time passes that repeat from corner to corner.
The corner man receives the diagonal and plays it straight back down the side to the runner coming up it. The runner plays it across to the next corner. While those two passes happen the corner man has gone round the outside of his own cone and halfway along the side, so when the next-corner player lays it back it comes to him, not to the man who gave it. He plays the diagonal to the far corner, and the unit starts again there. It happens twice in each unit: the corner man gets it back off the lay-off, and the lay-off man, now the next runner, gets it back off the far corner.
The drill only works if the corner man gives it and goes. If he watches his first pass, he is still on his cone when the lay-off is played, and the whole thing turns into a slow passing square. Coach the run, not the pass.
Everyone moves on a corner each unit, so nobody stands still for long and every player plays every role. The first few minutes are about learning where to go next; once the group has it, the rhythm is one touch all the way round. Reverse the direction so the other foot plays the lay-off and the diagonal.
How to run this drill
- Mark a 15 metre square. Four cones 15 metres apart, one player on each corner, and a fifth player coming up the side into the corner that starts with the ball.
- Back down the side, then across. The corner man plays it first time back down the side to the runner, who plays it first time across to the next corner.
- Lay it back to the third man. The corner man has gone round his cone and halfway along the side. The next-corner player lays it back to him first time.
- Diagonal, and everyone moves on. He plays the diagonal to the far corner and the four passes start again there. Lay-off man runs the next side, runner takes the corner, corner man moves on one.
Coaching focus
FROM SESSION PLANCoaching points
- Corner man: give it and go, round your cone the moment it leaves your foot
- Runner: meet it halfway up the side and play across first time
- Lay-off into the corner man's stride, so the diagonal is first time too
- Diagonal along the ground, firm, to the far corner's front foot
- Know your next job before the ball arrives: corner, runner or lay-off
Common mistakes
- The corner man watching his pass instead of going round his cone
- The runner arriving late, so the first ball goes behind him
- Laying it off to where the corner man was, not where he is going
- Players stopping on the wrong corner after the unit
Progressions & regressions
VARIATIONSProgressions
- Reverse the direction so the other foot plays the lay-off and the diagonal
- Speed up: the diagonal goes as soon as the corner man is level with the lay-off
- Add a passive defender in the middle who the diagonal must beat
Regressions
- Two touch on the diagonal
- Walk each unit through once without a ball so everyone learns his next job
- Shrink the square to 12 metres so the diagonal is shorter
Explore more drills
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