Passing drills for U6-U8

Four combinations chained into one sequence: in to the pivot, set back, third man, switch. Patterns groove what rondos only expose.

Short passing does not raise a heart rate. Adding a long diagonal is what turns a passing circle into an actual warm-up.

An eight player Ajax passing square: two at every cone, two balls on the same beat, meet it outside the cone and follow your pass to the back of the line.

A five player passing square warm-up: meet the ball outside the cone, take it round with your first touch, pass with your second and follow your pass.

A four player triangle passing warm-up: receive outside the cone, take it round with your first touch, pass with your second and follow your pass.

Fifteen seconds is the realistic budget for explaining anything to seven-year-olds. Pairs and one ball is what fits inside it.

A gate does not have an opinion. The ball goes through or it does not, and a player knows without being told which it was.

Using a defender's own commitment against him. Once he steps towards the ball he cannot also cover the space behind his shoulder.

Because the receiver is somewhere new every time, the search is real. Nobody has to be told to look up, which is why the constraint works.

Variation 2 of the Y passing pattern: every station plays a wall pass off the pivot, who sets first time into the runner's path instead of his feet.

Diagonal passes cross the receiver's body, which is why they are harder. Here the ball also advances, so nobody receives standing still.

Passing across a pentagon is harder than passing around it. The ball travels further, arrives at an angle, and the body must open.

Hit it badly and it comes back badly. A rebound board is a self-correcting weight trainer, which is the one thing a coach cannot be.