We started this week by splitting the group into 3s and practising some continuous passing across the court.  We did lots of variations, including stopping the ball and rolling it back, moving to from side to side with the sole of your foot, combination passing as the player approaches to through the legs set ups.  It was interesting to watch some of the boys who decided this was easy and boring, and yet were struggling to either remember the patterns or actually complete several passes cleanly.  Emphasised to the group, if you can’t pass or control a ball, the rest of the game is pretty pointless!

Click here to see some images from tonight’s session

We moved onto a 3v3 game on three-quarters of the court.  The idea of this was to get the teams used to playing in two directions, with quick transitions.  Each team defended a goal, with the ball starting with the team just over halfway.  When a goal was scored or the ball went over the goal line, they immediately swapped round and defended the goal at the other end.  Three new players entered the court behind the other goal and we played again.  The team that stayed on can start immediately with a ball from their goal keeper.  It was good to watch how quickly all the teams responded to the changes, with very quick goals being scored.  Some players are still trying to run far too much with the ball and consequently giving it away, work to be done with some!

Click here to download a copy of this week’s session plan

We finished with some full court games, with the winners staying on after 1 goal.  When in possession, teams took their time to create good opportunities, as they knew that if they gave the ball away and lost, they were off!  It was a mixed session with some very good play, and some not so good.  Next week is the last one before Christmas, see you all then!

The clip below shows part of the 3v3 changes session.  Good passing and movement from everyone, terrible finishing from Coach Suzy, but finished with a good goal from James H of the Yellow team.