Develop passing, receiving, and off-ball movement while reinforcing possession habits and continuous movement after every pass.
Objective
This warm-up will help players develop passing and receiving technique while emphasizing purposeful off-ball movement. Players will also reinforce the importance of pre-scanning, receiving with open hips, and maintaining possession when a forward option is unavailable.
Skill Emphasis
- Passing and receiving
- Pre-scanning
- Open-body receptions
- Off-ball movement
- Possession habits
Drill
- Divide players into groups of four to six.
- Set up two shuttle lines approximately 15 yards apart.
- Position four cones in a diamond approximately 15 yards long and six yards wide.
- Player A plays a long pass to Player B and follows the pass into the center of the diamond.
- Player B returns the ball to Player A.
- Player A passes back to Player B before cutting around the right cone with open hips.
- Player B passes to Player A again.
- Player A carries the ball toward the starting position with their eyes up before returning it to Player B.
- Player B plays a long pass to the next player in the Player A line and runs around the right cone to join that line.
- Player A crosses to the left cone, receives a pass from the opposite side with open hips, and passes to the Player B line before joining that line.
- Continue the pattern in a steady flow.
Recommended
- Make every movement purposeful and require players to move immediately after passing.
- Encourage players to pre-scan and receive with open hips.
- Use the pass back to reinforce maintaining possession when no forward option is available.
- Ask players to “sell” the forward option with their eyes and body position before playing backward.
- Encourage one-touch passing when the ball arrives in the proper position.
- Reverse the direction of the drill so players practice receiving and moving from both sides.
- Challenge advanced groups to complete more of the pattern in one touch.
