Purpose

This drill improves zonal defending, passing, communication and decision
making in the important midfield area.

Drill Setup

  • Mark off a field that is 44 yards long by 25 yards wide.
  • Divide players into three teams.

How it Works

  1. Teams 1 and 3 attempt to pass the ball back and forth to each other while team 2 attempts to steal it.
  2. The attacking teams can pass the ball amongst themselves up to four times before they must pass across the field.
  3. All passes must be lower than shoulder height.
  4. You can add dribbling so that each side is able to dribble into team 2 and then pass across.
  5. If team 2 intercepts a pass or steals the ball off of any player attempting to dribble they must dribble or pass the ball over the line of the team they stole it from to “score.”

Coaching Tips

  • Make sure defense (team 2) keeps their ‘shape’. They should not ‘chase’ the pass, but instead, should stay in their zones and defend as a unit.
  • Player who is defending the ball should call out that they have it – for instance, they would yell “ball.”