During a small-sided game on an outdoor 3G pitch, a player passes to her teammate while under pressure from an opponent.

SESSION

Receiving session: playing forward to find the target

Session

England Football Learning

2 mins - Oct 12, 2023

Session overview

This session will help players:

combine and create in congested areas
scan to play forward quickly
play with their back to goal and bring others into play.

If you like this idea, download the session plan and give it a go. And don’t forget to share your experience on the England Football Community. We’d love to know how you got on.

Playing forward to find the target

Set up your pitch with a goal and a goalkeeper at one end and two mini-goals at the other. Split the pitch into thirds. Have a 3v3 in the middle zone and have a target player and a defender from each team in both end zones.
The aim is to score more goals than the other team. Players can't leave their zones. One team is attacking the mini-goals, and one is attacking the large goal with a goalkeeper.
Once your team has the hang of it, change the rules for players moving between the zones. When in possession in either of the end zones, a player from the middle can enter to support.

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Coaching session

Watch this video to see the session in action.

Coaching tips

Give each player a turn as the target player to make sure they all get something out of the practice. Encourage them to switch positions during the practice to mimic real-game movement.

To score goals, passing the ball to the target player is essential. Encourage players in the middle zone to scan and identify their teammates' positions to do this.

Encourage the goalkeeper and defender in their zone to work together and create a 2v1.

And if you feel it’s right to progress the session, use the STEP framework (Youth Sports Trust, 2002) to help keep things fun, engaging and appropriate.