A young girl in a yellow bib runs forward with the ball on a grass pitch, with an orange-bibbed opponent to her right.

Session

In possession session: moving past the defence

Session

England Football Learning

2 mins - Mar 15, 2024

This session will help players:

improve core attacking movement skills
combine in congested areas
improve communication with each other.

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.

Moving past the defence

Mark out a large area with cones. Create a smaller end-zone at one end of the area. At the other end, place footballs on all the cones. Each team will have their own end.
The team attacking from the end zone aim to knock the footballs off the cones at the other end of the pitch.
The other team needs to get the ball into the end zone.
You can progress the activity by getting the players to split up into groups of three. One player will be the defender, and the other two will be the attackers. Get the groups to find a cone or line that can be defended. The aim of the attackers is to get past the defender and past the line or cone.

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Tactics board

Looking for a bit more detail? Check out Lawrence’s tactics board video for this session.

Coaching activity

Watch this video to see the activity in action.

Coaching tips

If the players need help getting it from one end to the other, consider using STEP (Youth Sports Trust, 2002) to increase the size of the area. This provides more space, making it easier for the players to achieve their aims.

Make sure to swap the teams around so that everyone gets a go at attacking either end.

Have the players think about moving into space and calling for the ball. This will help them improve their receiving and communication skills.

Don’t be afraid to have underloaded and overloaded activities

Challenge your players to try different core moves to find ways to get around defenders.