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A player looks to dribble past another player.

Session programme

Session programme: turning and dribbling to score

Session

England Football Learning

5 mins - Sep 2, 2024

Programme intentions

This six-week programme aims to help your players:

develop their turning and dribbling skills
improve their ability to create and score goals.

If you're short on time, this structured training programme can be used as is. But to make it more effective, adapt it to suit your players and the space you have.

If you like this idea, download the whole programme 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.

Week one – effective dribbling techniques

Carousel activity one is set up on a 15x25-yard pitch with an end zone at one end. A defender and an attacker are inside the area. Two bounce players position themselves outside of it. The attacker receives the ball from a bounce player and must beat the defender to reach the end zone.
The second activity in the carousel is the same as the first but on a longer pitch. This allows the attacker to experience running with the ball into bigger spaces. Whereas the first activity is more about close control.
Create a pitch with an end zone and two mini-goals on one side. Two attackers and one defender are in the middle. One defender is in the end zone. Bounce players are on the outside. The attackers combine to try to score. Progress this with a 2v2 in the middle and a third attacker in the end zone.
Split a pitch into thirds, with three mini-goals at one end. Have two attackers and one defender start in one third. Put 1v1s in the others. The attackers look to combine and move through the zones to score in one of the mini-goals.
The activity uses the 18-yard box, six attackers, five defenders and a keeper. The attackers start outside the box and work the ball out wide. The wide player dribbles inside the box and tries to set up a teammate to score. The defenders try to win the ball back to clear or play into mini-goals.

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Tactics board: week one

Looking for more detail? Check out Pav's tactics board video. You can also get more information about the first week of the programme here.

Week two – improving turning techniques

Set up a small area with a safe zone at each end. Have one player as the tagger. The rest have to get from one end to the other without being tagged. Make it harder by splitting the area into thirds and adding a tagger in each one. This means players have to turn more often to avoid being tagged.
Create a 20x20-yard area and give everyone a ball. Introduce turning techniques and give players time to try them. When they’re ready, shout out a turn and challenge players to perform it. To progress this activity, add a mini-goal along each side of the area and make it an opposed drill.
Set up a square area for a small-sided drill. Put mini-goals in each corner. Start with a 1v1 in the middle. A feeder player passes the ball in to one of the players. They need to use a turn to beat their opponent and attack one of the goals. Progress this activity by making it a 2v1 or 3v2 game.
Round the session off with a game. Start it off with a goalkeeper playing out to a teammate. Then, observe how your players use the turning skills they’ve practised in the earlier drills.

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Tactics board: week two

Looking for more detail? Check out Zahid's tactics board video. You can also get more information about the second week of the programme here.

Week three – passing and moving

Create an area with a scoring zone in each corner. Pair players up – one attacker and one defender. Players start outside of the area. Play the ball into the area for an attacker to receive. They look to turn and dribble to a scoring zone behind them. The defender looks to win the ball back.
Set up a square with cones in each corner and two in the middle. Create two gates. Put a player on each cone and both gates. Give a player in opposite corners a ball. They pass to a middle player, who passes to the next corner. They pass to the gate player, who passes to the player behind them.
Create an area suitable for a 4v4. Have two neutral players at both ends. The team in possession work together to get the ball from one side of the area to the neutral players on the other. They score a point each time this is done. The other team needs to win the ball and then do the same to score.
Play a matched-up game. Each side has two unopposed wingers who can dribble up and down the outside of the area or cut inside to put crosses into the box. A goal is worth one point. Two points are awarded if all of the team’s outfield players are over the halfway line when scoring.

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Tactics board: week three

Looking for more detail? Check out Pav's tactics board video. You can also get more information about the third week of the programme here.

Week four – dynamic turning to play forward

The arrival activity is handball. Set up a square area for your players with goals at either end. Split your players into two teams. Our example uses a 3v3. The aim is to throw or pass the ball to each other and then score in the opposition's net.
Add an end zone at both ends of the area. Mark out a diamond in the middle. Have one player from each team in each section of the area. Both players in the end zone bounces it into their teammate in the middle. They then move around the diamond, turn and pass to their teammate in the other end zone.
Use a pitch with goals at both ends and a halfway line marked out. Have two players start with a ball each, standing either side of the halfway line. Then, have one player in each half. The ball is fed into one of the players, and they have to try to turn and get past the opposing player to score.
Change one end of the pitch to have two goals in each corner. In one half of the pitch, there is a 2v1 with a goalkeeper and a 3v2 on the side with two goals. The ball starts with the goalkeeper, who plays it into one of the defenders. The aim is to turn and score in one of the opposing goals.

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Tactics board: week four

Looking for more detail? Check out Zahid's tactics board video.

Week five – attacking principles

Create two rectangular pitches with the halfway line marked out. One half of the pitch has a gate on each outward-facing side. Have one player start as a defender in the other half. Two attackers start outside the area. The aim is for the attackers to get past the defenders and out one of the gates.
Move to a pitch with a goal at one end. Mark out a third of the pitch at the other end. Split your players into two teams. Two defenders, the goalkeeper and two attackers start outside the marked zone. The aim is for the attackers to move the ball to players outside the zone before trying to score.
Expand your pitch by adding an end zone to the end of the already marked-out third. The attacking team aims to drive into space to create space to pass the ball before scoring.

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Tactics board: week five

Looking for more detail? Check out Pav's tactics board video.

Week six – turning and moving with the ball masterclass

The arrival activity is a 1v1 in a square area with two mini-goals in opposite corners. The ball is played from one player to the other. The player who receives the ball then aims to get around the opposing player and score.
Remove the two mini-goals in the corners and add a goal to one of the sides. Have a 2v2 in this area now with one team having a feeder. The feeder plays in the ball. The coach shouts a type of turn, such as "Cruyff turn". The in-possession team then has to replicate that turn.
Move the session forward by marking out a zone vertically through the area. Have a goal at one end of the zone. Have a 2v1 in this area with a goalkeeper in the net. The aim is to turn around the one defender to score past the goalkeeper.
Move to half of a full pitch with one goal. Mark out a funnel leading into the goal with two goals in each corner of the opposite side. Split into teams with one goalkeeper. The team without the goalkeeper starts and looks to play the ball. Play a regular game looking to dribble or turn to score.

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Tactics board: week six

Looking for more detail? Check out Zahid's tactics board video.

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