A player looks to move with the ball against an opponent.

Session

Moving with the ball and turning session: positioning to turn

Session

England Football Learning

2 mins - Oct 6, 2025

Session intentions

This is week six of the moving with the ball and turning session programme. Check out the whole six-week programme here.

This session will help players:

understand the need to have appropriate positioning on the pitch, and correct body shape, to move and turn with the ball
recognise space to dribble through
change direction and speed while moving with the ball.

If you're short on time, this structured training programme can be used as it is. Pitch sizes in this programme are shown as how long the pitch is x how wide it is, but these are just suggestions.

To make the session more effective, adapt it to suit your players, your numbers and the space you have. If you want to skip, repeat or amend these sessions – that's fine. It’s up to you how you use this resource.

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.

If you’re coaching U7s, please note that from the 2026-27 season, changes will be made to the formats to improve the experience young players get across the country. Check out the Future Fit digital content hub to find out more and alter training plans accordingly.

Session setup

In our example, this is what we’ve used to set up this session. But adapt it to suit your team and the space available to you.

45x40-yard pitch

Ten players

Mini-goals

Flat cones

Bibs

Positioning to turn

Gate guards: Set up multiple gates across your pitch and vary the size of them. Have some players as gate guards and the rest as attackers. Give each attacker a ball. They aim to dribble through gates for a point. Guards can’t tackle but can tag attackers inside a gate to reset their score to zero.
Small-sided game: Use the full area and put a goal at each end. Then let your players take part in a small-sided game. Give players freedom to express themselves. Observe to make sure they have the right challenge and give praise when they showcase good moving with the ball and turning skills.
Connect four: Add a 6x6-yard square to each corner of your pitch for connect four. Keep your players in two teams. Players work with teammates to pass or dribble into a square for a point. When they do that, they then work it into a different square. Players are unopposed when in a square.
Small-sided game: Finish the session by going back into a small-sided game. Use the same area as the last practice, leaving the corner squares in to represent wide areas to cross or pass from. Challenge players to think about how they can get into those areas and how they can assist their teammates.

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On the pitch

Looking for a bit more detail? Check out this video to see what it can look like on the pitch.

Make it easier

Using the STEP framework (Youth Sports Trust, 2002) can help keep things fun, engaging, and appropriate.

To make this session easier for the players, you could:

make the gates bigger or decrease the number of guards in the gate game
add in a central safe zone for players to use to help keep possession in the connect four game
overload a team in the small-sided games to give them more chance of experiencing success. Remember to rotate overloaded team.

Make it harder

To make this session harder for the players, you could:

add more guards in the gate game, and decrease the size of the gates
make the squares smaller in connect four
underload a team in the small-sided games to give them more of a challenge.

Coaching points

Remind players to scan before, during, and after receiving the ball to recognise and exploit the space is around them and notice where their teammates are.

Ensure your players think about their body shape when they’re receiving the ball to provide opportunities to move with the ball positively. An open body shape encourages moving forwards with the ball to attack opponents.

Ask your players to try and anticipate the turns and movements of their teammates. This allows them to position themselves in between the defender when the ball eventually makes its way towards them.