A player moves the ball past their opponent.

Session

Moving with the ball and turning session: scanning and turning

Session

England Football Learning

2 mins - Sep 22, 2025

Session intentions

This is week four 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 importance of scanning before, during, and after turning
work on different turns
improve decision-making skills when moving with the ball and turning.

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.

40x35-yard pitch

Ten players

Mini-goals

Flat cones

Bibs

Scanning and turning

Spiderweb tig: Set up a 40x35-yard area. Give everyone a ball and a bib (a spiderweb). To tag someone, players throw their spiderweb at another player’s ball. If it connects, the tagger gets a point. They do this while trying to dodge other spiderwebs. The tagger with the most points wins.
Small-sided game: Use the same area and add goals at each end. Split the area into three channels and make the middle one smaller to help players with pitch geography and to encourage them to receive and turn in tight areas. To score, the ball has to have travelled in at least two of the channels.
Criss-cross: Use half of the previous area for this activity. Split players into three teams. Give each team a ball. Players keep moving and passing within the area in this unopposed with interference practice. Players need to complete a different turn each time they receive the ball.
Small-sided game: Finish the session by returning to a small-sided game. This is an opportunity to notice if the players can put their learning into practice and have improved their ability to move with the ball and turn.

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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:

increase the size of the areas you use to make it easier for players to twist, turn, and move with the ball
delay the introduction of opposition within the practices, ensuring the players are comfortable in maintaining possession first.

Make it harder

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

decrease the size of the areas you use to encourage tighter turns, more interference, and quicker decision-making
take a ball away from one of the teams in criss-cross to make it an opposed practice.

Coaching points

Remind players to scan before, during, and after receiving the ball, so they know where and when to move and turn.

Give players some examples of turns they could use to escape any interference, such as a ‘Cruyff’ turn, outside hook, or drag-back. Encourage them to use different types of turns when they’re on the ball. Observe which turns they’re using and offer support if needed.

Coordination skills are key in the arrival activity. Ask players to think about their turns as they’re throwing or retrieving their bibs.

Ensure players understand the importance of keeping the ball close to their body when they receive and turn with the ball. Keeping a tight turning circle helps players when they face opposition or interference.