Passing and receiving session: building technique

Session

England Football Learning

2 mins - Jan 5, 2026

Session intentions

This is week one of the passing and receiving to score session programme. Check out the whole six-week programme here.

This session will help players:

learn to use a wide variety of passes
be aware of the factors that may impact decisions including the space available, first touch, and options once you get 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 programme 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.

35x25-yard pitch

14 players

Mini-goals

Flat cones

Spots/flat markers

Bibs

Building technique

Playing in the grids: Create a 20x20-yard area and split it into four grids. Have four neutral players positioned around the area. Everyone else are in teams of two or three in the area depending on your numbers. Teams start in different grids, and each team starts with a ball.
One player in each team passes to neutral player. The neutral player, receives and passes back to someone else in that team. That player then receives and passes to a different neutral player. Teams move between grids, and the neutral players move up and down their line.
End zones: Half your area to create two pitches with end zones. Each side has a target player to aim for in an end zone. Players combine with teammates to pass to their target player, earning them a point. Play then restarts with the other team. Play for three minutes then swap teams around.
Passing bingo: Agree on nine passes to achieve, like a left-foot pass or a chipped pass. Put these in a bingo grid. Allocate one team as ‘Xs’ and one as ‘Os’ then play a normal game on each pitch. When an action has been completed players mark it off. Teams try to get three in a row to win.

0/0

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, you could:

where possible, increase the size of the pitch to give your players more time and space on the ball
allow players to use their hands to control the ball. This keeps the practice flowing and may give them more chances to pass to their teammates. Then, challenge players to then control with their feet, awarding bonus points or high-fives for trying their best.

Make it harder

To make this session harder, you could:

introduce opposition within the arrival activity who can be challenged to intercept, rather than tackle
reduce the space available for your players, challenging them in tighter spaces
in the final practice, award a ‘bonus point’ for a ‘three in a line’, and the team that can complete the grid wins the game.