Soccer Shuttle Drills Improve Passing

Online, September 30, 2009 (Newswire.com) - This is a great, quick-fire soccer drill to improve your players' passing and receiving skills. Ideal for groups of three or four players, shuttle passing, as it is known, can also be used to enhance heading and other ball skills.

To start, separate your players into groups of three, positioning two players 20 yards apart. The third player (or the 'middle' player) should be stationed exactly in the centre between the two end players, in between two cones. The two end players should both have a ball at their feet. If using four players, station the fourth player alongside the third player in the middle.

To commence the soccer drill, the middle player should run towards one of the end players and call for the ball. The end player should pass the ball accurately to the running player's feet, with the middle player controlling it and passing back. As soon as that manoeuvre is done, the middle player should turn and run towards the other end player, repeating the move at the other end.

The middle player should call for the ball once they are 3 yards from the other end player- they should then receive and pass back, turn and run. This is one of the key skills for attacking plays. Ideally, you want the middle player to be running at speed, maintaining the pace and receiving and passing the ball with quality touches- but be vigilant for technical mistakes.

To ensure that your players don't suffer burnout, swap the middle player with one of the end players after about thirty seconds.

You can make the whole exercise more competitive by seeing which groups can complete the most passes within a minute.

As said, the overall point about this soccer coaching drill is to improve their passing, turning skills and hard work ethic. The players will undoubtedly tire after a while, so make sure that you reward them with applause.

Here are some further tips for improving their skills once you feel the initial exercise has been sufficient:

1) Make the middle player use only one touch
2) Get the end player to throw the ball at the middle player, forcing them to either control the ball with their feet or volley it in return.
3) Using one ball, the middle player receives a pass from an end player, turns with the ball, runs back to the cones in the middle, passes to the other end player, continues the run, gets the return, takes the ball back to the middle and so on. It's hard work, but very good for fitness and improving basic ball skills.