The following drill comes from the Soccer Awareness Training Center. Soccer Awareness Training Center provides unlimited access to Wayne Harrison's Soccer Awareness systems, training sessions, drills and more. Wayne's system helps develop world class youth soccer players and teams in a systematic and imaginative manner that guarantees performance at the highest level of competition. Whether you’re a beginning coach who needs help getting started or someone who wants to add some variety to their training sessions, the Soccer Awareness Training Center offers a wide variety of drills to choose from. Join Today

Organization:

• Pitch sizes: 40 x 20 – or at the discretion of the coach
• Number of teams: 2
• Team sizes: 4-6
• Bibs optional
• Goals: 5 a side or mini soccer goals

Progression: The big difference with this game is that the goals are positioned in the center of the pitch, back to back.

One team defends the goal that is facing south and score in the goal facing north. The other team does the opposite. You must have at least one player in each half at all times and you can’t kick the ball over the goals into the other half. The ball must be played around the goals. The game encourages players to take up wide positions so as to get around the goals. Players naturally form into a diamond shape with two players going wide, one attacking and one playing out of the back.

The game also encourages playing from the back as the keeper can’t kick it long over the goals. Because of the unusual pitch lay out and goal positions it really makes the players think.