Improve Your Players’ Short Passing Skills

One of the great advantages of the 4v4 training programme is that your players get used to passing the ball and it becomes second nature to them. It creates goals, gets them out of trouble and is great to watch. But to do this you still have to make sure they know what a short pass is and when to use it.

Passing quickly gets the ball upfield and reduces the risk of giving away possession.

The sidefoot (inside of the foot) provides the greatest accuracy for passing. But it is difficult to generate power and it is also easy for an opponent to see where you are intending to pass the ball. For those reasons, it is best to use this skill just for short passes.

1. Get your players to approach the ball at an angle of about 30 degrees so that you have room to swing your kicking leg through.

2. Tell them to put their non-kicking foot close to the side of the ball, using their arms for balance and keeping their heads still and eyes on the ball.

3. The ankle should be firm. Get your players to bring their kicking foot through and strike the center of the ball (to keep it on the ground) with the side of the foot.

4. With this type of passing your players are looking to keep the ball low so that it is easy for a team-mate to control.

The weight on the pass is also critical.

Follow through with the kicking leg to increase power, but the weight of the pass will depend on how far away your players and opposition players are.

YOUR PLAYERS WILL BECOME BETTER AT JUDGING SHORT PASSING THE MORE THEY PLAY.