Ball control

These articles will give your players what Tony Carr of the West Ham Academy refers to as “Mastery of the Ball”. It is your first duty as a coach to give your players the skills to be effective football players and ball control is the key to that. It’s about being comfortable on the ball, receiving a fast high ball and bringing it under instant control, being able to change feet and move the ball where you want it to be in relation to your player’s body, their opponent and the rest of the pitch.

War! - A very popular game for children (and fun-minded adults) that emphasises beating the player. Some of them will want to play this one all day!

Manipulating the ball - This session looks at core ball control skills. You only need six players to complete the session, though it can easily be expanded to meet your needs. With lots more players you could have a number of grids working at the same time.

Coaching The Step Across - This is the most basic shielding move - but probably the most useful. The player simply steps over the ball to put either one or both legs between the ball and an incoming opponent.

How To Coach The Roll - We've already looked at the basic step across used to shield the ball from an oncoming opponent, where you teach your players to simply step over the ball to put either one, or both legs between the ball and the opponent. But what happens next?

Seven Steps to Perfect Ball Control - Good players can bring the ball under their control in an instant - no matter how it arrives to them.

Coaching Quick Feet to Dummy the Opposition - No matter how young your players are they should practice ball manipulation. This is the ability to push, move, drag or manipulate the ball and become its master, says Tony Carr, Academy Director at West Ham.

A Great Way to Coach Passing and Receiving - Constant passing using match-like situations and a bit of competition to give it an edge is the best way to coach your players to be ready for football matches. And it should be fun too, says David Clarke.

How To Coach Ball Control - Using this simple set up to practice ball control is an excellent way to teach young players of all age groups how important being able to control a ball is. It is one of the keys to winning football matches, says David Clarke.

The Secret to Beating Defenders - Quick footed attackers look great when they run at defenders and leave them tackling thin air. You can teach your players how to do this and give them the confidence to go on match winning runs, says David Clarke.

Cone Wars - Often very simple exercises can be very effective for your players. A simple 1v1 where the players have to stay either side of a line and beat each other to a cone helps your players’ match day skills, says David Clarke.

Street-wise players are winners - Many of the top coaches and players in modern-day football will tell you how they grew up playing in the back streets with their friends. Playing back street football means you try your hardest or your friends will soon get on at you. That means constantly trying skills, techniques and ideas that you wouldn't normally do at training - there are no grown ups to tell you not to do it. But it’s a dying trend so you have to create an atmospere and give them coaching sessions that bring out those skills.