Fitness & Mastery | Through-the-Middle Ball Work

Overview

• Players: 12 (6 outside, 6 inside)
• Field size: 30 x 20 yards
• Gear you’ll need: 6 balls

Objectives

• Build fitness by keeping players moving nonstop at a high tempo
• Sharpen clean, accurate touches at the same time
• Speed up decisions and get players scanning
• Build the ability to handle different techniques — one-touch passes, volleys, headers, and more

Setup

In this drill, outside and inside players pair up and rep out ball work as they move through the middle zone.

1）Set up 6 outside players with a ball each, and 6 inside players without a ball facing them

2）The outside player serves the ball in to the inside player

3）The inside player sends it back using the technique you’ve called (one-touch pass, first-time, header, and so on)

4）After playing it back, the inside player quickly cuts through the middle zone to a different outside player

5）They rep the ball work again with the new partner, keeping the tempo high throughout