Up-Back-Through | A Side-to-Side Passing Drill That Opens Up the Middle

Overview

• A 6-player drill. Run it in small groups or as part of a full-team session
• Set it up on a futsal-sized area. It works fine on a regular field too
• 1 ball, 2–4 cones (to mark starting positions)

Objectives

• Groove the passing rhythm: wide → back → through the middle
• Build role awareness within the group and speed up decisions
• Handle the ball cleanly at match tempo
• Get a feel for creating space through the center

Setup

Players repeat a set passing pattern inside a grid, chasing rhythm and quick decisions at the same time.

1）Set up your grid (about a futsal court, or box it off with markers)

2）Position your players: 1 in the middle, and 2 on each side facing each other

3）Start the ball from a player on the bottom

4）Pass out to the wide player (up) → that player lays it off to the middle (back) → the middle player plays it across to the far wide player (through)

5）Run the same pattern on the other side. Keep it going, alternating side to side

6）Rotate roles every 10–15 reps so everyone gets a turn in the middle and out wide