Following the pass

The natural reaction of a good player must be that once he passes the ball, he follows the ball. If he can then get outside the player who he passed to, he creates an extra man in attack. Otherwise he is in a good position to support if the receiver goes into contact. This session looks at using the loop to create this extra support player.

Warm up time: 7-10
Session time: 10-15
Development time: 10-15
Game time: 10-15
Warm down time: 7-10

What to think about

• Are the players running at an angle across the pitch once they receive the loop pass? At times, especially if trying to get outside a defender, running this line can be good. However if continuing the passing movement out, the looping player needs to straighten up after receiving the pass to preserve the space on their outside.
• Why do loop passes go to ground more than normal passes? Because the receiver is looping round, he is unseen by the passer until late on. Good communication by the receiver is crucial as he can help by calling for the ball and asking for a short, long or deep pass.

set-up

1. Move the ball to the outside player as quickly as possible while moving forwards at pace.
2. After passing, loop behind the other players and take a pass on the outside.
3. Communicate to the passer when you want the pass and what type of pass.
4. Pass in front of the player you want to loop.

What you get your players to do

Split your squad into three groups of four to six players. Two groups start at one corner of a box with another diagonally opposite. One of the two groups moves forwards and passes the ball to the end player. After each player passes they loop behind the group, joining the end to receive another pass. Once they have crossed the area and reached the opposite group, the ball is passed over to the second group to repeat the exercise in the opposite direction.