Week 50

Outcomes

• ✓Players can scan their surroundings before a pass arrives to them.
• ✓Players can describe what they 'saw' before receiving the ball.
• ✓Players can make a quicker and better decision based on pre-scanning.
• ✓Players can recognise when to play forward, sideways, or backward based on what they scanned.

Equipment

• 14 cones
• 8 bibs
• 8 balls
• 2 full-size goals
• 2 keepers

Run of show

1. 1. Arrival Ball Mastery

   8m

   Set up: Groups of four, one ball, 20×20 yd grid.

   How to run it: 4v0 possession: before every pass, the passer calls out a colour of bibs or colour of cone visible in the surroundings — proof they scanned before playing. If no colour is called, the pass does not count.

   • ›Scan = look away from the ball briefly before it arrives.
   • ›One scan gives you a picture that lasts about two seconds.
   • ›The best players scan constantly — not just before receiving.

2. 2. Dynamic Warm-Up

   10m

   Set up: 5v2 rondo, 20×20 yd. Five passers keep the ball from two defenders.

   How to run it: Rondo with a scan challenge: coach raises fingers (1–5) as the ball travels between players. The receiver must call the number before their first touch. Defenders ignore this — focus on the counting challenge.

   • ›Eyes must come off the ball before it arrives.
   • ›This is uncomfortable at first — persist.
   • ›Quick first touch becomes easier when you already know where to play.

3. 3. Technical Practice

   15m

   Set up: 4v4 keep-away, 25×20 yd. One point for every five consecutive passes, two points if the player who completes the fifth pass called their next target before receiving.

   How to run it: Normal keep-away with the scanning incentive. Coach listens for players calling their next target aloud before they receive. Confirm two-point bonus when heard.

   • ›Calling your next pass aloud makes scanning visible.
   • ›If you cannot call it, you have not scanned.
   • ›Over time, the call becomes internal — but practise it out loud now.

4. 4. Skill Game

   15m

   Set up: 4v4 on 35×25 yd, two full goals. After every goal, the scoring player must name one player they saw before they scored — proof of scanning.

   How to run it: Normal game. After each goal, coach asks: 'Who did you see before you received the ball?' If the scorer answers confidently, the goal counts double.

   • ›Great strikers know where the keeper is before the ball reaches them.
   • ›Scanning is a habit formed in training, not a last-minute choice.
   • ›Encourage players to scan during every phase, not just on the ball.

5. 5. Small-Sided Game

   17m

   Set up: 6v6 including keepers, 45×35 yd, two full goals.

   How to run it: Free match. Coach makes two 'freeze' calls during the game: shouts 'Freeze!' while the ball is in the air. Players must freeze. Coach asks the intended receiver: 'Without looking — how many defenders are near you?'

   • ›If you cannot answer without looking, you have not scanned.
   • ›Players who scan feel calmer under pressure — the game slows down.
   • ›Celebrate correct answers to the freeze question loudly.

6. 6. Cool-Down & Review

   5m

   Set up: Players seated in a circle.

   How to run it: Static stretches. Coach asks: 'What is scanning and why does it matter?' One player explains in their own words. Group adds to the answer.

   • ›Scanning is the difference between reacting and deciding.
   • ›Every great player in the world scans constantly — build the habit now.

Outcomes

• ✓Players can decide quickly between three options (forward, wide, back) based on what they see.
• ✓Players can play under realistic time and defensive pressure without panicking.
• ✓Players can accept that a slower decision is sometimes the right one.
• ✓Players can verbalise their decision-making process in a game situation.

Equipment

• 14 cones
• 10 bibs
• 8 balls
• 2 full-size goals
• 2 keepers

Run of show

1. 1. Arrival Ball Mastery

   8m

   Set up: Groups of three, one ball, 15×15 yd grid.

   How to run it: A passes to B. Before B touches the ball, coach points to either A or C. B must play first-time to the indicated player. Repeat at increasing speed. This drills making a decision before receiving.

   • ›Eyes up before the ball arrives — read the coach's signal.
   • ›If you cannot see the signal, you have not scanned.
   • ›Speed of decision is the goal — not speed of pass.

2. 2. Dynamic Warm-Up

   10m

   Set up: 4v2 rondo with a twist: two defenders plus one 'decision coach' who signals which zone the ball must be played to before it is received.

   How to run it: Ball-carrier receives the decision signal and must comply. If they ignore the signal or play to the wrong zone, they join the defenders. Last non-defender wins the round.

   • ›Trust the signal — it is the equivalent of what scanning gives you.
   • ›Quick first touch in the right direction: no hesitation.
   • ›Defenders: press hard to make the decision more difficult.

3. 3. Technical Practice

   15m

   Set up: 5v4 (+keeper) on a 40×30 yd half-pitch. Attackers earn points for quick decisions: one point for a goal, one bonus point if the scorer can describe what they saw before scoring.

   How to run it: Normal game with the post-goal question: 'What did you see before you got the ball?' Any genuine answer earns the bonus. Players develop the vocabulary of game reading.

   • ›Answers can be simple: 'The defender was tight so I played wide first.'
   • ›Any honest answer shows awareness — praise it.
   • ›Players who cannot answer are telling you they are not scanning.

4. 4. Skill Game

   15m

   Set up: 4v4, 35×25 yd, two full goals. Coach introduces a pressure clock: any player who takes more than three seconds on the ball concedes a free kick to the opposition.

   How to run it: Coach counts aloud when a player holds the ball: 'One... two...' This enforces quick decision-making under a real time constraint. Only count when a player is genuinely holding — not when they are shielding.

   • ›Three seconds is longer than it feels — but only if you have scanned.
   • ›If you feel pressed, play to the support player — that is the right decision.
   • ›Mistakes under the clock are acceptable — freezing is not.

5. 5. Small-Sided Game

   17m

   Set up: 6v6 including keepers, 45×35 yd, two full goals.

   How to run it: Free match. Coach does not intervene. This is the application game — let players apply their decision-making freely. Coach observes and takes mental notes for the review.

   • ›Hands-off game: let them play and make decisions.
   • ›Observe patterns: who scans? Who panics? Who decides early?
   • ›These observations shape next week's sessions.

6. 6. Cool-Down & Review

   5m

   Set up: Players in pairs, gentle stretching.

   How to run it: Partner stretches. Coach shares two or three specific observations from the game: 'I saw [player] scan, see the run, and play the perfect pass. That is what we are working toward.'

   • ›Decision-making improves over months, not in one session.
   • ›The player who makes the best decisions often has the ball the least — and uses it best.