Week 8

Outcomes

• ✓Players can dribble at half pace and then burst to full pace on cue
• ✓Players can slow down convincingly before exploding past a defender
• ✓Players understand that deception comes from controlling their own pace
• ✓Players can apply change of pace with the ball under control

Equipment

• 1 ball per player
• 20 cones
• 4 pinnies
• 2 small goals

Run of show

1. 1. Arrival Ball Mastery

   8m

   Set up: Free roam 20×20 yd.

   How to run it: Players dribble at different speeds on the coach's call: 'slow' (walking pace), 'medium' (jogging), 'fast' (sprint). Ball must stay close at all paces. Change every 15 seconds.

   • ›Ball control gets harder at speed – work harder on the touch
   • ›The slow phase is not lazy – it is controlled and deliberate
   • ›Head up at all paces

2. 2. Dynamic Warm-Up

   10m

   Set up: Individual 20-yd channels.

   How to run it: Players jog the first 10 yds with ball, then sprint the last 10 yds. Repeat 4 times. Add: jog 10 yds, stop with sole, then burst 10 yds. This trains the stop-start that creates change of pace.

   • ›The stop before the burst is the key moment
   • ›Stay on the balls of your feet in the slow phase
   • ›First step of the burst = push off the standing foot explosively

3. 3. Technical Practice – Slow-Fast Gate Course

   15m

   Set up: Eight gates (pairs of cones 1 yd wide) along a 25-yd course. Alternating: 'slow zones' (3 yds) and 'fast zones' (4 yds) marked by cone colour.

   How to run it: Players walk through slow zones and sprint through fast zones. After two passes, add a passive defender at each slow zone who holds a bib. Attacker must be in the slow zone for at least 1 second before bursting through. Ask: 'What does slowing down force the defender to do?'

   • ›Slowing down makes the defender stop and wait
   • ›When they stop moving, they cannot close you as easily
   • ›The burst surprises them because they relaxed
   • ›Maintain ball contact in the slow zone – don't idle

4. 4. Skill Game – Acceleration Tag

   15m

   Set up: 25×20 yd grid; 2 taggers without balls; all others dribble.

   How to run it: Taggers try to tag dribblers. Dribblers must use change of pace (not just speed) to avoid being tagged. If tagged, dribbler stops and performs 3 slow-fast sequences before rejoining. Rotate taggers every 90 seconds.

   • ›Slowing down can be more effective than sprinting away
   • ›Wait for tagger to commit, then burst
   • ›Use the grid boundary as a tool – don't get cornered

5. 5. Small-Sided Game – 4v4 Speed Zones

   17m

   Set up: 30×22 yd pitch; 8-yd wide middle zone marked in different colour.

   How to run it: Ball carrier in the middle zone must slow to walking pace for 2 seconds before resuming full speed. This forces deliberate pace changes in a game. Normal rules outside the zone.

   • ›Use the slow phase to scan and make decisions
   • ›Explosive exit from the middle zone catches defenders off guard
   • ›Teammates: read the pace change and adjust support runs

6. 6. Cool-Down & Review

   5m

   Set up: Circle.

   How to run it: Static stretches. Ask: 'If you were always fast, what would happen?' Guide toward: defenders adapt to constant speed; variation disrupts them.

   • ›Change of pace is a form of dribbling deception
   • ›It requires no move – just body intelligence

Outcomes

• ✓Players consistently vary their dribbling speed in game play
• ✓Players successfully combine a pace change with a move (e.g., slow then scissors then burst)
• ✓Players can read when to accelerate based on defender's body position
• ✓Players maintain ball control at maximum sprint speed

Equipment

• 1 ball per player
• 20 cones
• 8 pinnies
• 4 small goals

Run of show

1. 1. Arrival Ball Mastery

   8m

   Set up: Free roam 20×20 yd.

   How to run it: Free-dribble. Each player sets their own slow-fast rhythm. On coach's clap they must perform a named move at the transition point between slow and fast.

   • ›Move at the transition = move just before the burst
   • ›The combination is: slow → move → burst
   • ›Your own rhythm makes you harder to read

2. 2. Dynamic Warm-Up

   10m

   Set up: Pairs; 1 ball per pair; 15-yd corridor.

   How to run it: Player A dribbles at varying pace. Player B runs alongside at the same pace (no ball). On A's sudden burst, B must try to stay alongside. Switch roles. Discuss: what does it feel like to be the defender?

   • ›Defenders learn: a sudden burst is very hard to match
   • ›Attackers: commit to the burst – half-measures don't work

3. 3. Technical Practice – Change of Pace 1v1

   15m

   Set up: 15-yd corridor per pair; active defender.

   How to run it: Attacker must dribble from one end to the other using at least one pace change and one move. Defender gives 80% effort. Score: 1 pt for reaching end, 2 pt for reaching end using both a pace change and a move. Three rounds each; swap.

   • ›Combination is the goal – pace change + move + burst
   • ›Don't use the move without the pace change first
   • ›The sequence: slow → move → burst = maximum deception
   • ›Control after the burst – ball must stay close

4. 4. Skill Game – Speed Chess

   15m

   Set up: Three 10×10 yd grids side by side. 1v1 in each. Ball starts with attacker.

   How to run it: Attacker has 30 seconds to score in any of the three adjacent goals (move between grids freely). Defender must track the attacker. Pace changes are the primary weapon. Rotate pairings every 3 minutes.

   • ›Multi-grid creates more pace change opportunities
   • ›Defender is constantly reacting – keep them guessing
   • ›Use slow pace to draw defender in before switching grid

5. 5. Small-Sided Game – 5v5 Free Play

   17m

   Set up: 35×28 yd pitch; goals.

   How to run it: Free 5v5. Coach observes and notes five pace-change moments. Share one observation at half time as a coaching moment – positive only.

   • ›Pace changes happen naturally in a well-played game
   • ›Point out the observation and ask: 'Why did that work?'
   • ›Let players own the answer

6. 6. Cool-Down & Review

   5m

   Set up: Circle.

   How to run it: Full-body stretches. Ask each player to rate their own change-of-pace effectiveness today 1–5. Discuss what a 5 looks like.

   • ›Self-assessment builds players who coach themselves
   • ›A 5 = unconscious competence – they don't think about it