Pass and follow triangle
Soccer drill · Under-7 and up
Three cones in a triangle and a simple rule: pass to the next cone, then run and follow your pass. Everyone touches the ball every few seconds, nobody stands in a long line, and it works from under-7s to adults.
Adding it to a session puts it on your run sheet with its time and cue. It does not use up one of your saved plays.
- Time
- 10 minutes
- Players
- 4 per triangle: 2 at the first cone, 1 at each of the others
- Equipment
- 3 cones per triangle
- 1 ball per triangle
Setup
- Place three cones in a triangle, 10 to 12 yards apart. Use 8 yards for under-8s.
- Put two players at the first cone with the ball and one player at each of the other two cones.
- The player with the ball passes to the next cone and follows their pass, joining the back of that cone.
- Run it in one direction for two minutes, then reverse it so both feet get the work.
Coaching points
- Pass with the inside of the foot, ankle locked, and follow through towards the target.
- Receive on the half-turn: open your hips so your first touch already faces the next cone.
- Call for it. The receiver says a name or "yes" before the pass is played.
- Run after the pass straight away; the drill dies the moment someone stops to watch.
On the run sheet: Pass with the inside of the foot, follow your pass, receive on the half-turn
Progressions
- Two touches, then one touch: let the ball run across your body to the next pass.
- Add a second ball at the opposite cone so two passes are always travelling.
- Make it a wall pass: the receiver lays it back first, then turns and plays on.
How it runs
The ball moves around the triangle and the players move with it. The first player passes to the second cone and runs after the ball; the player at the second cone takes a touch, passes on to the third cone and follows; and so on round. The spare player at the first cone steps up to receive when the ball comes back round, which is why the drill needs four players and not three — with three, someone arrives at an empty cone and the rhythm breaks.
The animation shows one full lap: three passes, three players following their own pass, and the queue at the first cone moving up. It is deliberately simple, and that is the point. The technique can get all of the attention because the rules need none of it.
Why it earns a place in a session
Most passing drills are lines of six children waiting for one ball. This one has four players to a ball, so everybody touches it every few seconds, and the follow-your-pass rule keeps them moving between touches. It also builds the habit coaches spend years asking for in matches: you pass and you move, rather than pass and admire it.
The mistakes to watch for
Passes struck with the toe, receivers standing square on so their first touch goes back the way the ball came, and players walking after their pass. Shorten the distances before you lengthen them; a pass that arrives is worth more than a long one that does not.
More soccer drills
Put Pass and follow triangle in Tuesday's session
It lands on your practice plan already timed, with the coaching cue printed under it, next to your own plays.
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