Possession 3v3 plus 2
Soccer drill · Under-11 and up
Three against three is too crowded to keep the ball and too few to learn from. Put a neutral player on each end line who always plays for the team in possession and the game opens up: there is always a way out, and a team that keeps the ball can play end to end.
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
- 15 minutes
- Players
- 8: two teams of 3 and 2 neutral end players
- Equipment
- 4 cones for a 25 x 20 yard box
- 2 sets of bibs and a third colour for the neutrals
- 6 balls around the outside
Setup
- Mark a box about 25 yards long and 20 yards wide. Go bigger for younger players.
- Two teams of three inside the box. One neutral player stands on each end line.
- The neutrals play for whichever team has the ball, and can move along their line but not into the box.
- A team scores a point by moving the ball from one end player to the other.
- Play 3-minute games with a minute of rest, and swap the neutrals in every game.
Coaching points
- When we have the ball, get wide and deep: one player near the ball, two giving angles further away.
- Check your shoulder before you receive, so you know whether you can turn or have to play back.
- Use the end player to escape pressure, then move to get the ball straight back.
- When we lose it, the nearest player presses at once and the other two cut off the passes.
On the run sheet: Make the pitch big when we have it, small when we lose it; play forward to the end player when it is on
Progressions
- Neutrals on two touches, then one touch.
- A point for ten passes in a row as well as for end to end.
- Put the neutrals inside the box, making it a 5v3 in possession.
- Replace the end lines with small goals that can only be scored in after five passes.
How it runs
The team in possession has five players to the defenders' three, because both neutrals are on their side. That overload is what lets them keep the ball long enough to learn something: the right movement is rewarded with an easy pass, and the wrong movement is punished with a tackle. In the animation the ball starts with the end player, a midfielder drops to receive, the defence presses, and the switch across the box finds the free player, who plays it on to the far end player for a point. The two end players are drawn in the attacking team's colour, because for as long as that team has the ball, that is the team they are on.
Keep the games short and intense. A possession game played at walking pace teaches walking.
Why it is better than a plain 3v3
In a plain 3v3 the ball spends most of its time being fought over. With the end players it spends most of its time being passed, which is the skill the session is meant to be about, and the transitions are still real: the instant the ball is lost, both neutrals change sides and the team that was attacking has three players against five.
The mistakes to watch for
All three attackers gathering near the ball, so there is no angle to switch it. Passing back to the end player and then standing still. And defenders chasing the ball in a pack rather than one pressing and two cutting off the passes behind.
More soccer drills
Put Possession 3v3 plus 2 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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