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25 POSSESSION PRACTICES — BOOK 1

Keep the Ball. Develop the Player.

The first collection of 25 practical, tested possession practices designed to develop players and improve their understanding of the game.

How do you help players keep the ball?

How do you develop better passing and receiving?

How do you create support around the ball?

How do you improve movement and positioning?

How do you help players recognise space?

How do you develop decision-making through possession?

And how do you create practices that actually transfer into the game?

25 Possession Practices — Book 1 is the starting point of a practical collection designed to help coaches develop players through possession.

Written by a professional football coach and coach developer, this book provides 25 practical, tested practices that can be taken straight onto the training pitch.

THE FIRST POSSESSION COLLECTION

Possession is one of the foundations of football.

But possession is about much more than passing the ball around.

It is about:

Keeping the ball.

Creating space.

Supporting teammates.

Moving opponents.

Finding passing options.

Making decisions.

Progressing the ball.

And understanding when to keep possession and when to use it to attack.

This first collection introduces coaches and players to 25 practical possession practices designed to develop these behaviours.

25 PRACTICAL, TESTED PRACTICES

Every practice is designed to be:

Practical.

Challenging.

Game-related.

Adaptable.

Easy to understand.

Ready to use.

Take the practices onto the training pitch and create environments where players are constantly required to:

See.

Think.

Decide.

Act.

Adapt.

POSSESSION WITH A PURPOSE

Keeping the ball isn’t the end objective.

The purpose of possession is to help your team create opportunities.

Possession can help you:

• Control the game
• Create space
• Move opponents
• Create passing options
• Create numerical advantages
• Progress the ball
• Create chances
• Manage the game
• Prevent the opponent from attacking

Help players understand that possession is not simply about having the ball.

It is about what you do with it.

DEVELOPING THE WHOLE PLAYER

Possession practices can develop far more than passing.

Players are constantly challenged across multiple areas of performance.

TECHNICAL

Passing.

Receiving.

First touch.

Ball carrying.

Dribbling.

Combination play.

TACTICAL

Positioning.

Support.

Angles.

Distances.

Space.

Movement.

Progression.

Possession.

DECISION-MAKING

When to pass.

Where to play.

When to carry.

When to support.

When to move.

When to penetrate.

When to retain possession.

PHYSICAL

Movement.

Acceleration.

Deceleration.

Changes of direction.

Repeated actions.

PSYCHOLOGICAL

Concentration.

Awareness.

Confidence.

Problem-solving.

Composure under pressure.

SOCIAL

Communication.

Cooperation.

Support.

Responsibility.

Teamwork.

Develop the whole player through possession.

KEEPING THE BALL

The foundation of possession is the ability to retain the ball.

Players need to learn how to:

Create passing options.

Support the ball.

Receive effectively.

Protect possession.

Move into space.

Recognise pressure.

Find the next pass.

Develop the behaviours that allow players and teams to keep the ball under pressure.

PASSING & RECEIVING

Good possession begins with good technical execution.

The practices provide opportunities to develop:

• Passing accuracy
• Weight of pass
• First touch
• Receiving under pressure
• Receiving on the move
• Passing with different surfaces
• One-touch play
• Two-touch play
• Playing away from pressure
• Playing towards the next action

But technique is developed in relation to the game.

Players must learn to connect their technical actions with what is happening around them.

CREATING SUPPORT

The player with the ball is never alone.

The players around the ball determine how many options are available.

Develop:

Support angles.

Distance from the ball.

Width.

Depth.

Forward support.

Behind-the-ball support.

Movement away from the ball.

Third-player support.

Help players understand that good possession is a team action.

MOVEMENT & POSITIONING

Players cannot simply stand and wait for the ball.

Good possession requires movement.

Players need to understand when to:

Move towards the ball.

Move away from the ball.

Create width.

Create depth.

Rotate.

Support.

Penetrate.

Create space for teammates.

Movement should have a purpose.

Move to create a better option.

CREATING SPACE

Space is one of the most important concepts in possession.

Players need to recognise:

Where is the space?

Who is occupying it?

How can we create it?

How can we exploit it?

How can movement create space for someone else?

The practices encourage players to understand how positioning, movement and passing can create opportunities.

CREATING PASSING OPTIONS

Every player in possession needs options.

The practices challenge players to constantly create and recognise:

• Passing lanes
• Supporting positions
• Angles
• Forward options
• Spaces between opponents
• Third-player options
• Opportunities to switch play

Help players understand that the quality of the pass is often influenced by the movement before the ball arrives.

PLAYING UNDER PRESSURE

Opponents will try to take the ball away.

They will close space.

They will press.

They will block passing lanes.

They will create pressure.

Players therefore need to learn how to:

Scan.

Receive.

Protect the ball.

Support the player in possession.

Play away from pressure.

Find the free player.

Develop players who can remain calm and effective when time and space are reduced.

PLAYING FORWARD

Possession should create opportunities to progress.

Players need to recognise:

When can I play forward?

When can I penetrate?

When can I carry the ball?

When should I support?

When should I secure possession?

When is the forward pass not available?

Develop players who understand that keeping possession and progressing possession are connected.

COMBINATION PLAY

Possession is often created through relationships between players.

Develop:

Pass and move.

Wall passes.

Third-player combinations.

Support around the ball.

Rotations.

Movement away from the ball.

One-two combinations.

Help players understand how individual actions combine to create team solutions.

POSSESSION & TRANSITIONS

Possession changes.

The moment the ball is lost, players must react.

What happens after losing the ball?

Can you regain it?

Can you counter-press?

Can you delay the opponent?

Can you recover?

And after winning the ball?

Can you play forward?

Can you attack space?

Can you secure possession?

Possession practices can develop an understanding of what happens before, during and after possession.

DECISION-MAKING THROUGH POSSESSION

Every possession creates decisions.

Pass or carry?

Forward or sideways?

One touch or two?

Support or move away?

Keep possession or penetrate?

Combine or switch?

Play quickly or slow the game down?

Players learn by experiencing these decisions repeatedly.

The objective isn’t to give players every answer.

It is to create an environment where they can learn to find the answer.

SMALL-SIDED. HIGH INVOLVEMENT.

Smaller practices can create more opportunities to learn.

More touches.

More passes.

More receiving actions.

More movement.

More decisions.

More pressure.

More transitions.

More involvement.

The practices are designed to keep players actively involved in the football.

ADAPTABLE TO YOUR PLAYERS

Every group is different.

Every player is different.

Adapt the practices through:

• Pitch size
• Player numbers
• Numerical advantages
• Conditions
• Scoring systems
• Time
• Direction
• Targets
• Rules

Make the practice easier.

Make it harder.

Increase the pressure.

Create more space.

Reduce the space.

Change the objective.

Keep the practice. Change the challenge.

DEVELOPING GAME UNDERSTANDING

Possession practices provide an opportunity to develop more intelligent footballers.

Players learn to recognise:

Space.

Pressure.

Teammates.

Opponents.

Passing options.

Movement.

Numerical advantages.

Forward opportunities.

Risk and reward.

The result is players who don’t simply pass the ball.

They begin to understand the game around the ball.

FOR EVERY LEVEL

These practices can be used across a range of environments.

Grassroots.

Academy.

Development football.

Senior football.

Elite environments.

The coach can adjust the challenge according to the players.

The principles remain.

The level of complexity changes.

FOR COACHES BUILDING THEIR POSSESSION TOOLBOX

Sometimes you need another practice.

Another idea.

Another way of creating the same learning objective.

This book gives coaches 25 practical possession practices to add to their coaching toolbox.

Use them as:

• Main practices
• Possession games
• Technical-tactical practices
• Game-based practices
• Development activities
• Conditioned games
• Competitive practices
• Session components

Adapt them.

Combine them.

Build your sessions around them.

FROM TRAINING TO THE GAME

The purpose of possession practice is not simply to produce better training sessions.

It is to produce better footballers.

Players who can:

Receive under pressure.

Create angles.

Support teammates.

Recognise space.

Move opponents.

Find passing options.

Play forward.

Make better decisions.

Keep possession with purpose.

Take the learning from the practice into the real game.

PRACTICAL. TESTED. READY TO USE.

These practices have been designed for the realities of coaching.

They are not complicated exercises that only work on paper.

They are practical, tested possession practices that can be taken straight onto the pitch.

Set it up.

Explain the objective.

Let the players play.

Observe.

Coach.

Adapt.

Develop.

25 WAYS TO DEVELOP POSSESSION

25 practices.

25 different challenges.

Hundreds of decisions.

Thousands of actions.

Every practice creates another opportunity for players to improve their relationship with:

The ball.

Space.

Teammates.

Opponents.

The game.

This is where the 25 Possession Practices series begins.

TRUSTED BY PROFESSIONALS

The author’s eBooks are already being used and endorsed by professionals from the game.

Including:

Danny Röhl — Football Manager
Gaël Clichy — Former Manchester City & Arsenal player, Coach
Yohan Cabaye — Former Newcastle United & PSG player, Coach
Martin Devaney — Assistant Manager, Barnsley FC
Marlon Pack — Portsmouth Captain
Kenwyne Jones — Former Premier League player, Coach

Their use and support of the author’s work reflects the practical focus behind the books:

Football ideas that can be understood, applied and developed.

WRITTEN FROM THE PROFESSIONAL GAME

The author is a professional football coach and coach developer, bringing practical coaching experience and a passion for developing players into every practice.

The aim is simple:

Create better practices.

Create better learning environments.

Develop better players.

KEEP THE BALL. DEVELOP THE PLAYER.

25 POSSESSION PRACTICES — BOOK 1

25 practical, tested possession practices designed to develop players and improve their understanding of the game.

Possession.

Passing.

Receiving.

Support.

Movement.

Creating space.

Playing under pressure.

Progression.

Combination play.

Decision-making.

Transitions.

Game understanding.

Professional coaching insight.

For coaches. Players. Coach developers.

25 practices. More decisions. More learning.

Keep the ball. Develop the player.

Get your copy today.