Passing and receiving drills children can do in the garden

For parents exploring passing drills for children at home, here's what our Pitch Ready coaches suggest.

Passing is the skill grassroots teams say they want their players to have, and it's the skill most children get the least focused practice on. A wall and 10 minutes will change more than a full team training session for most kids. This is what we use in 1-to-1 passing and receiving sessions with children in Enfield and Winchmore Hill.

Drill 1: Wall passes with a target

Chalk two small squares on a garden wall a metre apart. Alternate passes — square 1 with the right foot, square 2 with the left. Count in a row. Under-9s: 20. Under-12s: 40. Under-14s: 60.

Drill 2: Two-touch rhythm

First touch to control, second touch to pass back to the wall. If the first touch runs too far away, it's a miss. This is the drill that fixes 'heavy first touch' faster than anything else.

Drill 3: Weighted passes

Put a cone in front of the wall as an obstacle. Pass under it or around it. Trains weight of pass, not just accuracy.

Drill 4: Inside–outside

Alternate touches — inside of the foot to control, outside of the same foot to redirect, inside of the other foot to pass. Slow at first. Speed later.

Drill 5: Two-player triangle (if you have a partner)

Three cones in a triangle, one player at each corner, one player moving between them. The moving player receives on the half-turn and passes to the next corner. Rotate every 90 seconds.

Drill 6: Pressure passes

You stand a metre behind your child. When they receive from the wall, you shout 'left', 'right' or 'turn'. They pass back to the wall in that direction. This is the closest a garden drill gets to what happens in a match.