Warm up with this wall pass drill

-March 15, 2021

One of the best ways to beat a defending player is to use a wall pass. It is a simple combination in which a player passes the ball to a teammate, then accelerates past the defender and receives it back. This post describes a simple wall pass drill involving multiple passing combinations.

Setup

You don’t need an actual pitch to practice this drill, but you need enough space, cones to mark the pitch, a minimum of 3 mannequins and a good number of balls. Distribute the cones and mannequins as shown in the picture below. If you don’t have mannequins, be creative. For example, instead of mannequins, you can use cones, chairs or even ask injured teammates to stand as defenders.

You can practise this drill with as few as 2 players. On the other hand, you don’t want to have too many players and risk them waiting in line for too long. You want everyone moving constantly. So, if you have too many players, set up two or more training fields. Alternatively, add more mannequins to provide enough room for more players.

Instructions

The drill objective is to get used to exploiting the space behind defending players. To achieve this objective, two players work on wall passes between the mannequins simulating defenders. The progression of this drill is as follows:

Player A starts by passing the ball to Player B in the mannequins zone and makes a run passing the first mannequin.
Player B receives the ball, passes it behind the first mannequin and starts a run to the second mannequin.
Repeat the previous sequence on every mannequin.
Once the player that started the progression receives the ball behind the last mannequin, the players switch lanes and sprint back to the first station. Switching lanes will help players practice positioning their bodies facing both the left and right sides of the pitch.
The next pair of players should start the progression as soon as the previous players have passed the second mannequin. Doing this will leave enough space between each pair of players.
Players should only use two touches at all times: receive and pass.
Continue this exercise without stopping for 10-15 minutes.

Start slow and increase intensity as players get comfortable. The objective is to complete the sequence as quickly as possible. Have a look at the picture and video below to understand better the whole sequence.

Takeaways

Wall passing allows players to keep possession of the ball while moving all over the pitch in small triangles. The wall pass is particularly lethal when executed close to the opposition goal. However, timing and an excellent passing technique are required to be effective. Acceleration after completing a pass is also important to provide a new passing option that completes the triangle and defeats the defender. If the player passing the ball does not accelerate quick enough, the receiving player won’t have a passing option and can be tackled or be forced to turn around to find another teammate. This wall pass drill will improve all these aspects:

Passing accuracy
Acceleration
Timing
Team coordination

I hope you find this passing drill useful. If you like this post, please share it with your friends. If you know other exercises or have any questions, leave a comment below.

Pablo Matamoros

I am a software engineer with 25+ years of experience across diverse industries. I've climbed the corporate leader over the years, which has some benefits but means I moved away from my love for tinkering with technology. So, I build the odd website or application to keep learning and stay in touch with technology. FootballTechniques allows me to combine my programming knowledge with my passion for football.

To find out more about my professional experience, visit PabloMatamoros.com