First Touch Passing – Common Problems & Solutions

Below are the most common problems you will likely face along with solutions in terms of coaching points and advice for your players. If you encounter other problems, please post details in the comments on this page and your issue will be addressed.

First Touch Passing:

Problem: Players find it easy and lose focus

Solution: Introduce two balls. With two balls, play moves much quicker and players have to either pass or receive a ball constantly, so there is no room to switch off or lose focus otherwise the whole thing breaks down.

Problem: Players get bored quickly

Solution: Again, if you have enough players to split into two groups, have the two teams race against each other (while maintaining quality) to see who can progress through the passing combinations from start to finish the quickest. You can also reduce the time of the exercise to just 1 or 2 minutes and challenge the players to continue for that time without misplacing a pass.

Problem: Passes are not accurate and it breaks down too often

Solution: As with the combo passing exercise, encourage your players to make eye contact with the teammate they are going to pass to AND communicate with each other. This way they can maintain quality and not switch off or go onto ‘robot’ mode where they lose focus. Push players to take pride in every pass.