Passing - Who Cares?

A common start to a lot of training sessions is a small group passing exercise between two or three players. Coaches will ask the players to pass and move as a group to begin getting ready to play. Often the expectation is for the players to work on passing accuracy, controlling touch when receiving the ball, and spacing/movement in relation to each other (among other things). Over the years of working with players of different age groups, this part of a training session can be very frustrating to watch when soccer balls are flying all over the field to no intended target. The players are technically good enough to play the ball from point “A” to “B” with no pressure, but why do they seem to be having so much trouble? The sad truth is they just do not care enough.

The ability to pass the ball accurately to another teammate is one of the most important aspects of being successful at soccer (just behind individual ball control). Unfortunately, players seem to dismiss the importance of making sure the ball always gets to their teammate. It is not uncommon to see a player mishit a ball and laugh it off and seem completely unaffected by the fact they just gave the ball away. I am not sure why this is ok in soccer while in other sports a bad “pass” is seen as costly mistake, not a common one.

In football, when a quarter back throws a bad pass and costs their team a completion, or even worse, turns the ball over with an interception, it is a mistake that is not taken lightly. This is probably why quarterbacks spend countless hours working on their throwing mechanics to improve their ability to deliver a good pass each time they throw the ball. Baseball is not much different. An inaccurate throw to first base allowing the batter to get on base can be the difference in winning or losing a game. How often do you see a basketball player throw a ball errantly out of play? In these sports, turning the ball over is seen as a much bigger deal than in soccer.

Yes, soccer is a different sport than football, baseball, and basketball, and there will be more turnovers and bad passes in one soccer game than in other sports. But, just because something will happen more often, does not make it any less important. If a soccer player approached keeping possession of the soccer ball with the same mentality as an NFL quarterback protecting the football, it would immediately make a positive impact in their ability to connect passes with their teammates.

Most bad passes by youth players are not a result of a lack of skill (but that will make the issue worse), but rather a lack of focus and effort. The apathetic attitude of players when passing the soccer ball is the biggest reason for mistakes. Passing is such a common thing in soccer that players tend to not give it much thought. If a pass goes out of bounds or to the other team, BIG DEAL… the player will get another chance to do it. Most likely the mistake will not cost the team much, right?

A turnover in soccer is not as costly as other sports, but there is still a cost and a risk. The cost is your team now has to defend which wastes energy which could be used to attack the other team. The risk, well that is simple, as my coaches always said to me, the other team cannot score if they do not have ball. Every time the ball is given to the other team, in reality, an opportunity is being given for the other team to score. It does not happen all the time, but in soccer, sometimes it only has to happen once.

Players from an early age need to be taught the important of playing a good pass and helping their team keep possession. It should be engrained in players it is their responsibility to keep possession of the ball when it comes to them. When kids are young, they are often given praise for just aimlessly kicking or punting the ball up field. This sends the wrong message to young kids learning to play the game. Instead, can we teach kids to control the ball and make every effort to keep it for their team by using their foot skills to distribute the ball to a teammate? That is what should be praised and cheered from the sideline (no matter what the result). As the players get older, they will have developed not only the skill to keep possession of the ball, but the mentality of how important it is to the game.

Coaches need to make sure players are always focused on improving their ability to pass the ball. Players cannot be allowed to pass the ball inaccurately over and over again. With the coach’s assistance, players need to be shown the proper way to pass the ball with different parts of the body, but just as important, the players need to be taught the importance of a good pass. Kids should feel a sense of pride and accomplishment every time a pass gets to their teammate, and frankly, disappointed when it does not. Again, most kids are more than capable of passing the ball to a teammate, especially during an exercise during practice. When a player has time, space, and no pressure to get the ball to a teammate, they should have the greatest chance of success. It only gets more difficult under pressure from a defender with limited time and space.

This does not mean coaches create a culture of fear in training and games where bad passes are punished! Players will make mistakes and coaches will make matters worse if they jump all over a player for each bad pass. Coaches just need to set the expectation and outline the importance of playing a good pass and make it a large part of each training session. Show players how good passes equal success, not just how bad passes lead to failure. Like many things, coaches sometimes assume players know “why” a skill or activity is important to their performance and success. This assumption should never be made and coaches need to work tirelessly to make sure players understand the importance of every single thing done on the soccer field. Teach the “why” and the “how” together.

Here are some simple activities coaches can do in training to help players focus on their ability to play an accurate pass and help their team keep possession:

Take a Knee: This can be done in most possession style activities or games. Simply, when a player gives the ball away, the player will take a knee until their team can regain possession. The team who is in possession will have a player advantage and can use it to create a scoring opportunity, but if they give the ball away, they will lose that advantage and the other team will play with an additional player. An added benefit of this game is it teaches players to transition quickly attacking to defending (or vice versa).

Three to Add: Game begins with even number of players on each team. When a team connects three passes together (requirement can be more), the team is rewarded with an extra player. The team can do it three consecutive times to gain a three man advantage. If possession is lost, the team loses the additional players.  Remember, possession is important to try to create scoring chances. Keep possession with a purpose!

The players should be encouraged to do the following things before passing the soccer ball when possible. Obviously, during the pace of a game, a player may not have time to do all the things listed below, but the more of these areas a player can do the more likely the pass will be accurate. As players improve, it takes less time and it will seem like it all happens simultaneously.

Prepare the Body: The player must position the body to the ball to allow them to approach and strike the ball accurately. If the body is in a bad position to play the ball, it will be difficult for them to pass the ball accurately and with proper pace. This will require the feet to move quickly to prepare to step in to pass the ball.

Prepare the Ball: The ball should be in a good position in relation to the body to play an accurate pass. Ideally this is just outside the right or left shoulder, but it really depends on the type of pass the player wishes to play. Often, preparing the ball and preparing the body happen together or a player will do one when they cannot do the other.

Prepare the Foot (Surface): The most common mistake players make is they do not prepare the foot properly when striking the ball. For example, when passing with the inside of the foot, the heel should be closer to the ground and the toes should be up. When passing with the outside of the foot, it is reversed. Preparing the foot will lock the ankle and give the player a firm surface to play the ball.

There are other aspects to passing the ball that I am leaving out (type of approach, point of contact, and type of follow through), but these areas change greatly depending on what type of pass a player is trying to make (bend, chip, driven ball, lofted, etc..). When the player prepares the body, prepares the ball, and prepares the foot, it is more likely the player will have success when attempting the other aspects of the pass.

Players must understand everything they do on the field is important. The game needs to be fun, but players cannot be content when the effort level is not where it needs to be for them to be successful. To be sharp and precise with the ball requires a great deal of focus and attention to “the small things” that make a big difference to a player’s performance. Since passing is the vessel a team uses to create scoring chances, it is critical that every pass a player makes is thoughtful action and the result, positive or negative, is given the necessary recognition.