This Wednesday’s session is designed to improve how we get open for teammates, and continue building the mindset we want going into the spring.
Our normal practice time is 5:00–6:00 PM, with an optional extended session from 6:00–6:20 PM for players who would like to stay a little longer.
Schedule & field setup
5:00–5:40 → Red fields
5:40–5:50 → Team break + discussion
5:50–6:00 → Transition to large boxes
6:00–6:20 → Large boxes (optional)
The final 20 minutes are completely optional. If you need to leave at 6:00, no problem at all.
Ball Mastery & Fake Shot Focus (5:00–5:15)
We’ll open the session with our usual ball mastery work, but with a special emphasis on the fake shot.
The fake shot is one of the most effective tools in soccer when it’s done correctly. We’ll focus on:
Selling the shot with body language
Getting the defender to commit
Changing direction and accelerating into space
The goal here is technique over speed. Players will start slow, perform the move cleanly, and then explode rather than rushing through it.
Freestyle Skills (5:15–5:20)
For five minutes, players will work through freestyle touches.
Each player will cycle through at least five different skills, repeating them and finding rhythm. This is about creativity, confidence, and becoming comfortable on the ball without pressure.
Passing, Movement & Getting Open (5:20 –5:40 )
For the extended portion, we’ll move into the larger boxes and work on getting open for passes and understanding where to go on the field.
Players will work in 2v1 situations, with three groups of three running at the same time. The rule is simple:
Complete 10 passes or skills before you’re allowed to shoot
We will also be selecting 2 captains for the year. Captains will be responsible for leading the team in warmups. They should also display leadership qualities like controlling the controllables.
As usual, tomorrow’s session is split between our time on the red field and finishing inside the boxes. We’ll use the field for our technical work and small competitions, then wrap up with a fun challenge.
Field Session – 40 Minutes 🟥
Warm-Up 🔄
We’ll start with a quick ball-mastery warm-up to get everyone loose. Light dribbling, inside/outside touches, toe taps, and a few feints on command.
Featured Move: Feint → La Croqueta Into a Shot 🎯
Our main focus is combining a strong feint with a clean La Croqueta, followed by an explosive touch into a shot. The idea is to learn how to shake a defender, slide into space, and finish quickly.
Progression:
No-pressure repetitions
Cone defenders
Light defensive pressure
Finish with a quick shot after the escape touch
This move is great for breaking out of tight situations.
Chip Shot / Lob Technique 🟢
Please review the Chip Shot post. We’ll spend a few minutes teaching the kids how to lift the ball with control instead of power, short swing, locked ankle, and getting under the ball. This leads to cleaner chip passes and better touch in the final third.
Through Ball Drill With Chip and Finish 🚀
Next, we’ll run a timing drill where one player chips a through ball into space and another player runs onto it. The runner finishes immediately. This helps with game awareness, timing runs, and finding open space.
Competitive Play 🥅
We’ll end the field portion with either:
Fast 1v1 battles with 2 lanes or
A quick 3–4 player mini tournament
It depends on the numbers and the energy, but either option keeps it intense and fun.
Box Session – 20 Minutes 📦⚽
Back Wall Challenge 🔥
Inside the boxes, we’ll run a scoring competition. Players take turns striking the ball off the front wall, and if the rebound reaches the back wall, they earn a point.
Structure:
Two rounds, seven minutes each
Track points
Top players move into a short bracket tournament
One of the best ways to get touches and quick striking opportunities.
We earned our first regular season win in several months, and it felt great not just because we won, but because of how we played. The team looked different today. Players were looking to pass before taking on defenders, and that made all the difference.
When we play on a bigger field, we need to always be aware of where our teammates are, scanning the field and planning the next pass before we even receive the ball. There’s a time and place for skill moves, but right now, our goal is to pass first, skill second. Think of the skills as a secret weapon for when you get in trouble or crowded.
We’ll continue to build on this with 2v2 and 2v1 possession drills to help players make quicker passing decisions and move off the ball. We will try to incorporate large rondos to also help with possession and scanning.
⚽ Team Highlights
The best part of today’s victory was that everyone contributed. We had multiple goal scorers, great passing, and a higher overall team level. It wasn’t one standout player it was a team performance.
We’re also working toward certifying players as “Maestros” by mastering the Basic Legends Skill Moves and demonstrating them in games. There is also the Ace Top Gun shooting program where we will be using different parts of the foot for both passing and shooting inside, middle, outside, and toe pokes when needed.
🟢 Weekly Training Routine
Here’s what players should work on at home this week:
✅ 250 Bounce Juggles (ball can bounce once between touches)
Five years from now, these kids will be trying out for their high school soccer teams. Our goal is to help them get there prepared and ready to compete for a varsity spot. That won’t be determined by how many wins or goals they had at age nine, but by the muscle memory and habits built from doing skills over and over since they were little.
This winter, Legends has an outline that will bring in more passing and shooting. For now, we’re heavily focused on ball mastery. That doesn’t mean we want players doing a Maradona in our own goal box. Instead, we stick to Skill – Scan – Send. The skills allow us to scan, create space, and move the ball past the defender with control.
To help track progress, we’ve put together an Excel spreadsheet for skills and stats. We’ll also be choosing two captains each week, based on standout performances at Wednesday practice or exceptional play during a game.
We’ve got two practices with Chase this week. Our normal Wednesday practice will be held indoors at 5:00 PM, focusing on ball mastery and finishing. On Thursday, we’ll have an outdoor practice at 6:30 PM.
We may only have 40 minutes on the field, so we’ll move with purpose. Please arrive early so we can maximize our time together.
⚙️ Ball Mastery – 30–60 Seconds Each
Inside Ball Taps (TikTok)
Ball Shift – 3 Taps Left / 3 Taps Right
Rolls – Left to Right (Stationary)
Moving Rolls – 2 Left / 2 Right
Ball Shift (Stationary + Feint)
2 Outside Touches / 2 Inside Touches – Right
2 Outside Touches / 2 Inside Touches – Left
V Cut – Right, then Left
Wide V Cuts – Inside of foot, pivot to open
Short V → Touch Into Space
L Drag Behind – Alternate feet
180 Turn Into Space
Scissor + Touch Into Space
Ball Shift + Feint (La Croqueta)
Stepover (Opposite of Scissor)
Shield + Turn Into Space
Weak Foot Only
Free Combo – Player’s Choice
🎯 Focus Moves of the Day
This week we’ll highlight and review two key skills during warm-up and drills:
Cryuff Turn
Finishing Drills
Our finishing work will be inspired by a training video, emphasizing game-like actions:
Cryuff turn into a finish
Two rolls left or right into a finish
Two inside touches and two outside touches leading into a finish
⏱️ Scrimmage or Box Drills
If the field is available, we’ll close practice with a scrimmage. If not, we’ll move into box drills:
Box 1 – One Player Per Box
Wide V Cuts then bounce off wall, alternating feet
Wall Juggling: Inside of foot only, catching the ball every other bounce
Box 2 – Two Players Per Box
Wall Passing Challenge: See how many clean passes pairs can make in 60 seconds
Point Battle: Compete to bounce the ball off the wall and past the defender. If the ball hits the back wall after passing the defender, it’s 1 point for the shooter.
Update: Instead of practice we are doing a Scrimmage Sept 3rd. Location: Soccer Nation Time: 6:00
We will focus on this practice plan next week, 9-10-25.
There will be two practices with Chase for the week of September 1st. We will hold the normal Wednesday 5:00 practice focusing on ball mastery and finishing. We will also be holding an outdoor practice on Thursday at 6:30.
We may only have 40 minutes on the field, so we’ll move with purpose. Plan to arrive ready to go. We will follow the same exact ball mastery routine this week.
⚙️ Ball Mastery – 30-60 Seconds Each
Inside Ball Taps (TikTok)
Ball Shift – 3 Taps Left / 3 Taps Right
Rolls – Left to Right (Stationary)
Moving Rolls – 2 Left / 2 Right
Ball Shift (Stationary + Feint)
2 Outside Touches / 2 Inside Touches – Right
2 Outside Touches / 2 Inside Touches – Left
V Cut – Right, then Left
Wide V Cuts – Inside of foot, pivot to open
Short V → Touch Into Space
L Drag Behind – Alternate feet
180 Turn Into Space
Scissor + Touch Into Space
Ball shift + Feint (La Croqueta)
Stepover (Opposite of Scissor)
Shield + Turn Into Space
Weak Foot Only
Free Combo – Player’s Choice
🎯 Focus Moves of the Day
We will highlight and review these two skill moves during our warm-up and drills:
Maradona
Ball Shift + Feint – Shift ball laterally and fake with body
Finishing drills
Focus on finishing drills inspired from this training video.
Ball shift to finish
2x roll to left or right plus finish
2x inside, 2x outside from left to right 2x to finish
⏱️ If the field is available we will scrimmage. If not, we will move to box drills.
Box 1 – One Player Per Box:
Wide V Cuts then bounce off wall, using alternating feet
Wall Juggling: Inside of foot only, catching the ball every other bounce
Box 2 – Two Players Per Box:
Wall Passing Challenge: See how many clean passes pairs can make in 60 seconds
Point Battle: Compete to bounce the ball off the wall and past the defender
If the ball hits the back wall after passing the defender, it’s 1 point for the shooter
