The Importance of the First Touch in Youth Football/Soccer
In youth football/soccer, mastering the first touch is a game-changer. Have a good first touch, and many good options open up to you. Take a bad first touch and your good options instantly shrink and you’re under pressure. Last season, watching my under-14s team, I noticed a recurring issue: many players took their first touch with their back to the goal in less than ideal circumstances. This not only limited their visibility and options but also made it easier for defenders to press and regain possession.
Why Receiving with Your Back to Goal is a Limitation
Receiving the ball with your back to the goal puts players at a significant disadvantage. Here’s why:
Limited Field Vision: Players can’t see approaching defenders, potential passing options, or opportunities to progress the ball forward.
Reduced Reaction Time: Turning to face the play after receiving the ball takes precious time, allowing defenders to close the gap and apply pressure.
Decreased Offensive Threat: A player with their back to the goal is less threatening from a goal scoring perspective, this can make it easier for defenders to predict the next play, and also buys them time to get organised.
Advantages of Facing Forward When Receiving the Ball
Teaching players to receive the ball facing forward, or at least side-on, opens up the game significantly:
Enhanced Field Vision: Players immediately see more options, from potential passes to attacking opportunities.
Quicker Play Transition: With a clear view of the field, players can make faster decisions, keeping a higher tempo of play and giving defenders less time to organise.
Increased Offensive Options: Facing forward puts players in a position to dribble, pass, or shoot, making them more unpredictable and dangerous to defenders.
Training Session: First Touch Facing Forward
60-90 minutes
This session uses the Game-Train-Game framework to work on receiving the ball facing forward. The aim is to reduce players receiving the ball with their back to goal. For shorter sessions, just use 1 Train activity.
Format
- Warmup: 10 mins
- Icebreaker: 10 mins
- Game 1: 15 mins
- Train 1: 10 mins
- Train 2: 15 mins
- Game 2: 20mins
Icebreaker: 10 mins
Aim
- Most goals in 2 minutes.
Rules
- 2 teams working in a direct channel to goal that ends at the penalty spot.
- Each team has a chain of 5 player.
- Ball starts at the top of the channel and is passed to the next in line, then so on until the last player.
- Last player shoots for goal, without going past the end of the channel.
- Strictly 2 touches for every player, or goal doesn’t count.
- Players follow their pass.
Notes
- Players begin with their back to goal, can they work out how to receive the ball facing forward to play the next pass quicker.
- Do not coach the forward facing first touch, give them the opportunity to discover it themselves. its ok if they don’t, we will learn it in the next activity.
- The timer and competition add urgency and mild pressure.
- It’s ok to prompt with questions like “How could you move your body to get your pass away quicker?”
- The strict 2 touches rule punishes poor first touches.
Game 1: 15 mins
Aim
- Small sided games to get the players playing football early in the session
Rules
- Start the game as soon as possible, with all standard football rules.
- Every few minutes add a new rule:
- 3 touches maximum.
- Free kick if any of the players back is facing the goal line when taking their first touch.
- No passing backwards.
Notes
- Introduce rules 1 at a time to give the players time to process and understand how they work.
- Don’t stop the game to change the rules, explain the rules while the game is flowing.
- Try not to coach, the games are used for self discovery. Use your custom rules to create an environment for them to find the answer.
Train 1: 10 mins
Aim
- Focused repetitions of running to the ball and turning your body to take your first touch facing forward.
Rules
- Groups of 3 working in a 2-3m wide channel (blue).
- 1 player on each end, and 1 in the middle.
- Player in the middle works in a 5m central zone (yellow).
- Player on one side plays the ball to the middle player.
- Middle player runs towards the ball inside their 5m zone.
- Middle player turns their body to receive the ball side on, or facing the other player.
- Middle player plays a pass to the opposite player with their 2nd or 3rd touch.
- Repeat for 10 passes total, then change.
Notes
- While the game activity is more organic, this activity allows us to isolate the movement of coming towards the ball, turning your body, and receiving the ball side on or forward facing.
- Use the central zone as a rough guide for the middle player to move between.
- Coach technique to turn and receive all in one motion.
- Demonstrate yourself, or use a player to demonstrate.
- Use descriptive terms like ‘hop’, ‘skip’, ‘pivot’.
- Can we perfect our first touch so it sets up for a pass on the second touch?
Train 2: 15 mins
Aim
- Short pattern to put forward facing first touches into a more game real scenario.
Rules
- Ball starts at the goal line.
- Player runs to the ball from the edge of the 18 to receive facing away from the goal.
- After receiving, player passes the ball to the outfield player.
- Outfield player controls and plays a ball into the attacker who is marked by the mannequin.
- Attacker comes to the ball and receives the ball facing the goal.
- Attacker has a shot in 2 or 3 touches.
- Players follow their pass.
Notes
- There are 2 phases of play in this one pattern.
- The first and second pass replicate playing the ball out from deep in defence.
- Receiving facing forward is crucial in this scenario to not get pinned and pressed by attacking opponents.
- The third pass into the attacker simulates a killer ball creating a goal scoring opportunity.
- The attacker needs to get space from their marker, take the ball while facing goal, and get a shot away fast before being closed down.
GAME 2: 20 MINS
Aim
- A game of football to finish the session
Rules
- Keep all the rules normal, must look and play like a normal game
- Adjust the field size to suit numbers.
Notes
- Avoid the temptation to coach, let the kids just play.
- Give praise when you see a player take a forward facing first touch.
- Don’t punish or acknowledge back to goal first touches.
- Even with reduced numbers, you can still create formations that mimic 11v11 formations.
- In this diagram, there is a regulation back 4, and midfield 3, and a striker. It is played like a 4-3-3 but without wingers or goalkeepers.
- In lieu of goalkeepers, use poles or markers in the corners of the goals.
- Try to keep teams balanced.
