First-Touch Pairs Rondo

Pairs 10 yards apart, one-touch and two-touch passing. Coach circulates assessing footwork, first-touch direction, and scanning. Final 8 minutes: 5v2 rondo in one central grid so the GK joins the outfield group.

• Open body shape before the ball arrives — Ben Steinmetz included; get that footwork right from day one
• Weight of pass: firm enough to travel, soft enough to control
• First touch away from pressure, not into it

• Restrict to one touch in the rondo; two-touch by request only
• Add a colour-coded cone gate the receiver must pass through after the control