Wall First Touch

Set-up

A flat patch three or four steps from any solid wall or garage door, with a square about two steps across marked on the ground in front of the player using cones, chalk or two shoes. Close is deliberate: the ball returns quickly and leaves less time to think, which is the whole training effect. Check the wall is sound and that there is nothing breakable within range before the first pass.

What you need

• 1 soccer ball
• Wall or rebounder

The ground: 10 × 10 ft (about 3 × 3 m). One child can run it alone in a backyard. The space and equipment check lists every drill that fits the ground you have.

How to run it

1. Set up. Three or four steps from a wall on a flat patch. Mark a square about two steps across in front of them.
2. Pass in. A firm pass into the wall with the inside of the foot. Firm enough that it comes back with pace.
3. Kill it. One touch to stop the returning ball dead inside the square. The foot gives with the ball rather than blocking it.
4. Across the body. Take the touch sideways into space rather than straight back — that is where the next pass comes from.
5. Return it. Second touch passes it back into the wall. Two touches every time and no more.
6. Both feet. Thirty seconds right foot only, thirty left, then alternate. The weak side is the one worth the minutes.

Coaching points

• The receiving foot gives with the ball — a stiff ankle bounces it away
• First touch goes across the body into space rather than back at the wall
• Two touches only, so the first one has to be good

What to watch: The first touch should go across the body into space, not straight back at the wall. If it keeps bouncing away the ankle is stiff.

Common mistakes

• A stiff ankle on the receiving touch, which bounces the ball away instead of killing it
• Taking the first touch straight back towards the wall, leaving no angle for the next pass
• Standing too far from the wall so the ball arrives slowly and the drill stops being demanding
• Letting a third touch creep in to tidy up a poor first one, which hides the fault being trained
• Passing too softly, so the return has no pace and nothing is actually being controlled
• Working only the strong foot, which is the one that already has a decent first touch

What good looks like

A good target: 8 of 10 first touches finishing dead inside a two-step square, both feet.

Progressions and variations

Making it harder

• Level 1: Two touches with the strong foot only, ball returning gently
• Level 2: Both feet alternating, still at a comfortable pace
• Level 3: Firmer passes so the ball returns faster and the square gets harder to hit
• Level 4: Weak foot only for a full two minutes
• Level 5: One touch — receive and return in a single contact
• Level 6: Take the first touch to a called side, so the direction is decided on the fly
• Level 7: Move the feet between repetitions so the ball is never received standing still

Alone, with a sibling, or in a group

• Solo: count how many of ten first touches finish inside the square.
• Sibling: one serves from the side while the other receives and returns.
• Co-op: a line at one wall taking two touches each and rotating out.

Adjusting it by age

• U14: Stand a step closer and pass more gently to begin with, and widen the target square to three steps. Count aloud together and celebrate a dead first touch rather than a fast repetition. Ten good ones is a full session at this stage.
• U18: Move back a step and pass harder, shrink the square to one step across, and add a called direction so the first touch has to go somewhere specific. Work weak foot for half the session and put the drill straight before a passing or possession game so the touch transfers.

For the parent running it

• Stand them close to the wall so the ball comes back quickly. Two touches only: one to kill it, one to return it.

Safety

• Check the wall is solid and free of windows, glass or loose render before starting
• Keep the surface dry underfoot — the ball returns fast and a slip here is a twisted ankle

More on training safely at home: Safety at Home.

Why it matters

None