Fun basic soccer drill

Like most sports, football is actually based on being able to do the basics right. Kids see the likes of Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and Kaka busy dancing their way passed 4 or 5 guys at a time and they believe that, that is what it takes to be a success.

The truth is that it looks good but ask any South African football fan how frustrating it is watching their players trying to replicate it and being caught out by the solid tackling of the likes of Rio Ferdinand or Wes Brown...

Once the defenders have you worked out, your tricks are worth very little.

Instead coaches should be focusing on the basics of making sure that their players can make quick and accurate passes over a variety of distances while on the move.

One exercise to consider is to set up 3 cones, 2 metres apart and (initially) 5 metres away from the players who are waiting in a line. The players then take chances to fire off 3 passes, aiming to knock over or hit the cones.

The idea is to keep up quite a high tempo to try and simulate accuracy while on the run. Younger kids will enjoy the "scoring" aspect of hitting each cone.

As the accuracy improves, move the players further from the cones but keep demanding the accuracy and ability to hit the cone.