okay i'm lost.

[AAbestor]

I'm really not a fan of activities that are just moving through the motions.
I get the concept of a forward checking to a ball then being over laped and laying off the ball to a player who can play the ball through. I don't get how I would coach this? I mean once the play is over they just line up and do it a few more times? what would be the idea of this? besides the memorising of a combination play?

Groups of 3's with one ball per group. Two players pass back and forth (representing midfielders) with the third player 2 yards away. See diagram below

After a couple of passes, either 1 or 2 opens up while receiving the ball and 3 checks to that player. We are going to assume it was 1 who opened up. 3 checks to 1 and then 1 passes to 3 and overlaps 3. 3 passes back to 2 who has come forward with the pass and then 2 finds 1 on the overlap. See the diagram below for the movement

Next is the same set up but now 1 passes to 3 and then overlaps around 2. 2 comes forward and receives the ball from 3 and then 2 finds 1 on the overlap. See diagram below

Next is the same set up and movement except that now, after laying the ball back to 2, three spins off and receives the last pass from 1. See diagram below

[Jerzy]

Just a way of getting touches on the ball, used as a warm up, so that simple patterns can be ingrained in your players and that they start to think in triangles and threesomes for passing, as opposed to the much more linear 2-person knocking the ball back and forth.

As for coaching, it is more about discipline than anything else. Your kids will find this to be strange, and many won't take it seriously, but if you are able to work on this for the first three or four practices, and your players take it seriously and really open up they are supposed to be receiving the ball, this can be a good warm up for your kids to do each practice. We used to do this sort of thing in basketball as we'd run through our sets and it is beneficial. We're just not as used to seeing this in soccer...

[Val]

The challenge is to be able to do this in practice, and then recognize it as a coach when your team is playing on the field. Something like this would be beneficial say if you do a lot of 4v4 work, because it highlights the need for everyone to be moving simultaneously.

Good call on the b-ball, jerzy. I hadn't thought of it that way, but it certainly rings true when you mention it...