It is important that strikers have an awareness and ability to be able to create space for themselves to receive the ball, protect it from defenders and distribute the ball to supporting players or combine with their fellow striker. It is a hard job, playing with your back to play, being under physical pressure from defenders and be able to play accurate, timed and weighted passes to supporting players, who are also being marked by the opposition players.

There are a number of animated drills that can help you improve your players with this difficult skill:

• Protect the ball away from a defender
• Dealing with balls played in the air to a forward
• Check to receive pass and lay off
• Find the spare player
• Drill for forwards movement, ball control and lay off
• Forward and midfield combination play
• Protect and shield

There are many more drills that can help you coach your forwards distribution skills, these can be found in the Ball Control and Turning Section and shooting section of the drills menu.

The following practice is designed to improve the forwards ability to create space for themselves, protect the ball from a defender and provide an accurate, timed and weighted pass to supporting players. It is flexible practice and can be conditioned by adding or taking away defenders, by conditioning the forwards to a limited number of touches - 2 or 3. It is important that there is a variety of different passes into the forwards, different angles, pace and heights.

NAME: Improve forwards distribution skills

Key skills to coach:

• Movement to create space
• Get in the line of the ball
• Control away from defender
• Protect ball from the defender
• Accurate, timed, weighted lay off pass
• Movement after pass to get in the box for cross or to receive a through pass
• Communication between players, both verbal and with hand signals and body language

Set Up:

• Use half a pitch or an area suitable for age and ability
• Play two strikers against two defenders, with two supporting midfield players and two wide players.
• Use as many or as few defenders as you wish. The practice is designed to progress to a game situation of 8 v 8
• Supply of balls and bibs
• Full size goal

Start

Ball is switched between servers. As ball is switched, strikers create space for themselves to receive the ball, by threatening the space behind the defenders. Midfielders check to ball, this will ceate a "bubble" of space for the ball to be passed into the forwards.

Progression # 1

One striker checks to receive the ball to feet, the other pulls wider to isolate their fellow striker so they are 1 v 1 with the defender. Forward to protect the ball from the defender. Midfield player supports the forward as the ball is passed from the server.

Progression #2

Ball is set back to midfield player who passes the ball wide, strikers make near and far post runs to attack the cross. Work both sides of the pitch and add extra defenders for greater realism.

Progression # 3

Ball is switched between the servers. Encourage strikers to make clever cross over and checking runs to bring the defenders together and leave the space down the side for the ball to be played into.

Progression # 4

Ball is passed into space for the striker to run onto. Striker needs to protect the ball from the defender and look for support from the wide player .

Progression # 5

Striker provides a well weighted, timed pass for the supporting wide player. Both strikers then make near and far post runs in the box for the cross

Progression # 6

Ball is switched between servers. As ball is switched, strikers create space for themselves to receive the ball, by threatening the space behind the defenders. Midfielders check to ball, this will create a "bubble" of space for the ball to be passed into the forwards.

Progression # 7

Strikers look to combine with each other. They should time their runs to the ball and try to get in a zig zag or saw tooth shape that will create angles to work off each other.

Progression # 8

First striker, looks to play a give and go with second striker. There are lots of different kinds of combination play between you can coach between the strikers.