Pass-and-Sprint Star

Build work-rate and passing accuracy together, so players learn to hit a clean pass while their legs and lungs are burning.

Five cones in a star shape, each 12 yards from the center. Two players at each point; one ball at point 1. Number the points 1 to 5 clockwise.

1. Player at 1 passes to the player at 2, then sprints straight across the star to join the line at point 4.
2. Player at 2 receives, passes to 3, and sprints to 5. Every player follows the same rule: pass to the next point, sprint two points past your pass.
3. Every clean, one-touch pass earns the group a point; every miscontrol or two-touch pass costs one.
4. Work 3 minutes, rest 90 seconds. Three rounds; beat the score each round.
5. Round three: two balls in play at once, starting from points 1 and 3.

• Pass, then go; no admiring the pass.
• Hit the pass firm so the receiver can play one touch.
• Sprint through the center, not around it.
• Call the receiver's name before the ball arrives.

• Players jog through the middle and the drill becomes a passing exercise; the score only counts if the sprint arrives before the ball.
• Passes get softer as fatigue builds and one-touch becomes impossible; call it, and reset the score to zero if it drops twice in a row.
• The two balls collide in the center; start them at opposite points and keep the passing clockwise.

• Two balls in play.
• Receiver must take the first touch away from the star center before passing.
• Sprint becomes a backpedal for the last 4 yards.

• Two touches allowed on every pass.
• Sprint to the next point instead of across the star.
• Shorten the star to 8-yard spokes.

• One-touch passing only or the point is lost.