Range Finder

Build a trustworthy long-passing range — drive, clip and curl — with the discipline of earning each extra 10 yards through accuracy, not hope.

Mark a 10x8 target grid at one end with a receiver inside it. From the grid, place rung cones at 20, 30 and 40 yards with distance labels. The striker starts at the 20-yard rung with a supply of balls; spare pairs mirror the layout alongside.

1. From the 20-yard rung the striker plays 3 driven passes — hit flat and hard — that must be controllable inside the target grid.
2. Two out of three landing in earns the step back: collect a return pass, carry the ball back to the 30-yard rung, and switch to clipped deliveries.
3. At 40 yards the delivery is a curled or shaped ball around an imaginary defender into the grid.
4. The receiver kills each ball and returns it with their own technique for the distance — both players are working.
5. First pair to clear all three rungs with both players wins; then restart with weak foot at 20 yards.

• Plant foot points at the target — your hips aim the pass.
• Driven: strike through the middle with a locked ankle, follow through low.
• Clipped: under the ball with the instep, backspin so it sits down in the grid.
• Watch the ball at contact — lifting your head early is the top miss.

• Players add a long run-up and smash it — range comes from clean strike mechanics, two steps are enough.
• Every distance gets the same technique — a driven 40-yard ball is uncontrollable; match the flight to the rung.
• The receiver stands statically and lets bad balls bounce past — attack each delivery and give honest feedback on whether it was controllable.

• Receiver must control with one touch inside the grid or the pass doesn't count.
• Add a moving target: the receiver jogs across the grid and the ball must meet them.
• Play the 40-yard ball first time from a teammate's set pass.

• Start at 15 yards and use rungs of 15/20/25 for younger players.
• Double the grid size and allow a bounce before control.
• Remove the technique demands — any successful flight that lands counts.

• You only move back a rung after 2 of 3 successful deliveries — and you drop a rung after 3 straight misses.