Playing the "killer" pass By David Clarke

Playing the "killer" pass

By David Clarke

One player in my U9s team is head and shoulders above the others when it comes to reading the game. He has the vision to see where he can pass the ball or knows when he should run with it.

This is a player you can keep an eye on and nurture for the future by giving them a key role at this early age.

My player sits at the bottom of my midfield diamond in front of the two central defenders. From here he can go wherever he wants as long as he makes sure the space in front of the defence is protected.

To have a player in this position, you want to see them hold possession, allowing other team members to make attacking runs. The idea is for your player with vision to provide a "killer" pass, which puts one of your attackers into a goalscoring position.

I use this "floating player" exercise to practise using this player. The "floating player" is always on the team in possession of the ball.

How it works

• In a 30 yards by 20 yards pitch, have two teams of four and one chosen player in a different coloured bib.
  
• The chosen player only plays for the team in possession.
  
• For either team to score a goal, the player in the bib must receive the ball and feed it through to the attackers.
• The player in the bib will see a lot of the ball and have lots of passing decisions to make. It is this repetition that will improve the player's passing, receiving and decision making.