First Touch drills for U14–U18
A good first touch buys time and creates options. — built for U14–U18.
Instep control of driven balls. First touch under physical pressure.
20 drills for U14–U18 · First Touch drills · 11v11, 7v7, 9v9
U7–Adults
Aerial Control & Trap
First-touch coaching for grassroots youth focuses heavily on ground passes — but real matches deliver bouncing and aeria...
U7–Adults
Ball Mastery Circuit
Ball mastery at U8 is about repetition of a small number of touches until they feel automatic. The circuit format delive...
U12–Adults
Chest Control and Link Play
A striker who can chest and immediately play to a runner is many times more effective than one who only plays balls on t...
U7–Adults
Colour Touch
Colour Touch gives U8 players a reason to look up while dribbling — they need to know where the coloured cones are befor...
U7–Adults
Cushion Control (Pairs)
First touch is the technique that determines whether the next 0.4 seconds is calm or panic. A bad first touch creates pr...
U7–Adults
Cushion Heading in Pairs
Per the FA Heading Guidance (2024 update, applicable for the 2026–27 framework), heading practice is reintroduced at U12...
U13–Adults
Cushion Volley Control
Players who can cushion-volley have significantly more options than those who wait for everything to drop. This drill is...
U7–Adults
First Touch Everywhere
U7s arrive at football with cartoon physics in their heads — kick the ball, run after it, kick it again. The single bigg...
U7–Adults
First Touch Out of Pressure
By U11, players can take a clean first touch in a static drill. The next hurdle: taking a first touch with a defender 3 ...
U12–Adults
⚡ First Touch Under Pressure — Rondo
In a 5v2 rondo the receiving player is pressed immediately and must execute the first touch as both a control and a deci...
U13–Adults
First Touch With an Opponent Arriving
The most important first touch in football is not the one in an easy receiving position — it's the one taken with an opp...
U7–Adults
First-Touch Gates
U7s struggle with abstract first-touch coaching ('cushion the ball'). They succeed with concrete targets ('control it th...
U11–Adults
GK Save and Distribute Fast
A GK who saves and then takes 3 seconds to distribute has conceded the counter-attack opportunity that save created. The...
U7–Adults
Half-Turn First Touch
The single biggest first-touch upgrade for any youth player is receiving on the half-turn — facing the direction of play...
U10–U14
Half-Turn First Touch and Pass
Receiving with back to goal, half-turn first touch, then immediately passing forward is one of the highest-value technic...
U14–Adults
Instep Control — Driven Balls
Receiving a driven pass — fast over 20+ yards — is a distinct and coachable skill. The instep cushion, the diagonal body...
U7–Adults
Midfielder Turn Under Pressure
The central midfielder receiving with their back to goal is one of the most pressured situations in football. Get the tu...
U7–Adults
One Ball Each — Touch Variations
Under U9, the most important variable is touches per minute. Drills with shared balls or queues halve this. One ball eac...
U7–Adults
Scan-and-Turn Rondo
Scanning — checking your shoulders before receiving — is the single most-correlated technical habit with elite midfield ...
U7–Adults
Striker Movement to Receive
Most U13-U14 strikers stand on the shoulder of the last defender, waiting for the ball. Marked players don't get the bal...