Nike Academy - Midfielder's Drills

Check. Receive. Pass

Distribution is a central midfielder’s number one task. How good is yours? Train it with this basic movement. Get it right every time.

EQUIPMENT:

2 mannequins, 2 cones, 2 balls

SUMMARY:

I. The working midfielder is between two mannequins. There are two servers behind cones, one 5 metres to the midfielder’s left, the other 5 metres to his right. Both have balls.

II. The midfielder faces the server, checks his left shoulder, then receives the ball on his right and passes it back on his left. He turns and repeats it with the server on the other side.

III. Work for 45 seconds, then trade places.

VI. Progression: the server follows his pass and trades places with the working midfielder in the middle.

ACADEMY LEARNING:

Check. Receive. Pass. These are basic skills for a playmaker. Train them all the time as you can’t afford to make mistakes.

Moon's Challenge

Nike Academy midfielder Seon-Min Moon challenges you to beat his time in this agility test. Can you keep up with him?

EQUIPMENT:

2 poles
4 cones
Stopwatch

THE CHALLENGE:

I. The cones and poles are set up as shown. There are 5 metres between the poles and the first cone, with the central cone placed 2 metres further. The 2 cones further away are 3 metres further from the central cone, with 5 metres between them.

II. Stopwatch ready. Moon starts his run between the poles. He accelerates to the first cone, turns right, then turns left at the cone furthest away to sprint to the central cone. He turns right to reach the cone on the other side, turns around to return to the first cone, passes it on the left and sprints through the gate. Stop the clock.

MOON’S TIME:

14:50:00s

MOON’S TIP:

“Be clever and find the ideal line to sprint through the set-up. That helps you prevent slowing down at the turns. Every split-second counts.”

ACADEMY LEARNING:

Fast changes of direction are key for any midfielder. Take on Moon in this challenge and give yourself the controlling edge as playmaker.

Chace's Challenge

Attacking midfielder Chace O’Neill is one of the Nike Academy’s fittest players. He constantly pushes his recovery system with this tough challenge. Are you up for it?

EQUIPMENT:

6 cones
5 balls
Stopwatch

SUMMARY:

I. The challenge is set up as shown. 6 cones are placed at 10 metre intervals. 5 balls are at the starting line.

II. Stopwatch ready. Chace starts with ball at his feet, dribbling to the first cone (10 metres) and placing the ball. He runs back, gets the next ball and places it at the next cone. He repeats the process until he’s placed the fifth ball at the furthest cone (50 metres). Chace then completes 40m, 30m, 20m and 10m runs without the ball. The cones indicate the distances. Stop the clock.

CHACE’S TIME:

01.25.23s

CHACE’S TIP:

“The ability to accelerate, stop, recover and go again is really central to my game. With this challenge, your time is important. But how many times you can complete it with 2 minutes of rest in between each time is even more important. You need stamina to deliver game-changing precision passes and control the midfield.”

ACADEMY LEARNING:

Fast on the ball, fast off the ball. Ready to go throughout the 90 minutes without compromise. If that’s what you’re looking to achieve in your game, Chace’s challenge will help you get there.

Cross & Finish

Effective play relies on good winger-striker combinations. This drill  wingers and make use of crosses.

EQUIPMENT:

20 balls

SUMMARY:

I. All balls are with the keeper. Position the strikers by the D as shown. The wingers should be at the sides of the penalty area, well outside the box.

II. The keeper kicks the ball to the central striker. He passes it to the striker on the left, who will pass it to the striker on the right.

III. The striker on the right completes a long pass to the left-winger.

IV. All strikers run into the box – one near post, one central, one far post.

V. At the same time, the winger crosses into the box, aiming for a different spot each time.

VI. The strikers follow the cross. The best-positioned striker aims to finish with a limited number of touches.

VII. The strikers cannot pass to each other, but a deflection from the keeper or the woodwork is still in play.

VIII. Perform the same combination involving the right-winger. Beware that the central striker has to pass to the right first in this case. Continue for 15 minutes.

ACADEMY LEARNING:

Timing their runs and finishing crosses with limited touches for strikers, improving their cross quality for wingers.

COMBINATION FINISH

Striker-midfielder combinations create most of your goals. This drill is ideal practice for penetration with passes.

EQUIPMENT:

7 mannequins
5 balls

SUMMARY:

I. Place 2 mannequins in the centre circle, 2 on the right wing as shown and 3 at the edge of the box in close proximity to each other. Leave all balls in the centre circle.

II. The striker stands at the edge of the box behind the mannequins, the winger (or second striker) is on the right touchline. 2 midfielders stay in the centre circle.

III. Midfielder 1 passes to midfielder 2 in the centre circle. Midfielder 2 passes to the winger, who runs between the mannequins to meet the pass.

IV. Midfielder 1 sprints into the box. The striker and midfielder 1 get into position between the mannequins to increase their chances.

V. The winger crosses into the box. The two players in the box look to finish.

VI. Continue at a high tempo for 15-20 minutes. You can move the winger from right to left and rotate players.

ACADEMY LEARNING:

Taking advantage of gaps in the opposition’s back 4.

FIND THE DIAGONAL

Positioning is key for any striker. This drill focuses on getting you used to working with your midfield to cover the diagonals.

EQUIPMENT:

7 mannequins 
5 balls

SUMMARY:

I. Place the mannequins as shown. Players 1 and 2 are in the centre circle, 3 and 4 stand behind the mannequins as shown. Player 5 (the working striker) stands in front of the central mannequin in the D.

II. The players pass the ball at a high intensity as shown. They’re free to vary the passing direction at any time to keep the striker guessing.

III. The player who receives the second pass runs into the D to cover area A or B after passing the ball on.

IV. The striker has to adjust to cover the other area.

V. The player with the ball crosses into the box. The two players look to finish.

VI. Continue for 15-20 minutes, varying the direction of passing constantly and rotating players.

ACADEMY LEARNING:

Let your imagination direct your movement. Strikers and midfielders have to work together to fill the channels between opposition defenders.