Soccer Passing Drills for Practice With a Purpose

Start with four soccer passing drills: gate passing, square passing, moving gates and passing with a defender. Use these activities within your soccer training to practise receiving the ball and finding an available teammate. Each activity below explains the setup and gives you a clear way to adjust the challenge, even if you have never played. For girls’ and boys’ soccer, choose the starting activity around what the player can manage comfortably, then adjust it together.

What Is a Good Passing Drill to Start With?

Start with a gate passing drill, where partners send the ball between markers and receive it on the other side. Alongside these partner exercises, The Giro X’s Curl Master One offers separate practice for striking contact and spin control, using a standard ball at controlled speeds. In my opinion, that makes it a useful addition to a home practice routine: keep passing tasks focused on finding a teammate, and give ball striking its own deliberate attention.

For gate passing, place markers between the partners and choose a gap they can pass through without stretching for the ball. Ask the player to face their partner, place the standing foot beside the ball and use the inside of the other foot to pass along the ground. The receiver should settle the ball within reach before returning it through the gate. Make the opening wider whenever the activity needs simplifying, and narrow it when both players want another challenge.

How Do You Add Movement After a Pass?

Add movement by asking the passer to offer a return passing route after releasing the ball. Set up a square with four players, one at each corner, leaving space beside each marker. A player passes to the next corner, then moves sideways into the space beside their own marker to offer a return pass. Keep each player at their own corner while the ball travels around the square. Walk through this movement before beginning, allowing everyone to stop the ball before passing.

Once the square passing drill is familiar, ask receivers to take their first touch towards the next corner before passing. A parent can watch whether that touch leaves the ball close enough for the next action, without needing to explain every detail of technique. Pause whenever players need to reset their spacing, then restart from a settled ball. In my opinion, this is a useful place to linger: receiving and becoming available deserve attention before anyone asks for faster passing.

Which Drill Practises Passing Into Space?

Use a moving gate drill to practise sending the ball towards a teammate’s path. Set out separate gates around an open area, leaving clear routes between them. A receiver moves towards a gate and calls for the ball; the passer aims through that opening for the receiver to collect. Begin at walking pace, with the receiver choosing the gate before the pass starts. Ask the passer to watch where their partner is going before deciding when to release the ball.

Give the receiver permission to slow down or stop while everyone learns the moving gate drill. After each attempt, ask a concrete question: could they reach the ball without turning back towards the passer? Use their answer to adjust the next pass, rather than adding several instructions at once. Swap roles so both players practise choosing a target and showing for the ball. For a separate activity focused on carrying the ball between gates, try Soccer Dribbling Drills.

When Should You Bring In a Defender?

Bring in a defender when players understand the passing activity and want to practise choosing an available teammate against opposition. Mark out a playing area, place passing players around its edges and ask a defender to intercept the ball. Initially, let the defender walk while the others receive and pass at their own pace. Encourage players around the outside to move along their edge to offer a clear passing route. Restart calmly whenever the ball leaves the area or the defender wins possession.

Adjust the space before asking everyone to play faster. Give the passing players more room when they need longer to choose, or bring the boundaries closer when they want a tighter challenge. Rotate the defender so everyone gets a turn in each role. For girls and boys practising together, organise the activity around their current comfort with receiving under pressure. A parent can keep the passing game moving by returning spare balls and asking players where they could move to become available.

How Does Curl Master One Fit Into Passing Practice?

Use Curl Master One as a separate striking activity alongside passing drills and coaching. It trains contact and spin control used in crosses and free kicks, while the partner exercises above give players opportunities to receive and choose where to pass. Curl Master One has six speed settings, with younger players starting at the highest setting and turning it down as technique develops. It is designed for players from around age eight through to adults, and requires no app or subscription.

Curl Master One

Works with a standard ball and offers six speed settings, with no app or subscription. In my opinion, get one to give striking practice a regular place alongside passing drills and coaching.

In my opinion, parents should get Curl Master One to give ball striking a regular place beside passing practice. A coach can guide the player’s technique, while Curl Master One provides immediate feedback through the feel of the strike between sessions. Players aged eight to twelve should have an adult nearby during use. For your next practice, choose a passing drill your player understands, organise a partner, and include a separate Curl Master One activity with a clear focus on contact.

Add Curl Master One to Practice

Shop Curl Master One for soccer striking practice alongside passing drills.

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