Coaching tools › Activities › Possession and passing

Around the Shape

By Gabe Ramos · U.S. Soccer Coach Educator · Updated October 2026

Cones laid out in your team shape on half a field, one player per cone. The ball travels keeper, back, wide mid, center mid, striker, finish in a mini goal, and everyone follows their pass to the next spot, so every player plays every position.

Setup

Put cones in your team shape on half a field. One player per cone, spares behind the keeper. The ball travels keeper, back, wide mid, center mid, striker, finish in a mini goal. Follow your pass to the next spot, so everyone plays every position.

Make it easier or harder

• Easier: Two touches at every spot.
• Harder: One touch in midfield. Go down the other side every second ball.

Coach’s notes

• If It Stalls: Pattern breaking down? Walk it once with the ball in your hands.

Why it works

Nine-year-olds learn a formation by running it, not by looking at a whiteboard. Following the pass means every player stands in every spot inside ten minutes, and naming the position you are running to puts the words in their mouths.

The passive defender in the harder version is where it becomes football: the center mid has to check a shoulder and play away from the pressure, which is next week’s habit arriving early.

Where it sits

This is the Sharpen block of Week 1 · Session 2 in the Full Season Travel Curriculum for ages 9 to 12 (Weeks 1–2 · Positions and Shape). Every session in the book runs the same 90 minutes: rondo, sharpen, solve, play and a set piece, drawn for 7v7 and 9v9, with two coaching points a day and a match-day page for every week.

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