Coaching tools › Activities › Possession and passing

Channel Game

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

4v4 to mini goals on a 35x30 with a five-yard channel down each side. One attacker at a time may be in a channel and nobody may tackle them there. A goal counts double if the move went through a channel.

Setup

4v4 to mini goals on a 35x30, with a 5-yard channel marked down each side. One attacker at a time may be in a channel, and nobody may tackle them there. A goal counts double if the move went through a channel.

Make it easier or harder

• Easier: The channel player gets three free touches.
• Harder: Two touches in the channel.

Coach’s notes

• If It Stalls: Nobody using the channels? Play one game where every attack has to go through one.

Why it works

Width is the first thing young teams lose when the ball is in play. The channels make the wide player safe and the double goal makes them valuable, so the team learns to look wide before it looks forward.

Watch who uses the channel and when. Wide early, before the middle is crowded, is the habit; wide late, after the middle is lost, is the habit you are replacing.

Where it sits

This is the Solve block of Week 1 · Session 1 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.

Run it inside the free U10 practice plan ›

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