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Free activity · 100 Possession Activities

Check and Receive

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

Two servers twelve yards apart, a receiver in the middle with a shadow defender behind. The receiver checks away from the ball, comes back to receive on the back foot, turns and plays to the far server. Away, then show.

Setup

Two servers 12 yards apart, a receiver in the middle with a shadow defender behind. Three sets.

How it works

• The receiver checks away from the ball, then comes back to receive on the back foot.
• Receive, turn, play to the far server. Repeat the other way.
• Change the receiver every minute.

Scoring

Count clean turns in a minute.

Make it easier or harder

• Progression 1: The shadow goes live once the receiver touches the ball.
• Progression 2: Two receivers, one ball, one defender: one checks short, one goes long.

Coach’s notes

• If It Stalls: Receivers standing and asking? Nobody may receive until they have moved 3 yards away first.

Why it works

Players who stand and ask for the ball are marked before it arrives. The check away makes the defender move, and the return makes the space. The back-foot touch means the receiver is already half-turned when the ball lands.

Make the shadow live once the receiver touches the ball and the turn has to be real. Then add a second receiver so one checks short while the other goes long.

Where it sits

This is activity 61 of 100 in 100 Possession Activities (Theme 7 · Movement to Receive). The book is ten themes of ten rungs each, from a 3v1 square to a full 9v9 transition game, and every activity has its setup, rules, scoring, two progressions, three coaching points and an animated video like the one above.

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