Diagonal Shooting Warm-up
Pass a diagonal ball, get it laid off into space, and run onto it for a one-touch shot — then take the lay-off job yourself.
A shooting warm-up lives on technique — a controlled approach, the plant foot set in a good spot beside the ball, and a strike that finds the target.
Starting at Core — your team is set to mixed.
10 min tonight · Two lines, plus a lay-off player each
- Ages 9+
- Two lines, plus a lay-off player each
- 10 min as the drill is written
- Cones, balls, full-size goal
Grab Cones, a good supply of balls, and a full-size goal to shoot on.
Build Build a 10-by-10-yard grid just beyond the edge of the penalty area.
Place Split the team into two lines on the far cones. One player from each line steps up to the near cone — they're the lay-off player.
- 1
Organize the players
Two lines on the far cones, balls with the players. Step the first player from each line up to a near cone as the lay-off player.
“Two lines back here. First one from each line — step up, you're the lay-off.”
- 2
Show the jobs
Walk one rep — the shooter passes a diagonal ball to the lay-off player across from them, who lays it off into space for a one-touch shot on goal. The shooter takes the lay-off spot; the lay-off player collects the ball from the goal, shags any miss, and rejoins the line with a ball.
“Pass it across, follow your pass, hit it one touch. Then you're the lay-off — they chase the ball.”
- 3
Play
Alternate the two sides — one line shoots, then the other — and keep the rotation rolling so the reps never stall.
“Steady run-up — plant beside it, hit the target!”
Look for The plant foot — a controlled approach that sets the plant foot in a good spot next to the ball before the strike.
- 4
Switch and repeat
Make sure the players switch lines during the drill so everyone shoots with both feet.
“Swap lines! Both feet get a turn today.”
If the one-touch strikes never come clean, freeze a rep and ask the shooter where their plant foot landed — let them say it, then run it again.
Go deeper · 3 notes
Why it works
It is simple on purpose — a pass, a lay-off, a run, a one-touch strike — so the controlled approach, the plant foot, and hitting the target get grooved before a shooting practice or a game asks for them under pressure.
What they learn
A controlled approach to the ball, the plant foot set next to it, shooting with the appropriate foot — both of them, by the end — and putting the ball on target.
What's next
Shooting Combo — three shots in one trip — a move, a 1-2, then a live defender.
Where does this come from?
SoccerXpert — their published drill library.
A published drill library. Useful and widely used, but not a governing body — so it fills gaps rather than leading.