3-Minute Shooting Drill
One team attacks in fast waves — dribble hard and shoot before the box — while the other team hunts down wide shots behind the goal, and every three minutes the jobs flip.
Shooting, goalkeeping, and clearing balls from the back all get work at once — an excellent warm-up for a shooting or clearing practice.
The weekly budget is the part coaches miss. A coach who runs heading twice in a week is not being reckless, they are unaware there is a cumulative cap at all — say the cap, then trust the trained adult: about 30 minutes and 15-20 headers per player per week, everything counted, including games.
Starting at Core — your team is set to mixed.
20 min tonight · Two teams, plus a goalkeeper
- Ages 9+
- Two teams, plus a goalkeeper
- 20 min as the drill is written
- Cones, balls, full-size goal
Grab Cones, a ball for every attacker, and your full-size goal.
Build Nothing to build unless the penalty area isn't visible — then set cones on its edge to serve as the shot marker.
Place One team spreads out behind the goal, the other lines up at midfield with a ball each, and the keeper takes the goal.
- 1
Organize the players
Split into two teams and put the keeper in the goal. Send one team to spread out behind the goal, and line the other up at midfield with a ball for every attacker.
“Shooters at midfield, one ball each. Everybody else — behind the goal. You're working too.”
- 2
Show the jobs
Walk the scoring — each attacker dribbles with speed to the edge of the box and must shoot before getting into the penalty area, and the next player starts the moment the shot is taken. A goal is a point for the attackers. A wide shot belongs to the defenders behind the goal — play it back and wide to the field before it stops dead. If it stops dead, that's a point for the attackers; clear it, or get two touches before it touches the ground, and the point is the defenders'.
“Dribble hard, shoot before the box. Behind the goal — nothing stops dead back there. First time — high and wide!”
- 3
Play
Run three minutes on the attack, keeping the waves quick — shooter after shooter — and the strikes on target. Keep the defenders making good solid contact, playing the ball high and wide.
“Quick attacks — hit the target! Back there — solid contact, high and wide!”
Look for The strike before the line — attackers shooting on target at speed without drifting into the penalty area.
- 4
Switch and repeat
After three minutes, switch the teams' roles and run it again. Change the look between rounds — serve balls to the attackers at varying heights and angles before they start on goal, or set cones at varying distances to give the shooter and keeper different choices.
“Switch! Shooters, you're behind the goal now. This round I'm serving it in first.”
If goals never come, score it the younger way — one point for a shot on target, two for a goal — and the attack has something to chase again.
Go deeper · 2 notes
Why it works
Nobody stands around — the attackers work shooting in fast waves, the keeper faces shot after shot, and the team behind the goal has a contest of its own, where every wide ball must be kept alive and a dead ball costs a point.
What they learn
Quick attacks and properly striking the ball on target — and for the defenders, clearing with good solid contact, playing the ball high and wide.
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.