Week 3 · U12
Scanning & awareness
Objectives — what the players will do
- 1Scan (check over the shoulder) WHILE the ball travels, not just before it arrives
- 2Build two pictures before the ball arrives: where is my pressure, and where is my next pass
- 3Use what you see — call it out loud and let it change your next touch
Play 1 — starts when the second player arrives
Scan-Count Rondo
3v1 keep-away circles the moment the second player arrives. Players count their OWN scans in their head — target 3+ scans per possession — and report the count after each round. Nobody is graded; the point is noticing the habit.
Practice — the one taught activity of the night
See It, Call It
Groups of three in a channel: server, receiver, and a target player behind the receiver. The coach (or a fourth player) stands behind the receiver holding up fingers or a colored cone. As the server passes, the receiver scans over their shoulder WHILE the ball travels and calls what they saw ("three!", "red!") before their first touch — then plays on to the target. Team mantra: See it, Solve it, Show it. Progress: swap the signal for a live defender who either presses tight or hangs off. Now the scan is a decision — defender tight means protect the ball and play back; defender off means turn and drive. The information was there before the ball arrived; the touch just proves it.
Slow the service and hold the signal up early — give young eyes time to catch the picture.
Two signals per pass (one early, one late) so the receiver must scan twice while the ball travels — then add the live defender on top.
Play 2 — always finish playing the real game
Turn or Shield Game
Possession game to small cone gates. A reception where the receiver clearly scanned and TURNED into open space is worth 3; a smart shield-and-bounce under tight pressure is worth 1. Ask receivers what they SAW, not what they did — the scan is the skill being scored.
Key coaching points — in your own words
- ·Two pictures before the ball arrives: where is my pressure, and where is my next pass?
- ·When do your eyes leave the ball — while it travels, or only after your touch?
- ·How many scans did you make on that possession — and what did you DO with what you saw?
- ·What did your teammates hear from you before the ball arrived?
Live defenders everywhere and require a call before every first touch — no call, no point.
Bigger spaces, slower service, and pause play to rebuild the picture when heads drop.
Game-day focus — watch for this on Saturday
Scanning is trained here with big-field 9v9 pictures, but Saturday is 7v7 — in the 1-2-3-1, watch the midfield three: does the head turn before every ball played into them? Pick one player at a time and count their scans from the sideline, and praise the look even when the touch that follows goes wrong.
Message to forward to your parents
This week is scanning — the little head check over the shoulder before the ball arrives, the most important invisible habit in soccer. Ask your child on the drive home: how many times did you check your shoulder before the ball got to you tonight?
This week's two videos
Prep the night before; copy the activity on the field.
Scanning and turning | Coaching session on attacking skills
Watch the night before to understand the idea
The FA's scanning-and-turning session connects the pre-scan directly to the turn — exactly our Week 2 to Week 3 step. Steal the progression: scan, receive on the half-turn, then attack the space the scan revealed. Coach the mantra out loud: see it, solve it, show it.
Watch on YouTubeSoccer Coaching Receiving on the Half Turn Game
A drill you can copy on the field
A 5v3 small-sided game that floods players with chances to receive on the half-turn under real pressure. Use it as your main Practice in the Develop week and tighten the space for Challenge week. The overload keeps success high while the scan-then-turn habit forms.
Watch on YouTube