Controle (Three In, Three Out)

1. Groups of four or five at one goal: one keeper, the rest attackers. Mark a box about 6 metres deep in front of the goal with cones; attackers stay outside it.
2. The keeper throws the ball out. The attackers keep it in the air, passing to each other or juggling; it must not touch the ground.
3. A goal must be a first-time volley from a teammate's lift. Up to U11 it is volleys only, never headers; with older players a header inside the box can count too, within your association's heading rules.
4. Three in, three out: if the attackers score three before they miss three, the keeper stays in goal; if three shots go wide first, the last player to miss goes in goal. A clean catch sends that shooter in goal at once. If the ball touches the ground, the keeper restarts.
5. Run as many groups as you have goals.

With the ball in the air, every touch is a choice: keep it up for one more pass, lift it to a teammate who is set, or volley now. The lifter looks for the teammate with the clearest line to goal and lifts it to his good side; the others move to an angle where a volley is on. Each miss brings you closer to going in goal, so a hard volley is weighed against a placed one. The keeper decides when to come off his line.