Aerial Skills drill
High Ball Catch Technique
Build a safe, confident high-ball catch - the foundation of every aerial skill.
- Time
- 15 minutes
- Players
- 2 to 6 players
- Intensity
- Medium
- Equipment
- Ball, cones
- Space
- 10m box
- Positions
- All positions
Setup
A 10m box marked with cones, one ball, with a partner throwing or kicking from 5-10m away.
How to run it
- Start at one end of the box, run forward and jump for the ball, leaping into the space where the ball is rather than waiting flat-footed underneath it.
- Call loudly for it every single rep.
- Keep your elbows close if you are taking it into your chest, or your elbows bent and hands up if taking it above your head, and turn slightly as you catch so any fumble goes backwards rather than forwards.
- Do 8 reps starting at the back, then 8 starting in the middle, then 8 starting at the front so you have to move backwards before jumping forwards - that last one is the hard version and the realistic one.
Coaching cues
- A loud call, every time
- Leap into the space for the ball
- Turn slightly so fumbles go backwards
Common mistakes
- Catching flat-footed and static, which means you get tackled legally instead of being protected in the air
- Catching square-on so a fumble goes forward and becomes a knock-on
Related drills
- Contested Aerial CatchWin the ball in the air with an opponent competing, safely and legally.
- High Ball Under PressureHold catching technique together when the pressure and the doubt are real.
- Kick Chase LineArrive as the ball arrives, which is the whole point of a chaseable kick.
- Restart Receipt PodWin your own restart receipt safely as a unit of three or four.
- Solo High Ball Self-FeedBuild high-ball catching confidence and the safe jump entirely on your own.
- Wall Pass ReboundBuild passing accuracy and reaction catching completely alone, off any flat wall.