Put a pole behind the receiver and pass just past it. A player who waits is blocked. One who moves early meets the ball. A late start is easy to see. But a pole cannot show if a player reads the game. Take it out, add passes, targets, and a defender.

How the drill works

The video shows a passing drill from Atalanta coach Maurizio Sarri. ¹ It uses a passer, a receiver, and a pole. The pole sits behind the receiver like a wall. The coach asks for the weaker foot and says to “attack the ball.” That means moving toward the pass, not waiting for it.

Set the pole where a waiting receiver would run into it. The passer plays a ball that pulls the receiver around the pole. Watch the start of the run. Do not watch only the first touch. A late player may hit the pole. They may take an extra step, lose balance, or take the ball too close to the body. An early player meets the ball ready for the next action.

Build the drill in three stages

Start with the simple problem. Then change what the receiver must see and decide. Keep short notes at each stage. A poor touch will then tell you what to coach next.

The numbers in the table are session goals. The coach picks them. They are not research-backed thresholds. They do not say what will happen in a match. They just stop the group moving on after one good try.

Why the drill must change

A pole gives the receiver a clear result right away. That is why it helps. Use it for a player who stands flat-footed. Use it for one who starts after the kick, takes an extra step, or receives too close to the body. Do not leave every other rule in place too long. Keep the same pass, the same route, and a set passing order. Add a weaker-foot rule and a touch limit. Then players may learn only how to miss the pole.

A 2019 study followed 20 non-elite U15 and U17 players. They played 36 small-sided games. Changes to player numbers and rules changed how teams kept the ball. They also changed how teams passed, moved forward, and tried new actions. The two age groups did not respond the same way. The study did not use this pole drill. It is still a good reminder. Give every rule a purpose. Fit the task to the group in front of you. ²

Stage 2 asks for more than an early run. Before the kick, the receiver needs to see the ball. They also need to see teammates, the defender, and the open space. A 2024 study tested 21 U15 and 27 U23 female players. They watched 11 match clips. They said where the ball and the outfield players would be one or two seconds later. The older group was better in slow build-up attacks. Both groups found the ball harder to predict than the players. ³

A 2025 corner-kick study makes a similar point. It tested 23 skilled and 23 less-skilled viewers. Skilled viewers did better with the full picture. Their edge went away when the attackers were hidden. The movement of the attacking group shaped their early read. ⁴ So the receiver needs new targets and passes once the pole is out. The next run should depend on what is around the ball. It should not depend on one known path.

Football sessions often add those details one at a time. John Peacock’s FIFA session asks players to look around and open up. They judge the weight of a pass. They take a touch away from pressure. Then they move into live passing lanes. ⁵ Other FIFA practices use dummies. Players look over a shoulder, receive on the back foot, and find a free player. The back foot is the foot farthest from the passer. ⁶ Dummies also help players rehearse a side-on body shape between the lines. ⁷

Dummies can help with the shape of the action. But they do not move. They cannot test whether a receiver has read a defender. Stage 3 can. Give the defender a real choice of side. Let the receiver turn into the free space, shield the ball, or pass to either target. Reward keeping the ball and finding an open target. Do not reward one set turn.

Tom Parry’s FIFA talk on practice with and without defenders makes the same point. Rules need a reason. A task without defenders can still give players new information. It can still have more than one good answer. Change the number of defenders. Or change how fast they press. That makes the task easier or harder without taking away the choice. ⁸

When to remove the pole

Keep the pole while the receiver starts after the kick. Keep it while they bump the pole, need an extra step, or meet the ball near the standing foot. Adding a defender too early can hide the problem. A bad touch may come from the late start or from the pressure.

Remove the pole when the receiver starts by the kick. That should hold across different pass speeds and angles. The timing may be right while the player still turns into pressure or misses the free target. Then move to Stage 2 or 3. More pole work will not fix a missed look or a poor choice.

The timing may break down once a defender arrives. Slow the defender down, or start them farther away. The receiver then has time to link the run, the look, and the body shape. Bring the pole back only if the old late start returns. Once the player starts early again, go back to the changing task.

What to record

A pole drill cannot tell a coach if a player will read a match well. It can show an early start in this setup. It can help train one too.

One study ran a six-week game-reading program for 22 U11 players. The players were split at random into two groups of 11. One group did the game-reading tasks. The other 11 did a matched Coerver program of coordination and technique drills. That was a set program, not their usual training.

The game-reading group improved on practice tests of quick reactions and choices. The researchers still called for more work on whether those gains showed up in real matches. ⁹

Write down two checks. Did the receiver start by the kick? Did the first touch move away from the defender? The pole can show or train an early start. Only a changing task shows whether the player reads the game.