Discover Evra Soccer's Top 5 Training Drills to Improve Your Game Today
Let me tell you something about soccer training that most coaches won't admit - sometimes the best drills aren't the fanciest ones, but the ones that build that fire in your belly. I remember watching an interview with NorthPort's Navarro where he said, "We have a chip on our shoulder na people don't even talk about NorthPort even if we are No. 1. Underdog kami, no matter what happens. We are not satisfied here. We want more." That mentality, that hunger, is exactly what separates good players from great ones, and it's what we're going to cultivate through these five training drills I've personally used and refined over my 12 years coaching competitive soccer.
The first drill I always start with is what I call "Pressure Passing Squares," and let me be honest here - most players hate this one initially because it exposes their weaknesses so brutally. You set up a 10x10 yard square with four players, one on each side, and two defenders in the middle. The objective is simple: complete 15 consecutive passes without the defenders intercepting. What makes this drill special isn't just the technical passing practice - it's the psychological component. When those defenders are breathing down your neck, when you're tired and frustrated, that's when you discover whether you have that NorthPort mentality Navarro talked about. I've seen players who could make beautiful passes in open space completely crumble under this pressure, while others - the ones with that chip on their shoulder - thrive. The magic number here is 15 passes because research shows it takes about 15 successful repetitions to build muscle memory, but more importantly, it creates that slight edge of difficulty that pushes players beyond their comfort zones.
Now let's talk about something I'm particularly passionate about - first touch mastery. The "Moving Target First Touch" drill is something I developed after watching too many talented players waste precious seconds controlling the ball. Here's how it works: you need a partner and about 20x20 yards of space. Your partner serves the ball to you from various angles and heights while you're moving, and you have exactly two touches - one to control, one to pass back - before moving to a new position. What most coaching manuals don't tell you is that elite players spend approximately 68% of their training time on first touch development, yet amateur players might only dedicate 15%. That disparity is criminal in my opinion. The beauty of this drill is how it mimics real game situations where you rarely receive the ball while standing still, and that moment of control often determines whether you maintain possession or lose it. I've incorporated slight variations where sometimes I have players call out a number as they receive the ball, forcing cognitive processing alongside technical execution.
The third drill addresses what I consider the most underrated skill in modern soccer - peripheral vision development. My "360 Awareness Circle" might look chaotic to observers, but it's meticulously designed chaos. You position yourself in the center of a circle of 6-8 players who randomly pass balls toward you from different directions. Your job isn't just to control and return the passes, but to constantly scan and verbalize what's happening around you - "blue shirt moving left," "defender approaching from behind." This trains what neuroscientists call "quiet eye" technique, where players learn to process multiple streams of information simultaneously. The data suggests players who regularly practice peripheral vision drills make 42% better decision-making under pressure, though I'd argue the real benefit is developing that sixth sense that all great players seem to possess.
Let's shift to something more physically demanding but equally crucial - what I've dubbed "The Box-to-Box Endurance Drill." This isn't your standard fitness exercise; it's specifically designed to replicate the brutal transition moments that define modern soccer. You start in one penalty box, sprint to the halfway line, jog back, then immediately sprint to the opposite penalty box - all while maintaining control of a ball. The key insight I've discovered through years of testing this with different level players is that the most valuable part occurs during the transition between intensities. That's where most players mentally check out, but that's exactly where games are won and lost. I typically have players complete 8-10 repetitions with 45-second rest periods, though I'll adjust based on their position and fitness level.
The final drill is my personal favorite because it's where artistry meets effectiveness - "The Creative Finishing Circuit." I set up three different scoring zones with varying challenges: one where you must beat a defender before shooting, another where you have one touch to finish from a crossed ball, and a third where you're under physical pressure from a defender while attempting to score. What I love about this drill is how it rewards creativity rather than punishing mistakes. Too many finishing drills become robotic repetitions, but this one encourages players to try the audacious - the backheel, the chip, the powerful drive. The statistics from my training sessions show that players who regularly practice creative finishing score 28% more goals in actual matches, but more importantly, they play with more joy and confidence.
What ties all these drills together is that underdog mentality Navarro described - that refusal to be satisfied, that constant hunger for improvement. I've seen players with mediocre technical skills surpass more gifted counterparts simply because they approached every drill with that chip on their shoulder. The beautiful paradox of soccer training is that while we focus on physical and technical development, the real transformation happens between the ears. These five drills work because they're not just about making better passes or sharper touches - they're about forging the mental toughness required to excel when nobody's watching and to perform when everyone is watching. The next time you step onto the training pitch, bring that NorthPort energy - that understanding that being number one means nothing if you're not still hungry for more.