Your call.

 

Number 1 is what do the players want....?... from experience players quickly get bored with ball mastery (BM), drag back Us (DBU) and even just a square grid (SQG)...regardless of whether they are good at them or not.

 

I send coaches links to basic BM, DBU and SQG exercises just as a base to understand what patterns we develop at TST and what the most basic stepping stone exercises are. (This goes for foot dexterity and foot strength and flexibility exercises - if players in the younger groups need do these - make it short and sweet - as young players will not get why they are doing and will struggle to see where the improvement can be found ( is the essential feedback cycle present in this process) .... foot dexterity, strength and flexibility is best developed by interacting with the ball - and footwork patterns are the best way to do this - hence why we put footwork patterns above pass and receive exercises (let them work on these at there team training) when it comes to technique development.

 

I do use BM exercises in my sessions even with advanced players , but use them just to introduce a pattern before I take it into something more complicated and interesting.

 

The big question is always - will players find it interesting?

 

Development and improvement is often slow  - if you always do the same thing then it is obvious that development is slow and this can be demotivating. If you always mix things up, change the patterns and exercises and add interesting elements (players don't notice how slow their development is and don't notice how slow improvement can be - they will still be developing as really, all we are teaching is foot dexterity, precision of touch, balance, coordination and intelligent application of footwork and we hide this behind game functional footwork patterns). This is why young players want to always do something new - as the challenge is the acquisition of new techniques and not specific improvement at any one particular thing - older players who understand the learning process, and understand the essential  feedback cycle process,  are more prepared to work hard at the same thing for longer).

 

I always try to add speed at some point, and also add some form of competition. I sometimes add an agility element into the footwork, or add a pass and receive element.

 

So it is always your call - but always make sure the players find it interesting and challenging. Don't put technique practice above this.

 

Does this answer the question?