Keeping the ball moving when the ball is in play.

Too often, when a player gets the ball, the first thing they try to do is stop it completely (because this is what they were taught when they were told to "trap" the ball). The problem with this is that if an opponent is trying to put pressure on the ball, they will be running at the ball so by giving them a stationary target, it makes it as easy as possible for the opposition.

Instead of trapping the ball dead, a better alternative is to receive the ball and keep the ball moving. This can be done by playing one touch (receiving the ball and then passing it to the next player with the same touch) or by receiving the ball into space and dribbling or passing the moving ball with the second touch. By doing this, it makes it a great deal more difficult for the defending players to get to the ball.

As a general rule, the player receiving the ball should keep the ball moving in a direction different than where the opposition is coming from.

In order to practice receiving the ball into space, have a player pass the ball to you and then run right at you. If you stop the ball dead, he/she will be able to steal the ball easily. If you receive the ball into space away from the defender, you should be able to maintain possession while keeping the ball within easy playing distance.

If you have a group of players you can do an activity called "tunnels". This is where you have 3-8 players making up two lines. The first player in one of the lines plays the ball to the first person in the other line. The person who passed the ball then sprints right at the player receiving the ball. The receiver must take a touch to the side of the oncoming pressure and then plays the ball back to the line it came from and runs at the next receiver. The player putting pressure on the ball doesn't change directions so, if the receiver takes a touch away from pressure, the runner doesn't change directions to pressure the second touch. Once the touch has been taken away from pressure, the runner goes to the back of the line and waits his/her next turn to be the receiver.

By keeping the ball moving, it will make the defenders job more difficult and your job easier.