Home page – Page 27

Secret weapon

Objective: To create goalscoring opportunities for a specific player.

Age range: U8s to U12s.

Number of players: Twelve

Equipment required: Some flat cones, training vests, two goals, a few balls

Set-up: Divide your players into two teams of six (five outfield players plus a goalkeeper). Use training vests to differentiate the teams.

Set up a suitable size playing area with a goal at each end. For U8s, 30×20 yards is a good size. For U11s, try 40×30 yards.

How to play: Both teams get together and choose their “secret weapon” – the only player that can score for their team.

The teams whisper the name of their secret weapon to you.

Players who are not the secret weapon can shoot – and perhaps deliberately miss – in order to trick their opponent into identifying the wrong player as the secret weapon. This is a fun introduction to tactics and strategy.

Tips: Every player should be chosen as the secret weapon at some point – a great way to integrate new or shy players.

Make sure you remember who each team has nominated as their secret weapon. It’s your job to ensure only goals scored by the nominated player count.

For more soccer coaching tips and products visit Soccer Coach Weekly.

Three ball alley

This is a fun way to practice heading for all ages of players.

Objective: to be the first team to knock three balls off cones with a header.

Set up:

Divide your players into teams of four or five.
Each team apart from one player, the server, lines up about six feet away from a row of three, flat cones.
The server stands on the other side of the cones, facing the rest of their team.
A ball is balanced on top of each of the cones.

How to play:

On your command, the servers throw a ball to the first player in their team’s line who attempts to knock a ball off one of the cones with a header.
Hit or miss, the first player goes to the back of the line, the server collects the ball and throws it to the next player.
The game continues until one team knocks all their balls off the cones.

Progression: modify the distance from the players to the cones and you can practise side-foot volleys, passes or even shots in the same way.

Split the defenders

This game will improve your players’ passing/receiving skills and their decision making. It is easy to set up and explain but demands a high work rate and good concentration from your players if they are to succeed.

Experience: intermediate upwards.

Set up: create an area 18 yards by 18 yards for every six players in your squad.

Divide your players into teams of two. You need three teams for each playing area.

How to play: two teams (four players) are spread round the outside of the square and attempt to pass a ball to each other across it. The third team works in the square and tries to intercept the passes.

If they can pass the ball between the defenders (splitting them) the successful team gets a point.

The first team to score three points wins.

If the defenders intercept a pass, they exchange places with the relevant team.

Coaching points:

Make sure all the outside players stay on their toes and move around the square looking for an opportunity to split the defenders.

Applaud quick decision making and a good pace of pass.

Encourage verbal and non-verbal communication.

Variations

Limit the number of touches per possession.

Play the same game, but expand the square by three to five yards on each side and have the players play inside the grid instead of outside the grid.

Shoot, score, win!

This game is designed to improve your players’ ability to shoot quickly and accurately. It will also encourage them to follow up on their shots, which will result in your team scoring many more goals this season!

The variation of this soccer coaching game is also a great workout for your goalkeepers.

Experience: any.

Set up:

Divide your squad into two teams of between four and six players. If you have more than 12 players, set up two games.

Create a playing area about 30 yards long and about 20 yards wide.

Place a team behind each end line.

Make a goal in the centre of the playing area with poles or corner flags.

Place a cone between each team and the goal to mark the point at which your players should take their shot

Place a few balls at both ends of the playing area.

How to play:

1. To start the game, team A sends one of its players to be goalkeeper.

2. The first player in team B dribbles a ball (at speed) to the marker cone and shoots. This player follows their shot and shoots again if team A’s goalkeeper drops the ball.

3. Team A’s goalkeeper retrieves the ball and returns to her team.

4. The shooter from team B is now in goal and faces a player from team A who dribbles out and shoots. After taking their shot, this player takes over in goal and so on.

5. The first team to score X number of goals wins.

Key soccer coaching points: impress on your players the need to dribble at speed, shoot quickly and follow their shot. You can, if you wish, further encourage a “finishing” mentality by awarding two goals if a player scores from a fumbled shot.

Also, if the shooter does not follow her shot and get into goal quickly, the opposition will have an open goal to shoot at.

You probably won’t need to, but make sure the next shooter doesn’t wait for the goalkeeper to get ready. They should start to dribble at goal as soon as they have the ball.

Vary the distance to goal and the size of the goal so players can experience success then make it harder by increasing the distance to goal and making the goal smaller.

Encourage players to shoot hard.

Variation: choose one player to be the goalkeeper. The rest of the players take it in turns to dribble and shoot, ie. a player from team A shoots followed by a player from team B in quick succession. The goalkeeper has to work hard: save, turn, save, turn.

Note: although this game involves players waiting in line, the speed of the game means they should only be waiting for a few seconds.

Back to the castle

This is a fun way to teach your players how to dribble with their heads up and work as a team.

Age range: U5s to U8s.

Difficulty: Easy.

Number of players: Use your whole squad.

Equipment: Four sets of coloured training vests, some flat cones and at least 12 balls.

Set-up: Divide your players into four teams and give them different coloured training vests to wear. If you don’t have four different colours, base the teams on the colour shirts that the players are wearing. If you have four players wearing red shirts, for example, they are the red team.

Create a 30-yard square playing area. Use flat cones to mark out a three-yard square safe zone in each corner.

Each team is allocated one corner, which is that team’s “castle”.

The coach stands just outside the playing area with at least 12 balls. The more balls, the better.

How to play:

The objective of the game is for each team to get as many balls in their safe zone (or castle) as possible.
Start the game by throwing two or three balls into the playing area.
All the players are free to get possession of a ball and dribble it back to their castle.
Keep throwing balls in. Soon you will have lots of 1v1 and 1v2 mini games going on.
The game is over when all the balls are in the castles.

Coaching notes:

Players should be encouraged to steal any ball that is not stationary inside a castle.

Balls in a castle are safe and can’t be stolen.

Throw the balls in different ways – high, rolling, bouncing, fast, slow.

If a ball leaves the playing area, it is dead. Players should leave it where it is and return to the game. Have an assistant or two gather the dead balls up and return them to you.

For more soccer coaching tips and products visit Soccer Coaching Club.

Goalie golf

The goalkeeper in a youth soccer (football) team often doesn’t get any special attention from the coach. But they should do! Your goalkeeper is, perhaps, the most important player in your team and you should make sure they get some recognition for the thankless task they perform for you every match day.

Goalie Golf is a game designed for goalkeepers but it’s also good for practising shooting. This game also gives all your players a chance to be a goalkeeper and will help them understand how difficult it is.

Skill level: any.

Set up: create a 30 yards by 30 yards playing area with a goal at one end. Choose one player to start the game as the goalkeeper.

Place a few poles or cones around the grid about 20 yards from the goal.

The remainder of your players stand to one side of the playing area, facing the goal.

How to play: serve a ball in front of the first player in the group facing the goalkeeper. This player runs to the ball, controls it with one touch and shoots with the second.

The goalkeeper tries to save the shot. Regardless of whether he saves it or not, he drop kicks the ball towards one of the poles/cones. His objective is to kick the ball within five yards of his chosen target (you will need to ask him which target he is aiming at!).

If he succeeds in this, he gets five points.

The next player in the group shoots. When every player has had a shot, you put a new player in goal.

The winner is the goalkeeper with the most points at the end of the game.

Variations

If a shooter scores, he gets five points which he carries forward to his turn in goal.

If a goalkeeper hits his target, it’s a ‘hole in one’ which earns him 20 points.

Keep it on the deck!

This warm-up soccer drill and game is designed to encourage your players to keep the ball on the ground rather than hoofing it upfield.

Equipment: apart from the usual cones and bibs (pennies), you should play the warm-up and the game with a small, low bounce ball.

A futsal will do but a futbol de salao is ideal. If you can’t get hold of either, play with a size two or three ball that is slightly deflated.

Warm-up: split your squad into groups of four or five. Put each group in an area that has a number of flat cones spread randomly in it. There should be more cones than players and the cones should be about 10ft apart.

Players pass and immediately run to a spare cone.

Coaching points: emphasise fast movement, good accuracy and appropriate pace of pass. Challenge the groups to continue for three minutes without making an error or allowing the ball to leave their playing area.

The game: play 4v4 on a small pitch with a goal at each end. Make it a condition that passes have to made with the side of the foot only and goals only count if the ball crosses the goal line on the ground.

Progression: play 5v3 in the same area. The five players have to put together three passes on the ground before they can shoot. The three players can shoot as soon as they win the ball.

Coaching points: emphasise that shots must be on the ground to count. If a player kicks the ball in the air, possession is given to the other team.

Fox in the box

This game encourages players to shoot from a distance and to follow up on their shots. It is suitable for players aged from about eight or nine upwards.

Set up: This game is played on a short, wide pitch. For U10s, I would use a playing area 30 yards wide and 20 yards long.

Place a goal on both ends of the playing area and mark out a halfway line with flat cones.

How to play:

Set up a small-sided game of 5v5.

Each team has three defenders, one attacker and a goalkeeper.

The three defenders start the game in their own half and cannot go over the halfway line. The attacking players start in their opponent’s half of the pitch and they can’t cross the halfway line either. So each team has three defenders and one attacker who play in opposite halves of the pitch.

Key soccer coaching notes: The can’t cross the halfway line clause encourages the defensive players to take shots on goal from their own half of the pitch (remember, they are only 10 yards away from their opponent’s unguarded goal) and attacking players should follow up on the defenders’ shots in the hope of getting a touch or taking advantage of a fumble by the goalie.