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Breakout

Objective: This game called Breakout helps to improve your team’s ability to get the ball back from their opponents and launch a counter attack.

Age range: U6s and upwards

Set-up: Divide your players into two teams of four, five or six plus two goalkeepers.

The game is played on a mini soccer pitch or a 50 yards long by 30 yards wide playing area with a centre line and a goal at each end.

How to play:

Both teams play in one half of the pitch.
One team attacks the goal in that half and other team tries to win possession of the ball.
If the defending team wins the ball, it tries to start a counter attack by passing or dribbling the ball into the opponent’s half (the empty half of the pitch).
If the defenders succeed in getting the ball out of their half, only one counter-attacking defender can enter the attacking team’s half and no attackers are allowed to go back to defend.
It’s now a 1v1 between the defending team’s counter attacker and the attacking team’s goalkeeper.

Progress by allowing an attacker to run back and try to defend.

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

Numbers up

Objective: To improve passing, shooting, communication and possession skills.

The players’ objective: To score or keep possession of the ball.

Age range: U9s and upwards.

Difficulty: Medium.

Set-up: Create a 40 yards long by 30 yards wide playing area with a small goal in each corner.

This game is played between two uneven teams. In youth football jargon that means you play it “numbers up”.

So you need to divide your players into one team of four or five and one team of two or three.

Tip: The younger or less experienced your players, the more uneven the teams need to be. With U9s, I usually start with 5v2.

How to play:

Each team defends and attacks two goals.
The team with the most players has to put three or four passes together before they can shoot.
The smaller team can shoot as soon as it gets the ball.
If the ball goes out of play, possession is always given to the larger team which passes the ball in from where it left the playing area.
Play first to five goals wins then switch the players around.

Coaching notes: If the larger team is having difficulty keeping the ball, reduce the number of passes they have to complete or increase the number of players on their team.

If the smaller team can’t get a touch, give them more players. If they can’t get a shot in before they lose the ball, allow them to score in any of the four goals.

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

20 seconds to score!

Objective: To improve dribbling, passing, defending and shooting skills.

Players’ objective: To score a goal in less than 20 seconds.

Age range: U8s and upwards.

Difficulty: Moderate.

Set-up: Use an area 25 yards long by 20 yard wide with two small goals at both ends.

Divide your players into teams of three.

How to play:

One team attacks. The other team has two goalkeepers (who cannot leave goal areas) and one outfield player whose job is to try to stop the attacking team from shooting.
The attacking team has 20 seconds to score.
At the end of that time (or earlier if the sole defender can win the ball) the teams switch roles: Two of the attacking team retreat to their goals, and the two goalkeepers on the defending team come out and their team goes on the attack.

The teams score points in two ways: For every goal they score when they are attacking and by stopping the attackers from shooting for 20 seconds when they are defending.

Progression: The attacking team must make at least two passes before shooting.

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

Three ways to score

Objective: To improve dribbling skills, ball control and shooting.

Age group: U10s and upwards.

Difficulty: Medium.

Set-up: Set up a 30 yards long by 20 yards wide playing area with a goal at each end.

Place two gates (use flat cones placed about two yards apart) on each side of the playing area and 2ft in from the sidelines.

How to play:

Divide your players into teams of four plus goalkeepers.

Points are scored in three ways:

By passing the ball through a gate to a team mate.
By making a set number of passes.
Scoring a goal.

Coaching points:

Adjust the number of passes required to score according to the age and skill of your players but make sure the target is achievable.

With young players, I suggest you start with two or three passes and gradually increase the number. It’s important to let young players achieve success.

The number of points awarded can also be adjusted according to your main objective.

You may wish to emphasise passing. If so, award two points for a pass through a gate.

If you want to encourage possession play, give two points for keeping the ball for a set number of passes.

But always give the most points for scoring a goal. That’s what football is all about!

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

Non stop shooting

Objective: To practise shooting skills.

Age range: U8s and upwards.

Difficulty: Easy.

Equipment: Four small goals, cones, balls.

Set-up:

Divide your players into groups of five.
Create a 40-yard square with a five-yard square in the middle.
Use one playing area for each group.
Place small goals on the side and end lines.
Put several balls in the central square.

How to play: One player starts in the middle, the other four players (the defenders) start in front of the goals.

The player that starts in the middle collects a ball from the centre of the playing area and attacks a goal of his choice.

If the player scores, he races to retrieve another ball from the middle of the playing area and attacks another goal.

However, if the defender stops the attacker from scoring, their roles are reversed. The shooter goes in goal, the defender grabs a ball from the centre and attacks a goal.

What to say:

“Stay on your feet and win the ball”

“Defend well and you get the chance to attack”

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

Fast Feet

This game was sent in by George Quinn.

Objective: To improve dribbling and passing skills.

Age group: U5s to U10s.

Number of players: Whole squad.

Equipment required: Flat cones, balls.

Set-up: Create a cone circle big enough for four or five players to dribble around in comfortably. For U5s, a circle 10 yards across should be sufficient.

Divide your players into an even number of small groups. Three or four players per group is ideal.

One ball per group.

Spread the groups evenly around the circumference of the circle facing each other

How to play: On the command ‘Go’, the first player in each group dribbles their ball across the circle to the group opposite.

When they get there, they allow the first player in the waiting group to take their ball and dribble back across the circle in the opposite direction.

Coaching note: Clearly there will be considerable player “traffic” for each dribbler in the circle to avoid and this encourages them to maintain close control and play with their heads up. Don’t be surprised to see collisions between balls and/or players to begin with. As your players improve, they will avoid them.

Progression:

1. Reduce the size of the circle to increase traffic density and make more demands on your players’ ability to dribble. Ask for “faster feet!”

Tip: The reduction in circle size can be quickly achieved by telling the players to pick up the nearest cone and take one step towards the centre before putting it back down.

2. Tell your players to pass immediately to their opposite number the moment they spot a possible route through the traffic. They then follow the pass to take up the receiver’s place as before. This encourages “heads up” and the same type of pass that they will need to execute in an opponent’s penalty area.

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

Rapid fire

This soccer game is a very simple but very effective way for your players to practise their shooting and goalkeeping skills.

You can play the game with as few as six and as many as 16 players. All you need is a supply of balls (one for each player) and a couple of goals to shoot at.

Objective: Teams try to score as many goals as they can in two minutes.

Age range: Six to 16.

Set-up: Place a goal at both ends of a playing area 40 yards long by 20 yards wide.

Mark the centre of the playing area with a cone.
Place another cone 10 yards away from the centre of each goal.
Split your players into two teams and allocate them a goal each.
One player from team A goes in team B’s goal and a player from team B goes in team A’s goal.
Each outfield player has a ball.

How to play

On your command “Go!”, the first player from each team dribbles to the centre cone, turns and runs back towards their goal.
They must take a shot no closer than the 10-yard cone.
As soon as the first player shoots, the next player goes.
If the goalkeeper saves, he returns the ball to the player who shot. If the player misses or scores, he retrieves his ball and goes back to his team.
At the end of two minutes, the team that scored the most goals wins.

Coaching points

Encourage players to aim for the corners of the goals rather than just blasting the ball straight at the goalkeeper.

Progression

Players shoot with their “wrong” foot.

Move the 10-yard cone to the side of the goal to practise shooting/saving angled shots.

Teams leave their balls by the goal and move to the centre cone except one player who stays next to the goal and passes a ball out to each shooter.

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

Musical chairs

This is a good warm-up or you can use as part of a soccer session that focuses on dribbling the ball. It’s fast, fun, competitive, easy to explain and easy to play.

Number of children: Six to 16.

Equipment required: Twenty or so flat cones and a ball for each soccer player.

Set-up: Create two concentric circles with your flat cones. The inner circle should be big enough for all your players to dribble around comfortably. The outer circle should be between 10 yards away from the inner circle (for six-year-olds) and 20 yards (for 11-year-olds).

Players have a ball each.

How to play: All the players dribble inside the inner circle.

On your command of “cone!” they leave their ball, run round one of the cones in the outer circle, go back to their ball and start dribbling again.
Repeat two or three times.
Then remove one of the balls while they are running to the outer circle of cones.
The player who doesn’t get a ball on his return has to complete a small forfeit (such as running around the inner circle) before being given his ball back.
Repeat several times.

Coaching points:Encourage young players to dribble with their heads up and try not to bump into each other.Include commands such as “turn left/right”, “stop” and “go” before calling “cone!” Older players can be asked to perform a move such as a stepover.

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