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Example soccer coaching practice plans

These are two examples of the sort of practice plan I write before each coaching session.

The objective of the first session was to improve general ball control and shooting skills. I had sixteen 10 and 11 year old girls of varying ability and one assistant who mirrored the activities I was running.

Warm up Need one ball each

Explode (15 minutes)

Set up large circle of cones with poles set up about 20/30 yards away

Dribble round circle, heads up.

Use inside/outside of foot, left only, right, etc.

One whistle – exchange ball with another person.

Two whistles, explode. First one back to me with ball stopped and under control wins.

If not enough balls, sharks and minnows and/or a quick game of War!

Split kids into age/ability groups

My group: talk about shooting: attitude (if you don’t shoot, you’ll never score). Talk about/demonstrate good technique (pick target, preferably bottom of far post, look at ball, ankle locked, hit it hard with head over the ball and weight forward, follow through). Pretend you’re passing hard to someone standing at far post.

Build up game

2 go for goal (players stand in two lines opposite a goal plus goalkeeper. I stand on side line, serve ball in, first 2 players race to see who can score first). Emphasise importance of good first touch, shooting technique.

Or… 3v3 one goal. Emphasise possession play and quick, positive shooting.

End game

Four goal game

The next plan is a ‘standard’ lesson plan that I use once a month or so.The objective is to improve ball control and encourage good teamwork.

Warm up

Bugs and spiders and/or the Zipper drill

Build up games

3v 3 one goal or

Three team keep away

Start with two teams of equal numbers and three soccer balls. On whistle, players try to possess as many balls as possible.

On second whistle the play stops and the team in possession of two or more balls wins. Repeat several times.

In this game, players must be good passers of the ball to keep possession. They must also make decisions on where to run when they don’t have the ball, when to pass or dribble, and whom to pass to.

2 Go For Goal

Players form two lines on either side of the coach who is standing 18 to 20 yards from a goal that is any size. The coach serves the ball toward the goal line while pairs of players race to win the ball and shoot. As skills improve, add a goalkeeper. Encourage correct shooting technique and a good first touch on the ball.

End games

Set up four 2 cone goals in each corner of a 20 yd x 30 yd grid. Divide players into two equal teams. Players may score at any of the four goals. This is an excellent game for encouraging teamwork; getting heads up and discouraging bunching round the ball.

Could try this using both halves of the practice pitch instead of the usual end game.

The offensive team has two more players than the defensive team. Teams can be 6 vs. 4, 5 vs. 3, or 4 vs. 2 depending on the number of players.

The offensive team tries to score on the goal. The defenders try to pass the ball through either of two small goals on the centre line.

Play starts at half field with the ball given to one of the offensive players or from a kick from the goalie.

COACHING POINTS

“Spread the defence out” – offensive players should be near the sidelines.

“Make smart passes” – with a two person numerical advantage, the offensive team shouldn’t lose the ball easily. Encourage team-mates to get into position to receive a pass before the player with the ball gets into trouble.

“Clear the ball wide” – when the defenders win possession of the ball.

“How can they pass to you if you are standing there?” – show players without the ball where to be to best support team-mates.

VARIATIONS

Require offensive team to complete three passes in a row before shooting.

Defenders have only one less player than offenders (e.g. 3 vs. 2, 4 vs. 3, etc.)

Criss cross soccer

Objective: To encourage players to keep their heads up, to develop soccer “vision”, communication, switching play.

Age range: U8s to U14s.

Set up: Create a 20-yard square for every eight players.

Place a small goal (or a couple of cones, three feet apart) in each corner of the area.

Divide your players into two teams of four.

How to play

Each team has two goals to defend and two goals to try to score in.

The first team to score X number of goals wins.

Coaching notes

It can take a few minutes for your players to get used to this game. But you should persevere – it really does reward the players who can get their heads up and make a good decision regarding which goal to attack.

Common ball control faults and how to fix them

During a ball control coaching session you are sure to notice some of your players having difficulty getting their body in line with the ball, choosing the wrong part of their body to receive it or allowing the ball to bounce off before they can get it under control.

Problem 1 – Your player misreads the path of the ball and misses it.

This is a really common problem for young players. When they begin to play football, almost all children see a pass coming and just stick out a leg and hope that the ball hits them.

How to fix it: pass a ball at your players from varying distances and at different speeds. Encourage them to keep their eyes on the ball and talk them through what they have to do: “move left”, “move right”, “turn to face me” etc.

Problem 2 – Your player chooses the wrong part of their body to receive the ball or has trouble deciding which surface to use.

How to fix it: working in pairs, one player shouts out the part of their body they want to receive the ball with and the other serves a ball towards that body part.

Problem 3 – The ball bounces off the player and they lose possession.

How to fix it: working in pairs again, encourage the receiving player to exaggerate the correct cushioning movement so a ball served in the air drops down at their feet and a ground pass “sticks” to the foot.

You could also try using a futsal instead of a regular ball. The slightly increased weight and much reduced bounce of a futsal makes it far easier to control.

Once you have worked on correcting these common faults, it’s time to let your players practise their ball control skills in the more pressured environment of a small-sided game.

One of my favourites for children aged 10 and up is based on Paul Cooper’s Xavi Game, named after Barcelona’s Xavi Hernandez who is, perhaps, one of the most skilful players in the game today.

This is a 5v5 game with the condition that players in their own half of the pitch may only touch the ball three times but when they are in the opposition’s half they can have unlimited touches. Goalkeepers must roll the ball out.

This game is great for encouraging quick, decisive passing and, at the same time, allowing players to express their individuality when going towards goal.

Younger children can practise their ball control skills in a less structured 4v4 where the coach awards extra “goals” for good examples of getting into line with a pass or a nice, soft first touch.

Coaching indoors this winter?

Cold nights, wind, rain, sleet, snow…

At this time of year, many youth football coaches are thinking about moving their coaching sessions indoors until the weather improves.

But indoor football coaching has its own, unique, set of problems that have to be considered when you are planning your sessions.

The main one, of course, is the relative lack of space but you can overcome this by organising your activities using the Magic Rectangle.

The Magic Rectangle was devised by top Dutch coach Bert-Jan Heijmans. It is a simple but amazingly effective coaching technique that allows you to work with four small groups simultaneously.

The Magic Rectangle also helps you use every inch of space in your hall as effectively as possible.

You can conduct a full coaching session in the rectangle: Warm your players up, do some technical work, practice technique in 1v1 or 2v2 situations and even play SSGs.

Every player is involved all the time, transitions are fast and there’s very little need, if any, to pick up or put down cones.

These are a few games that you can use in the MR:

Up in The Air

Players throw a ball in the air, sit down, stand up and catch it before it lands. Then throw the ball up and control it with feet (or any other part of the body) as it lands.

Small Group Passing

Pair players up and get them to pass the ball to each other in their grid.

Make sure the passer moves immediately to a new space and the receiving player passes back to his partner’s feet.

Start with three-touch then move to two-touch and finally one-touch.

Now make one of the players a defender and the rest of the group keep the ball away from her. Then call “change” and the defenders run to a different group and try to stop them passing. If it’s too easy, add a second defender.

Change the defender every minute or two and make the game competitive by seeing which defender can win the most balls in a set time.

Ball Tag

Three players pass the ball in their rectangle. The fourth player (the defender) ties to tag the player in possession. Play for a minute or two then rotate the defender. Then add a second ball.

Line Soccer

Play 2v2 in each rectangle. Pairs of players have five minutes to get the ball to their opponent’s end line as many times as possible. At the end of the five minutes, rotate the players so that the winning teams play each other.

Coaching note: Any 2v2 game can be progressed to 4v4 by simply removing the dividing line between two of the four rectangles.

For some more ideas, why not have a look at 64 Small-Sided Games.

Equipment

A regular ball can be difficult to control on a hard floor and you will find that your indoor coaching games work better if you use futsals (or futebol de salao) instead.

If you have to use regular balls, it is a good idea to deflate them slightly to reduce the bounce.

Managing the end of session scrimmage

At the end of your coaching session you want to play a “match” using the entire hall.

But you can’t let all your players play at the same time.

I’ve found that the best way to manage this situation is to play 4v4, winner stays on, one goal wins the game.

But what do you do with the teams that are waiting to play?

If the hall is big enough you could play two 4v4 games across the hall.

Another option is to line the waiting players along the sides of the hall where they act as side supports, receiving passes and playing the ball back to the team that passed to them.

A third way of managing the waiting players was suggested to me by coach Derek.

He numbers all his players, for example, 1 to 16.

The first “match” begins with players 1 to 8. After two minutes, he swaps player 1 with player 9, player 2 with player 10 and so on.

Conclusion

Coaching football in small spaces is challenging for any coach.

But with a bit of thought and organisation (and a bit of magic!), coaching indoors can be productive and fun. And it’s a lot better than being outdoors on cold winter evenings!

Keep your bedroom tidy

Objective: To improve ball skills, communication and teamwork.

Age range: U5s to U9s.

Number of players: Whole team.

Equipment required: Some flat cones, a few larger traffic style cones or poles one ball for every player.

Set-up: Create a 30×20 yards playing area with a goal at each end.

A row of cones is spread across the centre of the pitch with larger cones or poles representing the “bedroom door”.

Two teams are placed facing each other, each in their own bedroom.

All players have a ball at their feet.

You stand at the side of the area with a few additional balls.

How to play: The game starts with each player moving around their bedroom, controlling a ball.

Before the game starts, demonstrate a couple of turns and ask the players to try them as they dribble around the playing area.

Drag back

Stop or slow the ball by stepping on it with the sole of your foot. Run past it by a few feet, pivot on one foot, turn quickly and run back the way you came, collecting the ball as you go.

The stop and go

As you are dribbling the ball (usually with an opposition player alongside you), you suddenly slow down then explode away. The most effective technique is stop the ball completely with the sole of your foot then quickly push the ball forwards again with the instep (laces).

Then tell your players to swap balls with a partner to encourage communication.

While players are moving around they are asked to select a captain.

Then shout “Keep your bedroom tidy!”.

All players retire to their bedroom and kick their balls through the Bedroom Door into their opponent’s bedroom.

The captain can select players to stand near to the door to intercept and return balls kicked by the opposition.

Other players will move around the bedroom collecting balls that have gone further into their bedroom.

Should a player score in the opponent’s goal their team gets five points and the ball stays in the goal.

Play for two or three minutes then stop the game.

The balls in each bedroom are counted.

One point is given for each ball – don’t forget five for any balls in the goal.

The team with the fewest points has kept their bedroom tidiest and wins the game.

During the game, you can throw additional balls into each bedroom to keep the game interesting.

Follow up

This game is designed to encourage your players to shoot quickly and accurately as well as follow up on their shots in case the keeper drops the ball.

Age group: U8s to U13s.

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 30×20 yards playing area.
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 about eight yards away from each 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 in and tries to score if team A’s goalkeeper drops the ball.

3. Whether team B’s player scores or not, team A’s goalkeeper retrieves the ball and returns to her team.

4. The shooter from team B is now in goal. She faces the first 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.

Coaching points: Impress on your players the need to dribble at speed, shoot quickly and follow their shot.

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

You can, if you wish, encourage a finishing mentality by awarding two goals if a player scores from a fumbled shot.

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.

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

Robin Hood (revisited)

This is a simple game that works on a variety of techniques.

In its basic form, it is a good way to practise basic dribbling and close control skills for younger players. However, the progressions turn it into a competitive and exciting workout for older age groups as well.

Set up: Create a 30-yard square and mark out four, five-yard squares in each corner and one in the middle of the playing area.

How to play: Divide your squad into four teams.

Each team stands inside its base – one of the small squares at the corners of the playing area.

Put 12 or more balls into the centre square.

On your command, the first player in each team runs to the middle of the area, collects a ball and dribbles it back to his team. The ball must be stopped in the team’s base box before the next player goes.

The rest of the players take it in turns to collect a ball until all the balls have been captured. The team with the most balls wins.

Progressions:

1. When all the balls have been collected, all players have 30 seconds to steal balls from the other teams’ bases. Players are not allowed to protect their team’s balls.

2. Place lines of cones from the middle square to the team bases that the players have to dribble around.

3. Players have to use their weaker foot to dribble the ball with and/or specific parts of their foot, i.e. sole, instep, etc.

4. When players get to the balls in the middle they have to do four or five toe taps on the ball before they dribble it back.

5. Players have to pass the ball back to a team mate instead of dribbling it back. Their team mates are not allowed to leave their base to collect a wayward pass.

6. Instead of putting a lot of balls in the centre square, serve a high ball into the middle of the playing area. The first player in each team tries to win it and pass it back to their team.

Chase

Objective: For older players (13+) to improve fitness. For younger players, to improve flexibility and co-ordination.

Age group: U6s to U16s.

Set up: Create a playing area large enough for your players to move around in safely.

For twelve 10-year-olds, it should be about 20×15 yards.

Place a pole or distinctive cone on each side of the playing area, about five yards from the sideline.

Split your players into two teams.

Each player tucks a training vest into their waistband. Use a different colour for each team (e.g. team A has red vests, team B has yellow vests).

Send each team to opposite ends of the playing area.

How to play:

On your command, players try to take a vest from a player on the other team and drop it on the ground.

If a player loses his vest, he must run around one of the poles outside the playing area and rejoin the game, picking up his vest and tucking it into his waistband as he returns.

Play for one minute. The winners are the team who have the most training vests when you call “time”.

Play best of three.