Soccer Drills – Page 10

Through the tunnel

This game was sent in by Chris Hulme of Whetstone Juniors FC

Objective: To improve passing, tackling and communication skills.

Age range: U7s to U10s.

Number of players: Eight.

Set-up: Create a 10×4 yard “tunnel” as shown below.

Divide your eight players into a team of six attackers (the Xs) and a team of two defenders (the Ds).

How to play:

Five attackers stand diagonally opposite to each other outside the tunnel while the sixth attacker enters the tunnel with the ball.

The sixth attacker tries to get a point for his team by getting past the two defenders and out of the other end of the tunnel.

He can pass to any of the five outside players and they either return the ball directly to him or they can pass to another outside player first.

The two defenders work together to try to stop the attacker getting through the tunnel. If they can win the ball and can pass it to you (who is standing just outside the playing area), they earn two points. If they can kick it out, they earn one point.

Each attacker takes a turn in the tunnel then add the points up.

Congratulate the winning team then play the game again with two new defenders.

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

Where’s the goal?

This is a great way to help young players play with their heads up and work together to score goals.

Age group: U6s to U10s.

Equipment required: A pole, training vests, a playing area and a couple of balls.

Number of players: Six to 14.

Set-up: Create a scrimmage area. For ten U10s, I would use a 20-yard area.

Divide your players into two equal teams plus two players who are going to be the “goal posts”.

The goal posts hold a pole or stretch a training vest tightly between them. They move randomly around the playing area while the two teams try to score a goal by passing the ball under the pole or vest.

Play for five minutes, congratulate the winning team then change the goal posts.

Progression:

Players score by passing to a team mate through the goal. A pass that is intercepted on the other side of the goal does not count as a goal.
Add a second ball.
Add a second goal. Players will now get more shooting chances but it’s even more important that they communicate and play with their heads up.

Encourage and praise:

Communication between team mates.
Teams that try to keep possession of the ball.
Accurate passing.
Meeting the ball (as opposed to waiting for a pass to arrive).
Supporting team mates.
Winning the ball back quickly.

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

Short corners

The traditionally taken corner kick in youth soccer, particularly for very young players, rarely results in a goal. That’s because it’s very difficult for children to anticipate the flight of a ball coming directly at them through a crowd of players in such a way that they can make contact with it.

So instead of encouraging your corner taker to knock the ball in hard and fast, why not try something a little more subtle instead?

Short corners (where the ball is passed to a player standing a few yards away from the ball who either plays it back to the corner taker or crosses/shoots himself) are often very effective.

Or you could try passing the ball back to one of your midfielders who is standing by the half way line. This player will probably have a lot of room in front of him and can get within shooting range before he is challenged.

Remember Manchester United’s famous short corner against Chelsea in the 2008/9 season? Wayne Rooney pretended to change his mind about taking a corner and signaled to Ryan Giggs to do it instead.

As he moved away from the corner flag, Rooney touched the ball, putting it into play. Chelsea’s defence were expecting Ryan Giggs to take a conventional corner but he ran with the ball towards goal and crossed it for team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo to score with a header.

This tactic might be worth a try but it will only work once!

Clear the decks

Age group: U10s upwards

Objective: To improve short and long passing skills

Equipment: Cones to mark out a grid, several footballs.

Set up

Play on a 7-a-side pitch or use cones to mark out a 60×40 yard grid with a halfway line. Divide your players into two teams with each team occupying one half of the playing area. Place half the soccer balls behind each end of the grid.

How to play

On your signal, both teams attempt to get all the balls into their opponent’s half without crossing the half way line.

Encourage accuracy by telling your players that if they kick the ball out of their opponent’s half – either out the back or across the side – it counts against them when the game is over.

At the end of agreed time (30 secs-1 minute) award 1 point to the team that has the most balls in their opponent’s half.

If a player touches a ball after the stop signal, you may automatically award that round to the opposition to discourage cheating.

Develop the drill

Insist that the ball is in the air when it crosses the halfway line so players can practise chipping the ball.

Long crossing technique

It is important to stress to all your players that when they are going for distance, or want a high-crossing ball, they must always kick a moving ball, never practise kicking a stationary (dead) ball — only do this for practising corners and free kicks.

The technique you need to teach your players for long kicking starts with them pushing the ball to the side, slightly in front of the body.

Kick through the ball

If your player is right-footed get him to place the left foot alongside the ball, keep his head down looking at the ball and kick through the centre of the ball. He should be trying to get his toe under the ball and with a tight ankle joint, his body leaning slightly back, kick through the ball.

Make sure your players only lift their head after contact.

Practise this soccer drill with three players A, B and C. B passes into A who kicks long to C. C back to B. Each player swaps places with the person they passed to.

Through the gate

This simple game works on your players’ ball control skills.

It’s particularly good for players of intermediate ability. But players of all ages and skill levels enjoy the competitive nature of the game.

When it’s played correctly, and well, it looks very impressive.

Set up:

Divide your players into teams of two or three. Create a 20 yards by 20 yards playing area for each two teams. Place a cone ‘gate’ in the middle of each playing area.

How to play :

Two teams play in each grid. Each team passes to the other team through the gate.

The rules:

Every player on a team has to touch the ball before it is passed through the gate.

The ball must not stop moving.

Players must use side foot passes only.

Scoring:

Each team starts with five ‘lives’. They lose a life for each infringement of the rules.

Progression:

Players pass with their ‘wrong’ foot only.

They have two touches only.

They have one touch only.

The stepover

It’s important to teach your players new soccer skills and let them try them out in matches.

Simple moves like the stepover, also known as the scissors, intrigue children and they love learning them.

And it’s really easy to teach. Go through the following sequence slowly, give lots of praise and allow your players plenty of time to practise.

1. Start dribbling slowly.

2. The left foot circles the ball – without touching it – in an anti-clockwise direction.

3. Dip the left shoulder so that it looks as though you will move that way.

4. Now take the ball past your opponent with the outside of your right foot.

Soccer coaching tip: Left-footed players should start with their right foot circling the ball in a clockwise direction.

Line passing

Coaching objective: to improve passing and receiving skills, communication and decision making.

Experience: U9 upwards.

Set-up: split your players up into equal teams of four, five or six.

Two teams per 40 yards long by 30 yards wide area, marked out with flat cones.

How to play: the teams spread out, a ball is given to one team and the game begins with a free pass, i.e. it cannot be intercepted.

The objective for the team in possession is to keep the ball away from the other team and get a point by passing it to a player who can stop the ball on (or within a few inches of) one of the side or end lines.

The ball cannot be dribbled to a line, it must be passed.

A team that “scores” keeps possession and tries to score on a different line.

Progression:

Points can only be scored on the two end lines (not the sidelines).

Restrict the number of touches.

Make the pitch bigger or smaller to decrease/increase the pressure on the players to make quick decisions.