Soccer Drills – Page 14

Tag netball

This game will improve your players speed on the pitch. It’s also a great warm up game!

Objective: To improve speed of play, movement off the ball, supporting the player with the ball.

Age range: U7s to U14s

Set-up: Use an area 40 yards long by 30 yards wide with a goal at each end.

Create two evenly matched teams of five or six players wearing bibs.

How to play: The players’ objective is to throw the ball into the opposition goal.

Play begins with you throwing a ball in the air.
Teams advance the ball up the field by throwing it from player to player.
If the player holding the ball is tagged by an opposition player possession goes to the other team.
Balls that go over the side or end lines result in a throw-in from wherever the ball went out of play.
First team to score five goals wins.

Tips: Other than tagging, physical contact is not allowed.

Stop players protecting their goal by setting the goals three yards back from the end lines.

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

Two colour soccer

Objective: to practice ball control, passing, support play and intercepting passes.

Age range: U4s to U7s

Set-up: create an area 20 yards long by 15 yard wide with flat cones.

Split your players up into two teams wearing different coloured bibs (pinnies) i.e., one team wearing white and one team wearing blue.

You stand in the middle of one side line and the teams stand either side.

How to play: put a ball in play and call out “white!” or “blue!”.

The nominated team sends two players out who try to win the ball and pass it back to you. The other team sends out one player who also tries to win the ball and pass it to you.

You should move around the playing area so players must get their heads up to find you.

First team to “Find The Coach” five times, wins.

Coaching points: encourage your players to support each other and shield the ball when under pressure.

If neither team can pass the ball to you within 30 seconds, call “time” and start again.

Progression:

Play 3v1 or 4v1.
If your players are old enough, you can restrict the number of touches they are allowed before they have to pass.

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

Shooting practice

Objective: To practice shooting and goalkeeping skills.

Age group: U6s and upwards.

Number of players: Nine (but can easily be adapted for larger numbers).

Set-up: Create a 30×20 yards playing area with a goal on the centre line.

Divide your squad into two teams of four plus a goalkeeper.

Teams stand at each end of the playing area. The goalkeeper stands in the goal.

Note: This game does involve children standing in lines but it’s very fast moving so there shouldn’t be a problem providing you keep the lines short.

How to play:

First, discuss shooting technique.

Ask your players if the goalkeeper would find it easier to save a shot directed at the corners of the goal or the centre. Talk about power v accuracy.

1. Stand on on the centre line and serve a ball for each player in turn to control, then shoot. Vary the serves so the ball goes across the player, away from her and towards her. Also serve the ball so that it goes to either side of the player, play hard passes and serve a bouncing ball.

2. Now give each player a ball. The first player on team A takes one touch to push the ball in front of him then shoots. If the keeper saves the ball, she returns it to the player. If the shooter misses or scores, she retrieves the ball. As soon as the first shot has been dealt with, the keeper turns to face the other team and the process is repeated.

Coaching notes:

Make the game competitive. The team scoring most goals with X number of shots wins.

Watch your players’ first touch (do they push the ball out of their feet?) and shooting technique (head over the ball, non-striking foot next to the ball, good follow-through) and do they use the correct surface (instep (laces) or side of foot).

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

Under arrest

This game is a great way to improve your players’ marking skills.

It also helps your players learn how to get away from a marker and make space for themselves as well reinforcing the need for a good first touch.

Age range: U8s and upwards.

Set-up: two teams of four play in an area 30 yards long by 20 yards wide with a goal at each end.

How to play: outfield players choose (or are assigned) an opponent who they have to mark and who marks them when their team does not have the ball.

Tell your players: they can only be tackled by the player who is marking them and that player is the only player who they can tackle.

This encourages players to find space and pass the ball to a team mate who has managed to get away from their marker.

Play for a set time. Five minutes is probably enough – this is a tiring game, both physically and mentally.

Progression: add a spare player who plays for the team in possession. This further encourages your players to find and use a player who is not being marked.

This game is from Fun Soccer Games for 5 to 8 Year Olds.

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

Barca Keepaway

Objective: To improve your players’ core skills: Their ball control, passing/receiving, support play and ability to keep possession.

Age range: U7s to U15s.

Number of players: Eight.

Equipment required: Flat cones, training vests, one ball.

Set-up: Mark out a 15-yard square within an 18-yard square.

Divide your players into two teams.

How to play: One team (the passing team) plays in the smaller playing area. The other team (the defenders) wait outside the playing area in the larger square.

The game lasts for two minutes and begins with one defender entering the central playing area and trying to take the ball away from the passing team.
After 30 seconds, a second defender is added to make the game 4v2. Thirty seconds later, a third defender makes it 4v3 and finally the last defender enters to make it 4v4.
Feed in a new ball every time the ball leaves the playing area.
Count the number of successful passes the passing team makes in two minutes.
The passing team and the defending team swap roles and the game is played again.
The team that makes the most successful passes wins.

Coaching points: Encourage players to scan the playing area before receiving a pass.

Players’ first touch should be away from pressure.

Progression: The defending team is restricted to three, two or one touch of the ball.

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

You’re off!

Objective: To improve possession, ball control, short passing, supporting the player on the ball.

Age range: U10s and upwards.

Difficulty: Medium.

Set-up: Divide your players into three teams with goalkeepers.

Set up a 40×30 playing area with goals at both ends.

Note: If you have an uneven number of players just make one or two of the teams bigger. If you have seventeen players, for example, you could have two teams of six and one team of five.

How to play:

There are only two rules:

1. When the ball goes over a sideline, the team that put the ball out of play leaves the field and the waiting team comes on.

2. If a goal is scored, the team that conceded the goal goes off and the waiting team comes on.

The team that wins the most games in 20 minutes is the winner.

Coaching notes:

To begin with, there is a lot of coming and going as players play the game normally, i.e., without too much thought as to the consequences of allowing the ball to go out of play.

After a while, however, they begin to put a lot of effort into keeping the ball. Short passes and close support should begin to replace hopeful kicks upfield.

You will also see players try to win the game by kicking the ball off an opponent and into touch!

It’s also in a team’s best interests to take lots of shots. If it scores, it wins the game but if it misses and the ball goes over the end line, it stays on anyway. However, its opponent will have to go off if it blocks the shot and the ball goes over a sideline.

Progression: Make the playing area smaller (makes the game harder) and/or reduce the number of touches each player is allowed.

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

Pot black

Objective: To improve passing and receiving skills, teamwork and defending.

Age Group: U6s to U10s.

Number of players: Twelve (but is easily adapted for larger or smaller squads).

Equipment required: Some flat cones, training vests, one ball.

Set-up: Create a 20×15 yards playing area with six small gaps around the edges (the “pockets”) as shown below.

Split your players into two teams of six.

How to play: Both teams try to gain possession of the ball and pass it (or shoot) into a pocket.

If a team pots a ball, it keeps possession and tries to score again.

If a player kicks the ball “off the table” or commits a foul, possession goes to the other team.

The first team to score eight (i.e. seven reds and a black) wins the game.

Tip: If your players are finding it difficult to “pot the ball”, make the pockets bigger.

If players find it hard to keep possession long enough to pot a ball, make the playing area bigger.

Progression: Play with two balls.

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

Moving the goal posts

Objectives: To improve passing and encourage players to keep their heads up when in possession of the ball.

Age group: U5s to U10s.

Set-up: Create a 30-yard square and divide your players into two teams.

Take one player from each team and give them a three-yard rope or pole to hold. This is the “moving goal”.

You stand outside the playing area with a supply of balls.

How to play: The players holding the moving goal move freely around the grid.

The two teams try to score in the moving goal.
The first team to score three goals wins the game.
If the ball leaves the area, keep the game moving by putting another ball in play.

Variations:

1. Play with two balls (this also makes the game easier for younger players).

2. Reduce the width of the moving goal and/or restrict players to two or three touches.

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