Soccer Drills – Page 17

Ghost

Objective: This game aims to improve communication and to practise defending as a team.

Age range: U9s and upwards.

Difficulty: Moderate.

Set-up: Divide your players into two, evenly matched teams.

Create a 40 yards long by 30 yards wide pitch with goals at either ends.

How to play:

The coach picks a “ghost” player for each team.
The opposing team does NOT know who the ghost is.
The ghost is the only player who can score a goal.

Note: If a player other than the ghost scores, it counts as an own goal. Award a point to the other team.

Change the ghost every time he or she scores.

Coaching notes: The attacking team has to work together to create shooting opportunities for the ghost while the defence tries to figure out who the ghost is and defends, or doubles up on the ghost to prevent a goal from being scored.

Coach Nathan says: “I have a striker on my team that simply refused to pass the ball. She would rather kick the ball out of bounds before making a safe back pass. Ghost helped her learn the meaning of team work and all my girls love the game!”

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

Knock out soccer

Objective: to practise passing, shooting, defending, switching play, communication and teamwork.

Set-up: create a large, circular playing area. For 10-year-olds, I suggest the circle is about 40 yards across.

Evenly space three or four goals around the edge of the playing area.

Divide your players into teams of three or four. Goalkeepers are optional.

How to play: three or four teams (depending on how many players you have) play football in the playing area.

Each team has one goal to defend and tries to score in all the others.

Each team starts with five “lives”. If they concede a goal, they lose a life.

If they lose all their lives they are out of the game.

Coaching notes: teams that are knocked out should move to another activity. An assistant coach can work with them, perhaps they can have a keepie uppie contest among themselves or they can play a 2v2 match. It doesn’t matter what they do, but don’t let them just stand around.

Teams will often work together to knock out another team and it’s interesting to see who co-operates with who and which group of players become the targets.

Warning: this is an ultra-competitive game and feelings can sometimes run high! But Knock Out Soccer is great fun and it’s a game that my 11-year-olds ask for time and time again.

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

Invaders

Objective: To improve ball control skills, tackling and passing.

Age group: U6s and upwards.

Number of players: 10 players divided into two teams of five. If you have more than 10 players, create extra playing areas and play two games (with smaller teams if necessary) alongside each other.

Set-up: Create two 15-yard square playing areas with a five-yard gap between them.

Divide your players into two teams, one team per playing area.
Each player has a number.
One ball per team.

How to play: The game begins with both teams moving and passing to each other in their playing area.

After a few seconds, shout a number and the corresponding player runs into the other team’s square and tries to win the ball.

If they win the ball and kick it out of the playing area, they get one point for their team. If they can win the ball and take it back into their playing area, they get three points.

Allow 30 seconds for a steal to take place. If the defending team can keep the ball away from the attacking player for that length of time, they get a point.

Progression: Call more than one number.

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

Overload

Objective: To improve attacking and defending skills, both individually and as a unit. To practise overload situations (3v2, 4v3 etc) and improve decision making.

Age group: U10s and upwards.

Difficulty: Easy.

Set-up: Create a suitable size pitch with a goal at each end. For U10s, I would use a 40 yards long by 30 yards wide playing area.

Divide your players into two teams – an attacking team and a defending team.

The attacking team waits on the halfway line of the pitch. The defending team is spread out equally between each goal.

How to play:

The attacking team decides which goal to attack how it wants to attack it.
If attackers choose to go 1v1 (one attacker v one defender) and succeed in scoring, they get four points.
If attackers choose 2v1 (two attackers v one defender), they get three points for a goal.
3v1 is worth two points per goal and 4v1 is worth one point.
If a goal is scored, the attackers turn and attack the other goal. If they keep scoring, they keep attacking.
If the attackers miss or a defender can win the ball and pass it to you, the attack is over.
Play for a set number of attacks and change the teams round. The team with the most points is the winner.

Tip

To make the game easier for young players:

Play without goalkeepers.
Make the goals bigger.
Stick to bigger overloads – 3v1 or 5v2 etc.

Progression

If the attackers cannot shoot within 30 seconds, allow another defender to join in.

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

No go!

This game encourages your players to use the full width of the pitch.

Age group: U8s to U14s

Set-up: Divide your players into teams of four or five.

Create a playing area with a goal at each end for every two teams.

The size of the area depends on the age of your players. For U10s, 40 yards long by 30 yards wide is about right.

Cone off a 10-yard square or a 20 yards long by 10 yards wide No-Go area in the middle of the pitch.

How to play: Play a small-sided game (SSG) with the condition that players are not allowed to enter the No-Go area but the ball may pass through it.

If a player does set foot in the No-Go area, award a free kick to the other team at the point where they entered the area.

Progression:

Award a bonus point for a successful pass through the No-Go zone.

All attacking moves must include a pass to a neutral player who stays inside the No-Go zone.

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

The yo-yo game

Objectives: To encourage rapid counter attacking, to encourage your attackers/midfield players to get back and defend when the other team has the ball and to encourage your defenders to move up rapidly and support attacking moves.

This game can also be used with older players to practice setting and beating an offside trap.

Age group: U9s and upwards.

Number of players: Ideally 10 (five-a-side), but can be used with more or less players. If you have more than 14 players, set up two games.

Set-up: Create a playing 30×20 yards area with goals at each end and a halfway line.

Divide your players into two teams, including goalkeepers.

How to play: Goals only count if all the attacking team (except the goalkeeper) is in the opponent’s half when the ball crosses the goal line.

Also, goals count double if any of the defending team fail to get back into their half before a goal is scored.

Progression: Add neutral players who stay on the sidelines and receive passes and pass back to the team that passes to them. Attacking moves now have to include at least one pass to a neutral player.

If you have older players, play the offside rule.

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

Throw in frenzy

This game encourages quick throw ins and movement off the ball.

Age range: U7s and upwards.

Difficulty: Medium.

Set-up: Create a 40×30-yard playing area with a goal at each ends. Using flat cones, mark out two five-yard squares on each side line. The boxes should be placed about 10 yards from each goal.

Divide your players into two teams of five or six. Goalkeepers are optional.

How to play:

First, demonstrate the right way to take a throw-in.

Two players from each team are put into the boxes at the end they are attacking. The remaining players play in the main area.
To score, a team must pass to one of the boxed players, who catches the ball or picks it up and quickly looks to take a throw-in.
The attacking team tries to create a goalscoring opportunity from the throw-in before the defending team can get organised.
Award one point for a goal scored in open play and two points for a goal scored immediately after a throw-in.
Rotate the players in the boxes at regular intervals.

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

The Real Madrid game

Objective: To develop football “vision”. To encourage quick passing and take goalscoring opportunities.

Age range: U7s to U14s.

Equipment: Some flat cones, training vests in two different colours, two poles, one ball.

Set-up: Place a goal made with two poles (or cones) in the centre of a 30-yard square.

Divide your players into two teams plus one goalkeeper.

How to play: Both teams try to score in the goal.

Goals can be scored from either side.

The goalkeeper is neutral and tries to save shots from both teams.

Play for a set time or until one team scores a certain number of goals.

Progression/variations:

Play with uneven teams (i.e. 5v3) to encourage players to make use of a numerical advantage.
Play with three teams instead of two.
Each team has a target player. These are the only players who can score.

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