Soccer Drills – Page 22

Weight and direction of passes

Objective: to improve weight and direction of passes.

Age group: U7s and upwards.

Set-up:

Divide your players into teams of four or five.
Create two open-ended “bags” for each team with semi-circles of cones that are six yards wide and about 10 yards apart.
One of each team’s bags is empty. The other contains six balls.
The teams stand behind their empty bag.

How to play: on your command, the first player in each team runs to their bag of six balls, collects one and tries to pass it into their empty bag.

If the ball misses the bag it is out of the game.

Once the first player has tried to pass all six balls into the bag, the second player in the team repeats the exercise in the opposite direction, but only using the balls that the first player managed to get into the bag.

When every player has had a turn, the team with the most balls in their bag wins.

Progression:

1. If a player misses, they must collect the ball, bring it back and try again.

2. Pass with alternate feet: left/right.

Tip: make the game easier for younger players by making the bags bigger and deeper.

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Short passing

Objectives: to improve short passing, team shape, support play and communication.

Experience: intermediate.

Warm-up: players in groups of five or six in a 15-yard square playing area are numbered one to five/six. They pass a ball to each other in numerical order and follow their pass. The receivers need to control and move the ball on before the player who passed to them arrives to take over their spot in the playing area.

Coaching points:

Check that your players:

Place their non-kicking foot next to the ball, pointing in the direction they want the ball to go.
Strike through the middle of the ball.
Keep their head over the ball.
Open up to receive the pass and that their first touch is in the direction they intend to pass the ball.

Game set-up:

Create an area 50 yards long by 20 yards wide with a centre line.

Place two teams of five or six in each playing area, one team in each half.

How to play:

One team starts with the ball. The other team sends two players into the opposite half to try and steal the ball and pass it back to their team mates.

If they succeed, the two “stealers” rejoin their team.

The team that lost the ball now sends two of its best “stealers” into the other half of the playing area to try to win the ball back.

Each team gets a point for every five consecutive passes they can make before they lose possession of the ball or it goes out of bounds.

Team shape

This is one of the very few soccer drills that I use with my older teams.

I’ve found it a very useful way to practise passing and receiving skills while at the same time maintaining a basic team shape.

Experience: intermediate (U10s) upwards.

Set-up: split your squad into teams of three, four or five. Two teams per 30 yards long by 20 yards wide playing area. The playing area(s) have a goal at each end.

Put one team in each half. Position them so that teams of three are in the shape of a triangle, teams of four are in the shape of a diamond and teams of five are a diamond plus a goalkeeper.

How to play: the objective of this soccer drill is for the players to move forwards, passing the ball between each other while keeping their shape.

Start by having the players pass the ball between themselves while they are stationary. The soccer drill should begin with a pass from a player in a defensive position or the goalkeeper, if you have one.

Progress to walking pace, (the two teams walk through each other), and gradually increase the pace until your players are passing and moving through each other at match speed.

Soccer coaching points:

Every move should finish with a shot on goal.

All players must touch the ball before a shot is taken.

Passes can be made in any order.

Encourage wide players to stay wide.

Start again if a pass is misplaced and the ball goes out of bounds.

Keep it short – this soccer drill should only last for 10 minutes, maximum. Any longer and your players will get bored.

Variations:

Challenge your players to get to the goal in 15 seconds.

Give your players numbers and call a number while they are moving. That player must be the one who shoots.

Players only have three touches, two touches, then one touch.

A simple dribbling game

This is a simple dribbling race that, at first glance, doesn’t seem to be very interesting but children of all ages love it and my U12s ask to play it at almost every session. It just goes to show that good coaching games don’t have to be complicated!

Objective: To improve running and turning with the ball, dribbling skills, fitness.

Set-up:

Split your players into pairs. One ball per pair.
Lay out a straight line of six/eight cones about five yards apart.
One line of cones per pair of players.

How to play: Both players in each pair stand at one end of their line of cones.

One player dribbles the ball at speed to the first cone in the line, turns quickly and passes the ball back to his partner.

He runs back to his partner, collects the ball and runs with it to the second cone where he passes back and repeats the exercise.

When he has taken the ball round each of the cones in this fashion, it’s his partner’s turn.

The first pair to complete the exercise is the winner.

Coaching points: Ask your players about the difference between dribbling and running with the ball.

Answer: When dribbling, a player keeps the ball close because an opponent is trying to take it away. When running with the ball, a player pushes it into unopposed (i.e. empty) space and runs on to it.

Ask them when they should run with the ball and when they shouldn’t.

Tell your players to try different ways of turning with the ball. Which is the fastest?

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

Find space!

How often do you see your players watching a team-mate with the ball as they struggle to get away from pressure? I see it most weeks!

It’s frustrating – you just want to pick them up and move them a few feet to where they can provide a passing option for their team-mate.

But of course we can’t do that so try using a soccer drill to work on support play instead and help your players form good habits.

Before we can get young soccer players to take up supporting positions instead of trying to get a foot on the ball all the time, we have to introduce them to the concept of space.

For you and me, it’s easy to ‘see’ space on the soccer field. But it’s not easy for seven and eight year olds.

They are still very self-centered and find it hard to consider abstract concepts such as space – espcially when all they really want to do is kick the ball!

So let’s show them what space means.

Set up the space drill

Set up a very small soccer field, about 20 yards by 15 yards, complete with goals for this soccer drill. Then ask your players to play 5v5 or 6v6 in that area. After five minutes or so, ask them if it was hard or easy. They will say it was hard. Ask them why. Someone should say ‘it was too crowded’, if they don’t give them a few hints.

Great, we’re sowing some seeds!

Now stand your players around a small circle marked by cones, about 10 yards across, and put one player (the defender) in the middle. Ask your outside players to pass to each other, keeping the ball away from the ‘defender’.

After a minute or two ask the defender if it was easy to intercept the ball. He or she should say it was easy. Now ask the other players how they could make it harder for the defender and with a bit of luck they will say ‘make the circle bigger’. Get them to do that by moving the cones back three or four yards and play the game again.

Now it will be easier for the ‘attackers’ to keep the ball away from the ‘defender’. Get your players to recognise that (it’s important that they say it’s easier with more space), make the circle a bit bigger and play again. Keep doing that until they reach the point where they are so far apart from each other that the defender can easily intercept the attackers’ passes.

Stop the game and ask your players to show you the size circle that worked best for the attackers. This is the ‘perfect distance’.

Ask your players to remember that.

Finish off by playing a ‘match’ and stopping play when they bunch. Tell them to move apart so they are at the ‘perfect distance’ from each other.

Repeat, praising them when they keep a good distance from each other.

Well done, you’ve taught your players a very valuable lesson!

Simon says

Your young soccer players will already know how to play this popular game. It’s a lot of fun for the little ones and it’s great for improving their ball control skills and concentration.

Purpose of the Game: to encourage children to run with the ball, keeping it close to their feet, and to carry out instructions.

Age group: three years old upwards.

Area Needed: 20m x 20m.

Equipment: flat cones to mark out the grid and a ball for every player.

Number of players: whole team.

How to play: Players dribble round the grid waiting for an instruction from Simon, the King of the Ring (that’s you!).

When you preface a command with “Simon says” they must do it immediately. For example, if Simon says, “foot” they must stop the ball with that body part immediately.

If you don’t say ‘Simon says’ before the command your players should ignore it. If they forget and carry it out, just shout ‘gotcha!’ or similar. No-one is out of this game.

You can add other commands such as “change direction,” “go faster,” and so on.

Defending corners

1. Zonal defending

The theory behind these tactics for defending corners is that there are a number of key areas (zones) that goals are scored from at corner kicks.

These are the front and back post and about six yards out from the center of the goal line (the middle of the six yard box). You can probably think of other areas too.

With zonal marking you assign key players to these zones. You might want to get your two tallest players to cover the six yard box and put your smallest players on the posts.

The main drawback to this system – at least as far as youth soccer is concerned – is that it encourages static defending. Children told to guard a single point on the pitch will do it but are often reluctant to move away from their area, even if there is clear and imminent danger in another, unguarded, area.

The advantage of zonal marking is that you can make sure your best defenders are stationed in the areas that you know most goals are scored from.

2. Man marking

Man marking is the traditional method of defending corners. A big advantage of man marking over zonal defence is that being told to stay with a player is easier for children to understand than being told ‘I want you to defend this zone’.

The main drawback of man (or woman:) marking is that children are easily distracted, lose their mark and end up doing nothing in non-vital areas of the pitch.

So you see there are advantages and disadvantages to both defending tactics. My teams man mark at corners.

Should we put a player on the goalposts?

The purpose of “marking” the goal posts is to make the goal smaller. This is a sensible move when playing 11-a-side as the goalkeeper can’t reach both posts from the middle of the goal. But in youth football the goals are small and putting players on the posts is a waste of resources.

In any case, your goalkeeper should be intercepting any ball that comes into the “hot area” just in front of the goal and the sooner they learn to do that, the better.

A good way to practise this is to use two goals, one in a normal position and the second touching the far post and at right angles to it. The goal should look like the letter ‘L’.

Now take some corners. The goalkeeper has to protect both goals and is encouraged to come off their line to get the ball.

Use a “blocker”

Putting one of your taller players on the line between the goal and the corner flag will often put the player taking the corner kick off their job completely. They should also be able to block any low, fast corners that are directed straight at your goal.

Don’t forget the short corner!

A short corner – where the ball is passed to a player standing close to the corner flag who either plays it back to the corner taker or crosses/shoots themselves – is a very effective tactic in youth soccer and your defenders need to stay alert to the threat posed by them.

If an opposition player runs to receive a short corner, your players need to close them down quickly. This may mean leaving players unmarked in the box but it’s essential that the short corner is neutralised.

Leave at least one player upfield

It’s important to have at least one player (and preferably two) waiting upfield to receive the ball from your defenders. If you get everyone back to defend the corner, counter attacking becomes virtually impossible.

How to stop the “duckers” and the “swing and miss”

It’s no use teaching your players how to defend corners if they are afraid or unable to deal with the ball when it comes to them.

Defenders who duck out of the way as a well-taken corner comes across the box are a common sight at U9 and U10 level. They are scared that the ball might hurt them. So you need to show them that the ball (“it’s only a bag of air!”) won’t hurt… providing they use their heads properly.

So as soon as your players are old enough to strike a corner into the box at head height, they need to learn how to head it safely.

Running with the ball

Running with the ball may seem like something you don’t have to teach.

But it is a skill just like shooting or tackling. While all children may make an effort to shoot, tackle or run with the ball, your job as coach is to show them the best way to do it. And knowing when to run with the ball and when to pass doesn’t come naturally to young players, it requires practice and encouragement.

Tip: you can tell which player doesn’t have the confidence to carry the ball. They are the ones who often just kick the ball away when it comes to them or make a pass that is clearly not the best one available.

At U6 – U9 age groups it’s common to see a player standing in the way of a team-mate who has acres of space to run into.

So we need to coach how and when to run with the ball and, at the same time, help our players see the best way to support the player on the ball (and that’s not by standing in front of him!).

Key coaching point: running with the ball is not to be confused with dribbling. Dribbling requires close control and relatively small steps. Running with the ball involves taking bigger touches and taking longer strides.

How to coach running with the ball

Start by making sure the basics are understood. You can do this in a fun, competitive way by dividing your players into small groups and playing a few relay races.

Set up pairs of cones (a starting cone and a target cone) about 20 yards apart. Each team stands by a cone facing their target cone. One ball per team.

Player 1 from each team carries the ball to the target cone, turns and brings the ball back. Have your players stop the ball by the starting cone for the next player.

First team to get all their players round the cone and back is the winner.

Ask your players what is the quickest way to get the ball to the turning cone and back – should they kick it long or keep it close? The answer you’re looking for is to kick the ball long, but not so long so that it goes past the turning cone or past the starting cone on the way back.

Once the basic technique is understood, play a small sided game and watch for the players who run with the ball at the right time and congratulate them.

Also watch for the following:

Basic: players who run with the ball with their head down – they can’t run into space they can’t see! They need to look up regularly, perhaps every stride or two.

Advanced: players making a good decision regarding when to run with the ball and when to pass. If your players are old enough, stop the play when you see a good or bad decision and ask your players what they think – was the decision correct?

Basic: is the ball carrier starting his run with a big first touch to get the ball out from under his feet?

Advanced: if a defender is making the run, are other players dropping in behind him to cover?

Advanced: is the ball being played with the foot furthest from any pressure? The ball carrier should be shielding the ball while running.

Basic: is there an end product? Is the player ending their run with a shot or pass or is he running out of space before he can decide what he wants to do with the ball?

Note: the ‘basic’ coaching points should be understood by all players. The ‘advanced’ points will only be understood by players who are sufficiently mature, probably at least nine/ten years old.