and
FineSoccer Drill 189
Here is an activity that works on
individual attacking and defending. Start with four players and one ball.
The playing area is 30 x 15 broken into thirds. One player is on the line
separating the first two thirds and the second player is on the line between
the second and third thirds and the third player is on the back line. The
fourth player has the ball. See diagram below:
The attacking player starts with the ball and as soon as she enters the first zone the first defender can come forward. The attacking player tries to beat the defender with the dribble while the defender tries to slow down the attacker and if possible, win the ball. If the attacker beats the defender and gets into the second zone she then has to beat the second defender. If the attacker beats the second defender she then goes into the last third and tries to beat the third defender.
If a defender wins the ball, the attacker makes the transition to defender and the player who won the ball has to try to attack in the other direction. A defender can not leave the back line of the third they are defending until the attacker enters the third.
After a players has gone, the player who was the attacker becomes the third defender, the player who was the third defender becomes the second defender, the player who was the second defender becomes the first defender and the player who was the first defender becomes the attacker.
This activity works on individual attacking, moves, control, individual defending, transition, competitiveness and more. Give it a try and let me know what you think on the FineSoccer Forum
Have a great day!
Lawrence
FineSoccer Drill 171
Here is an activity that works on laying balls off, movement without the ball, passing, spinning away from a defender and finishing.
Start with 5 cones in a line each 5 yards apart 22 yards from goal. There will be two lines of players. See diagram below for set up
The first player in line 2 sprints to the first cone. Player 1 passes it to him. Player 2 plays the ball back on an angle and then spins in the opposite direction. Player 1 passes the ball through the first set of cones to 2. Player 2 goes wider and receives a pass from l through the 2nd and third cones. They work their way down the line and once they get through the last set of cones whoever has the ball shoots. See diagram below
Some of the keys here are that neither player runs in straight lines. Instead, they bend each run to get their body positioned properly in order to receive the ball. Also, the players in line 2 must spin in the opposite direction that she passes with her first pass. This means that since she is receiving the first pass with her back toward the goal and she lays the ball off softly to her left in the diagram above, she would spin to her right which will make it harder on the defender in a real game. Also ALL passes have to be hit one touch with NO exceptions.
If the players do everything correctly they get to shoot the ball. If they make a mistake (ball doesn't go through the cones, the player in line 2 spins the wrong way, 2 touches etc) they don't get to shoot. Players frequently don't think it's fair that if they make a mistake they don't get to shoot but the reality is that is the way the game works as well. Accurate pass to players with good movement off of the ball results in goal scoring opportunities. Bad passes or bad movement results in loss of opportunities.
As soon as the players are through the first set of cones the next two players go so even though it looks like only 2 players are working at a time, 2,3 or even 4 groups can be going at one time.
Give this activity a chance and let me know what you think on the FineSoccer Forum
Have a great day!
Lawrence
Today's subject deals with coaches speaking with teams.
There are currently 27 complete training sessions online for the Full Season Youth Training Sessions. To learn more about how to organize and run training sessions for youth teams please go to http://finesoccer.com/full_season.htm
It's interesting watching when coaches try to speak to their teams and to see how some coaches have the player's complete attention and others are talking while their players are running around and not paying any attention at all. There are a few things that will help to keep the players attention.
The most obvious way to lose a teams attention is to stand in a way so that the players have to stare into the sun in order to look at you when you are talking. Since it's extremely uncomfortable to look at the sun, they will quickly divert their eyes and as soon as they start to do this, in most cases, the coach has lost their focus. Whenever possible, the coach should be the one facing the sun and which allows the players to look at the coach and not have to deal with the sun.
Another thing a coach should take into consideration is what is behind him when he is talking to a team. If the coaches back is to a field where a game is being played, in many cases the players will start to watch the game instead of paying attention to the coach. Taking the background into consideration when talking to a team can make a big difference in the success (or failure) of the discussion.
Eye level is another factor to consider especially when dealing with players. It's common for a coach to talk to a team while the team is sitting on the ground and the coach is standing up. The problem with this is it forces the players to look up for an extended period of time in order for them to watch the coach when he is speaking. This is an uncomfortable position to be in (if you don't believe me next time you are sitting down try looking up for a few minutes and see how "comfortable" it really is). If the players are sitting down, it frequently will help if the coach sits down as well so the players can look directly at the coach instead of forcing the players to look up at the coach. This does require the coach positioning himself so that all of the players can see him. It's also amazing how much easier it is to talk "with" the players from that level instead of "down" to the players by getting down to their level.
When coaching younger/shorter players it's important to take eye level into consideration even when speaking with them when they are standing. It's important sometimes to crouch down to their level to have better communication and be able to speak to them eye to eye.
There are times when a coach might NOT want to be on the same level as the players when speaking. If he is having to take on an authoritative role he might want to be taller than them so this is a case of knowing the proper time and place for what you are trying to accomplish.
Another thing for a coach to do when speaking with a team is to keep it short. A player's attention span is very limited and as soon as the coach goes past this, almost everything will be lost. Keep things short and sweat and discussions will go better.
Lastly, a coach should consider finishing with a question. If the players know they will be asked a question at the end of the discussion they will have to pay attention in order not to be embarrassed by not knowing the answer. If a coach is explaining the next activity to the team he might finish his explanation with asking one player to quickly summarize the reason for the activity. Assuming this was explained already, the player should be able to do this quite quickly and easily which won't take much time but will ensure that the players pay attention.
There are numerous other things a coach can do to get and keep the players attention but hopefully this will give you something to think about to get started.
Any questions, comments or suggestions can be sent to Lawrence@finesoccer.com or they can be posted on the FineSoccer Forum at http://finesoccer.net
To subscribe to any of the FineSoccer Newsletters, please go to http://finesoccer.com/subscrib.htm
Have a great day!
Lawrence
Welcome to the FineSoccer Drills Newsletter. Today's featured activity is a game called Animal Ball.
There are currently 22 complete training sessions online for the Full Season Youth Training Sessions. To learn more about how to organize and run training sessions for youth teams please go to http://finesoccer.com/full_season.htm
Animal ball is a game that works on aggressiveness, winning balls in the air, passing,
defending and finishing. It can be done with as few as 8 players or as many as 18.
The field should be approximately 30 yards long and the width of the 18-yard box (44 yards wide). A full sized goal is on each end line with a keeper in each goal. There are two teams on the field. A server starts out wide and serves balls into the playing area in the air. Whichever team wins the ball tries to score by shooting into EITHER goal. This means you have two teams trying to win the ball in the air, and get a shot hit as quickly as possible. If the first team that wins the ball then loses it to the second team the second team then tries to score in either goal.
Animal ball works on winning the ball in the air (if a team doesn't like to win balls in the air you can put in a requirement that if the ball hits the ground from the initial serve without a player touching it first, it is a "dead ball" and a new ball gets served in it's place) and getting to goal quickly. While there is some passing in this game, it's more about the willingness to take a chance and shoot rather than passing the ball around till the perfect opportunity arises for a shot. This game is more about finishing than it is about shooting (when you work on shooting you frequently work on proper technique and placement of the plant foot etc but when you work on finishing it's frequently a case of being willing to put any part of the body on the ball to get it on goal).
First team to score 10 goals in Animal Ball wins the game.
This is a fun game for the players (almost any game that involves a lot of finishing will be fun for the players) and works on some very important parts of the game. Give it a try and let me know what you think.
Any comments, questions or suggestions should be sent to Lawrence@finesoccer.com or they can be posted on the FineSoccer Forum at http://finesoccer.net
To subscribe to any of the FineSoccer Newsletters
please go to http://finesoccer.com/subscrib.htm
Have a great day!
Lawrence
Welcome to the Soccer Newsletter. Today's subject deals with developing consistency in play.
There are currently 18 complete training sessions online for the Full Season Youth Training Sessions. To learn more about how to organize and run training sessions for youth teams please go to http://finesoccer.com/full_season.htm
One of the more frustrating parts of soccer as a coach, player or spectator is the lack of consistency in play. One moment you see a player score a great goal and later on in that very same game, the same player will have an almost identical opportunity and they put the shot far over the goal. Or, one moment you see a player in back make a great clearance of a ball and then in a similar situation they completely miss-hit the ball and create a scoring opportunity for the opponent.
While there are a number of reasons for this inconsistency ranging from poor technique to additional pressure from the opponent, the truth of the matter is that frequently the problem is that players try to do the impressive rather than the simple. An example is when a ball is crossed into the 18 and the player tries to volley the ball into the upper corner as hard as she can. Chances are this ball will end up sailing over the goal but on those rare occasions when it does go in, it looks spectacular. Instead of going for the spectacular in this situation, the smart player simply makes contact with the ball and redirects the ball into the back of the net. While some might not consider this to be as spectacular as the hard finish into the upper corner, it counts just the same and counts a lot more than the ball that goes over the goal.
On balls played into the box defensively, while people love to see the long clearance over midfield, sometimes the smart thing to do is simply touch the ball wide out of pressure. It might not appear as impressive but avoiding the goal scoring opportunity is what really counts at this point.
One of the top players I have ever worked with was a true star at the youth level but when people would come to watch him play, many would be disappointed because they wanted to see him win the ball in back, dribble through 8 players and score the spectacular goal. Instead they would see him win the ball and play the simple one touch pass to the open player and then provide support. This resulted in a lot less spectacular plays, but also resulted in a lot more goals and wins and happier teammates. Luckily the knowledgeable people who say him play appreciate the simplicity in his game.
The technically sound players who play simple and understand positioning are the ones who will be consistent in their play (consistently good). The ones who are looking for the spectacular are the ones who will occasionally do the spectacular (spectacularly good) but more often are the ones who will also be spectacularly bad in their play.
The old "KISS" theory still applies (if you don't know what KISS stands for it's "Keep it simple") so if you want consistency in your play, keep it simple.
Any questions comments or suggestions should be sent to Lawrence@finesoccer.com or they can be posted on the FineSoccer Forum at http://finesoccer.net
To subscribe to any of the FineSoccer Newsletters, please go to http://finesoccer.com/subscrib.htm
Have a great day!
Lawrence
FineSoccer Drill 169
Today's featured activity is a good way to work on receiving the ball with a defender on your back and either turning or playing it back where it came from.
Let's assume there are 15 players in the training group. Break them into 3 groups of 5's with different color bibs. Use a grid that is 40 x 40 (size can vary depending on space available as well as age of the players). Have one group spread out on the outside of the grid and the other two groups are in the middle. The two middle groups match up 1 v 1. See diagram below for an example of the setup
In the diagram below the Blue team (B) is on offense and the White team (W) is on defense. For a 2 minute period the Green players (G) on the outside try to pass the ball into a B player who then one touches the ball back to the G. After the 2 minute period is over the B's go to the outside, the W's become the offensive group and the G's become the defensive group. After a 2 minute period they switch again and the G's become the offensive group, the W's go to the outside and the B's become the defending group.
After the first rotation you can change the rules so that the offensive players in the middle must receive the ball and take 3 touches on the ball before playing the ball back to the player on the outside. This allows them to work on receiving the ball with pressure and maintaining possession. This is the type of things that a forward might have to do when receiving the ball while checking back to the ball.
The next rotation might have the offensive player in the middle receiving the ball and then having to play the ball to a different player on the outside. This will work on receiving the ball and turning with a player on the back. The outside players are working on playing the ball in a way that allows the offensive players to receive the ball and turn. If the defending player is on the attacking players right shoulder, the ball would be played in toward the left side of the attacking player so she can turn away from the defending player. Also, the players are working on communication as the players in the middle should be calling for the ball and the players on the outside should be letting the players on the inside know which way to turn and who is open for the return pass.
There are numerous other things you can do with this setup and not only does it work on many technical and tactical aspects of the game but it's also excellent fitness work if done at full speed.
Give this a try and let me know what you think on the FineSoccer Forum
Have a great day!
Lawrence
Welcome to the Soccer Newsletter. Today's subject deals with fans behavior on the sideline.
First, the Full Season Training Sessions are back for their third year with a major twist! Instead of showing how an older, college program runs it's training sessions, this years sessions will be with two youth teams (one girls and one boys). To learn more about the new Full Season Training Sessions, please go to http://www.finesoccer.com/full_season.htm. If you are more interested in the older ages, the 2002 sessions are still available from this page as well.
When working with youth players, one of the most difficult things for a player to do is play while being yelled at from the sidelines by a parent, spectator or fan. Professional players are paid a LOT of money and one of the "sacrifices" they make in return for this money is they are subjected to this type of yelling from the stands on a regular basis. However, when we are dealing with youth players, they are not prepared to handle much of the yelling that occurs from the sidelines and they should not be subjected to this yelling either.
It's natural for a parent to want to cheer for their son or daughter and that is perfectly acceptable but anything more than cheering actually can become a problem. For example, the player might be told to "go wide" as an outside midfielder in certain situations and because a parent has heard a coach yell, "get wide" the parent thinks this is an acceptable thing to do. The problem is that there are only certain situations when the player should get wide and other times when she should stay toward the middle. The only way for the player to understand this is by letting them try things and sometimes it will work which they can learn from and other times it will not work which they can also learn from. If they are being yelled at to do something from the sideline, are they really learning? Also, how much worse is it if they are being yelled at to do the wrong thing?
How many times have you heard a spectator to "kick it" or "boot it" when in reality the team would like to maintain possession? How many times have you heard spectators yelling at the ref and then you notice that the players start to do the same thing because it's what others are doing?
It's truly a sad thing when after a game a player is crying and when you ask them why they are crying they respond, "Because the parents were yelling at me". I wish I could say this never happens or rarely happens but with young players, it happens a lot more than it should.
If you are a parent, give some thought to whether you are acting in a positive or negative way on the sidelines. As a coach, how often do you meet with the parents and let them know what is expected of them on the sidelines? It's something that needs to be done early in a season to prevent this type of thing from happening and it becoming a problem within the team.
Any questions, comments or suggestions should be sent to Lawrence@finesoccer.com or they can be posted on the FineSoccer Forum at http://finesoccer.net
To subscribe to any of the FineSoccer Newsletters, please go to http://finesoccer.com/subscrib.htm
Have a great day
Lawrence
Check out the FineSoccer Forum at http://www.finesoccer.net
We would like to thank Lawrence Fine and FineSoccer.com for allowing us to publish this article on the NASL website. Please visit http://www.FineSoccer.com and sign up for Lawrence's free coaching newsletters and articles.
Created:
12/20/99
Last Updated:
03/26/07
Since
February 24, 1999
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