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10
by Gary Rue
garyrue@bellsouth.net
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NOTE: Gary did not write these exercises and tips with the
idea that someone would publish them. I subscribe to the
Soccer-Coach-L e-mail list and Gary is one of the coaches that
posts extremely well thought out replies. These are some of
Gary's posts that I collected for use in coaching my own teams.
I approached Gary and he was gracious enough to allow me to
publish them here. If you like what you see or have a
question about one of the exercises you can reach Gary at
garyrue@bellsouth.net
There are
50+ more pages of Gary's posts
categorized at the Home Page of Exercises
of the Day by Gary Rue. Click here and enjoy.
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Goal Scoring
Techniques |
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Here are my notes from a recent seminar to improve runs into the
area.
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Goal Scoring Techniques
Chris Petrucelli, Univ. of Notre Dame Women's Coach 3/29/96
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Purpose:
To develop players who can score
goals under the pressure of game conditions.
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Setup:
Cones are placed parallel with the
touchline about 18 yards from the goal post. At about 12 yards out, the
cones are angled to about 8 yards from the goalpost. (this setup can be on
both sides or just one side of the goal.) This is the channel the wing
player is to run. Initially, there are players near each corner of the 18.
At one corner there is a wing (with ball) and a trailing defender. The
player at the other corner will make the near post run. An extra player
can be added to support the attack from the corner of the opposite 18.
This player must ensure that no missed or long crosses gets by him.
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Session:
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1. Player on wing dribbles to end line
(turning towards the near post along
the channel). The wing should take the dribble to goal (along the
goalline) if the defender allows it. The other attacker makes a hard near
post run, to about 2-3 yards off the goalline, just inside the near post.
The cross should be delivered knee high or below, usually with pace.
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2. Add a far post run, preferably from the
center about 25 yards out. The run must be wide and initially away from
ball. This player should get wide of the far post be at least 12 yards off
the goalline. It is critical that he not get to close to the goalline. Add
a defender to pick up the near post run. We want the wing to recognize the
near post is not available and cross the ball to the far post man. The
near post run should continue on through.
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3. Add a third attacker who runs to about
the 12 yard area (penalty mark). The wing is play a back angle to this
spot, normally this is a low ball. A defender is added to pick up the far
post run.
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4. Allow the two defenders to pick up
whomever they want. The wing has to decide which is the proper pass.
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Concluding Activity:
Set up the same channel of cones on both wings angling towards two goals
about 40 yards apart (see below). Put a wing player in each flank area and
play 3v3+1 neutral offensive player. The ball must be played to the flank
on each possession then put back into the seam for a scoring opportunity.
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* K
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
* 3 v 3
*
W
W
* + 1
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
* K
*
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Thoughts
about Field Conditions |
Conditional Thoughts
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As conditions worsen, passes should
become fewer and longer.
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On wet or rough fields, shoot at
every opportunity.
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Keep the ball low in high winds.
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"And as
water has no constant form,
there are in war no constant conditions."
Sun Tzu, The
Art of War |
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One
Good Turn |
Question:
I am trying to find more ways to incorporate turns into practices.
Any
suggestions?
ANSWER:
I like to incorporate certain moves and turns into specific training situations. For
instance, I run a switch fields setup where the GK distributes wide to a wing half. The
wing half carries the ball a few strides, then cuts the ball with the outside of the foot
chop towards the touch and plays it back to the supporting central player (sweeper, center
half, etc.), who then switches fields to the other wing half, who hits the diagonal
runner, etc..
I try to promote certain touches in
certain situations. In the above case, I don't want my wings turning to the inside, as
that is where the pressure is. This is an excellent time for the rarely used (but
important) outside of the foot chop. Of course, I make sure my warm-ups included any
specific touches I plan to incorporate in later activities. The activity is not the time
to learn how to do the technique.
The same could be true of the way
the central players receives and turns. His technique will be dependent upon how the ball
is played to him. This is a good time to implement specific turns and touches.
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Favorite
Coerver Moves |
I think that there are probably some basic and advanced Coerver moves that are favorites
of the coaches on this list. What I am asking is for you to explain your favorites for me
and others on the list. . . .
Following are the maneuvers I use as my basics:
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Inside of the foot chop, take it
away with outside of other foot
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The "V"; pull the ball
back with sole of the foot, take it away with the outside of the other foot
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Scissors; step from the inside in
front/over/behind the ball (fake playing the ball with the outside of the foot), take away
with the outside of the other foot
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Step-over; step over with one foot
(fake playing the ball with the inside of the foot), plant and pivot, take the ball away
with the inside of the other foot
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Pull back behind the support leg,
take it away with the same foot
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Roll the sole of the foot over the
ball inside to outside, lift the ball with the outside of the foot (as if over the
defender's tackling foot) and take it away
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Outside of the foot chop, stretch
(important) the leg across the top of the ball and chop it back, take it away with the
outside of the same foot
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Step on the ball, hop off with the
same foot, take away with outside of other foot
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The inside chop and the "V" are used to warm up the touches. The scissors is the
first of the fake moves that requires more body flexibility by moving in one direction and
quickly shifting to another. The outside of the foot chop is a good flexibility move
while, the step over requires maximum flexibility and body rotation. The behind the leg
pull-back and ball lift are more foot skill moves and the step on the ball requires
dexterity.
I believe it is important to understand the fundamentals of these moves. I've seen too
many experienced players not understand the purpose of certain moves. Take the scissors
for instance. The player must sell his opponent that he is taking the ball in a certain
direction. To be effective, the foot is taken across the ball quickly, the shoulders and
hips turn towards the faked direction, and the player get low (bends the knees) and
explodes on the takeaway.
As another word of caution, don't inhibit creativity. Use the moves as basics, but let
them find out what works best for them. Once they get the foot touches down, focus on the
rest of the body.
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Timing: Feet and/or Space? |
The importance timing and the appropriate area of a passes must be stressed in older
players (>14) and introduced in U12's. To do this, may require some intial setup with
cones or other training devices. However, dynamic play with timing as a focus is the best
learning ground.
IMHO, most timing problems are often a direct result of lack of attention to good passing
technique. Older players in particular seem to want to use some creative technique every
time they make a pass. They have no problem popping the ball in the air when a rolling
ball is sufficient. Once the pass is made, their job is done. It not their fault if their
teammate can't receive a ball properly in traffic.
I also believe that the player making the run has as much timing responsibility as the
passer. If the player does not open up to receive the ball (with a curved run), doesn't
not show quickly and with intent, then the passer must guess where and how to play the
pass.
Because of poor runs, the pass
often has too perfect.
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Parental/Child
Development |
Today (Thursday,
6/6/96) only, check out the URL below on
how "Parents can help kids develop healthy attitude about sports":
http://www.kentuckyconnect.com/heraldleader/news/0606/fun.html |
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The topic headings that are:
1. Be a good role model.
2. Provide opportunities for children to be exposed to different sports.
3. Follow their lead.
4. Don't push.
5. A nudge might be OK.
6. Be involved.
7. Don't be too involved.
8. Seek a balance.
9. Assess the competitive aspect.
10. Remember, they are children.
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Also included is the topic
"What you can expect" - excerpts from
"Children and Sports Skills: A Guide for Parents and Coaches" |
- Ages 4 to 6
Tends to keep ball once getting control
of it.
Is easily distracted by things around the athletic event.
Attention span varies widely. At 4, might not be able to understand games; at 6, might be
able to understand game basics and control a ball.
Has difficulty grasping concept of teamwork.
Is able to kick stationary ball, but has trouble kicking moving ball.
Has little concern about winning or losing.
Might not understand instructions from coaches.
- Ages 7 and 8
Begins to understand team concept.
Can catch gently thrown ball.
Can learn and understand rules of game.
Thinks playing is the major thing; winning is not a major concern.
Can become easily embarrassed by negative criticism.
Might get overloaded by parents and fans giving instructions; needs direct,
unambiguous directions from coach.
- Ages 9 and 10
Has mature motor skills -- can throw,
catch, kick or hit a ball with a bat or racket.
Has a well-established team concept.
Is easily embarrassed by negative criticism.
- Ages 11 and 12
Can develop offensive and defensive
tactics in team games.
Combines physical skills such as leaping, rolling, dribbling, running,
throwing, etc.
Can throw and catch while being guarded by an opponent.
Can accept decisions of officials, even when disagreeing.
Understands that practice improves skills.
- Ages 13 and 14
Combines physical skills at a more
competent level.
Has tendency to practice skills learned in practice on own.
Shows growing interest in keeping body fit.
Understands ethical and unethical behavior.
Recognizes long-term physiological and psychological benefits in physical activity.
Accepts instructions of coach. Might become angry at negative fan or parent yelling during
games.
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Anticipating
Play |
QUESTION:
Does anyone have any suggestions to improve the ability of players at this age (U13) to visualize and anticipate play?
ANSWER:
Anticipating play is in my opinion the most difficult thing to teach. I worked with a
coach that frequently yelled, "Anticipate!" onto the pitch during play. This did
about as much good as talking about it at halftime--anticipate what? where? how? Everyone
agrees it should be done, but performing this feat is another story.
I believe the secret is to use ROTs (rules of thumb) for situations. If players can
respond positionally to situations, the results MAY be as good as a player that can read
and anticipate the next play.
My Ten ROTs when in possession of
the ball are as follows:
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always have a player in support (behind
the ball) at all times
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supporting players should have as much
depth as the opposition allows and be at an angle towards center of the
ball
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short passes forward or square
should be followed with a hard run forward by the passer <note: I call this my yellow
light run. In the movie Starman, (Jeff Bridges) the alien described a traffic light as
"Green means go fast, yellow means go VERY fast."
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central players forward of the ball
should check to (come back towards) ball when it is on the flank
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flank players forward of the ball should
check to ball when it is in the center
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central players square of the ball should
check to the ball
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flank players square of the ball (in the
center) should look to move as wide as possible
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off-ball flank players should
constantly look for open space forward to "quietly" run into when the ball is
forward
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central players should look for
open space in front of them to fill when the ball is forward
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any player directly forward of the ball
(i.e., they have to look over their shoulder to see the ball) should
"clear area," either with a diagonal run to the ball side or a check
back and wide of the ball - when a forward player can see the ball, goal
and last defender without turning his head, he can "kill some grass" as
he is in good through ball position
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How do we train the players for this ROT-ten direction--we do a
lot of 3 man combos, emphasizing the check run and the drop
positioning. In ball possession activities, we focus on creating
space with runs and filling the vacated space behind the run. We
do 5v0, 6v0, 7v0, or 11v0 situational walk-throughs with a finish on goal. In scrimmages we really
stress positional balance and player movement. In other words, we don't work on
anticipation of play per se, we work on recognition of opportunities. I happen to think it
makes more sense--and they comprehend the four letter word LOOK better than the 4 syllable
word ANTICIPATE.
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