PAGE  43
by Gary Rue
garyrue@bellsouth.net
 

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.

Exercise of the Day - Center Halfback Game

The center halfbacks (CH) are the links between the backs and the forwards. They provide the angled positions for passes into the center and back out wide. They are the turning point of switching fields. They deliver the through balls behind the defense. In other words, they are critical to the success of a team's possession and attacking play.

The following exercise can be used to focus on the movement and passing of the CH. It is based upon systems that use at least two center halfbacks, such as a 4-4-2 or 3-5-2.

Setup: 
5v5+2 or 6v6+2 or 7v7+2; the (+2) are neutral attacking players; 60x45 field with two small goals (or a large goal with GK) on each goal line. Play is normal except the team in possession must pass the ball to one of the 2 neutral (center halfbacks) players every third pass.

Coaching points: 
The CHs should be centrally located. They should change their positioning based upon ball and the movement of their partner CH. When one CH is back the other is forward. The play should be restricted to one or two touches. They should be asked to play the way they are facing. Their prime objectives should be to find opportunities to switch the point of attack or to find penetrating forward passes. Otherwise, they should maintain possession with conservative and simple passes.

Variation: 
2v2+1 or 3v3+1 or 4v4+1 can be used for smaller sided games. The coach may want to restrict the CH from scoring in the small sided games. Also, he may or may not want any defensive pressure to be applied to the CHs, depending upon the level of skill.

Exercise of the Day - Stop The Through Ball

One of the prime positioning responsibilities of the flat back is to stop penetrating through balls. The following exercise helps a flat back learn to shift and position themselves in the face of an passes out of the opponents midfield.

Setup: 
With flat cones, create a horizontal channel of 10x60 yards. Inside the channel are the four defenders. On each side of the channel are 4-6 attacking players spread out across the whole width. For ease of switching the point of attack, the attackers may want to position a player forward with back to the channel (as if he was a checking forward player). The attackers should not be an a flat shape, but have some depth and width. The attackers move the ball around trying to off balance the defenders where they can deliver a pass past the defensive line to the attackers on the other side.

                  A

                                         A 
  A                                       o
                                                       A

                           A
^              ^                       ^              ^



                D           D           D          D

^             ^                    ^                   ^
                             A

                                                       A
A            A

                                     A

In this exercise, we will assume that the halfbacks are applying appropriate pressure and the backs are just in support of the halfbacks. In the example above, the ball is central and so are the backs. They have gotten closer together and moved towards the center. As the ball moves wide, they should shift to that side as well.

Notice the defenders have moved to closer to their back restricted line. This is because they are trying to stop the through ball. In a flat back, you want to create space between you and the ball when possible. If the ball is close to midfield, the space is 10-15 yards. It is 5-7 yards when the defense is backed up to its 18. If the ball is dropped further away, they should move forward. As the ball comes forward, they should move back.

Once the basic movement is trained, an attacker can be added to inside the channel. Now the defenders must mark this attacker, passing his on as the attacker moves side to side. Balls can be played into the attacker who can turn and pass or drop it back. If a defender must move forward to mark an attacker, the other backs must adjust their positions forward in order to not create too much space between the marking defender and the rest of the backs. This space creates angles for through balls. The diagram below shows the slight difference in positioning when an attacker must be marked in the
channel.

                  A

                                         A 
  A                                       o
                                                       A

                           A
^              ^                       ^              ^


                                          A
                                         D           
                     D            D              D

^             ^                    ^                   ^
                             A

                                                       A
A            A

                                     A

 

Exercise of the Day - Into the Corners

** Note, this exercise is certainly for older players (U14 and above)

• Purpose: 
  to train players to play balls over the top and towards the corners.
  
• Setup: 
  6v6, 7v7, 8v8; field size 60x40 minimum depending upon age and skill level; 10x10 grids are start 10 yards past the end lines along the touchline extended.
  
• Procedure: 
  Normal play, except teams score by playing a long ball into or towards the 10x10 grid for a teammate to run onto; players cannot make runs past the endline until the ball is played (offside).
  
  
• Coaching Points:
  
  • play balls into the grids from angles (from the central part of the field) as much as possible. Vertical balls down the touch do not provide the receiver with good receiving angles. Long vertical ground balls are better than vertical air passes.
    
  • play balls from the midfield or back; the players may try to work up to the endline to play the ball.
    
  • wings need to time their runs into the corners.
    
  • wings need to open up their runs towards the touchline to be in best body position to receive the pass.
    
  • best play is when ball is switched towards the center from the opposite side. Normally, the defense has shifted and the off-ball wing will have space to run into.
    
  • players tend to play towards their teammates and not to the space. If possible, put the more visible corner flags in the outside corner of the grids.
    
    
• Variations:
  
  • limit touches
  • allow attack to dribble across endline (score 1 for dribble, 3 for ball received by teammate in grid)
  • assign each team a shape
  • extend length of grids and connect to endlines to allow for short through balls from the forwards.

Exercise of the Day - Playing to a Target Player

 

• Focus: The session is designed to train players to play penetrating passes to forward players and to follow up with runs forward. These forward players
  are referred to targets in this session and are often lead players that are playing with their backs to the attacking goal.
  
• Setup: The practice setting is a 40x60 area that is bisected with a vertical line down the 60 yard length and then 4 horizontal lines, making for eight 15x20 grids. Flat cones are used to create the grids. The session is designed for 16 field players.
  
• Warm-ups: the whole team is in a large area inter-passing with constant movement with 6-8 balls. Players stop and stretch as needed. Play is changed
  to a two-man combination that will figure into the session. Player B (without ball) checks from distance to player A (with ball); A makes long pass to B and follows pass; B returns pass (one or two touch) to A, spins away and receives return pass from A. In this scenario, B is playing a similar role of the target player to be used in the session.
  
• 1v1: pair up players on opposite end lines in each of the 8 grids; play starts with a pass to player A and a defensive close down from player B. After a few rounds, rotate players.
  
• 1v1+2 (targets): merging two grids of players and using only 4 of the 15x20; attacker is to play ball to target player and move for return pass; players switch roles. Coaching points include passing technique to target player, attacker's run off defender to get free; target players movement to create passing angles and return pass technique.
  
• 2v1+1 (target): again using the 15x20 grids, attacking players always start on opposite end line from target player; the purpose is to play the ball to the target as the second attacker moves to receive return pass. Coaching points include second attacker's positioning to receive pass from first attacker and the making of the forward pass to the target player.
  
• 3v3+2 (targets): two groups of 4 merge; two small goals are setup at the end of a 20x30 grid; the targets are on opposite end lines; attackers can only score by passing to a target and scoring off the return pass. Variations can use restrictions on ball touches or players who receive pass from target. Coach the players to find the targets quickly and to get forward quickly.
  
• 4v4: using the 30x40 grids, put small goals at the end lines (large goals with GKs could also be used). Play is to emphasize at least one player getting forward to receive a long ball. Scores can only occur after a play to a target player. Different players should find a way to get forward. Offside should not be enforced. Look for "pictures" of good play.
  
• 8v8: using full field and large goals with goalkeepers. Look for "pictures" of good play.