Welcome to the FineSoccer Drills Newsletter. Today’s featured activity works on finishing around the 18 and dealing with pressure.
Start with a server with some balls around 25 yards from goal. A forward starts on the 18 and a defender is marking the forward. A keeper is in goal.
The server plays the ball into the forward and the forwards job is to get a shot hit (and ideally, to score)
The defenders job is to stop the attacker.
What frequently happens in a game is the ball gets played into a forward in a similar situation and the defender pressures the forward who then loses the ball because they weren’t prepared for the pressure and, in many cases, weren’t prepared for the contact that will most likely occur in this type of a situation. Because of this it’s important that the defenders be willing to make contact in this type of activity AND that the attackers be willing to both handle this type of contact and to be willing to initiate the contact (I’m not suggesting the players should foul but the reality is that soccer is a contact sport when the ball is in this type of situation so in order to be prepared to deal with it in a game the players must prepare for it in training).
As soon as the first two players finish, the next two players take their turn.
Next you can add an outlet player for the forward. This player starts 5 yards back and is available to receive a pass to relieve pressure but this player is limited to one touch.
The key here is for the forward not to forget that their primary purpose is to score so the supporting player is an option but not necessarily the first option.
Players ability to handle 1 v 1 situations is usually dependent upon the number of times they have seen these situations so recreating as many as possible is extremely beneficial for the players. To see other ideas check out the DVD 25 Exercises To Train Competitive 1 v 1 Play by John Walker
Have a great day!
Lawrence
