All Posts by Mike Saif

0 Playing Without a True Number 9

By Matt Carroll The #9 is easily the most identifiable role in the whole sport. The idea of the strong, powerful talisman baggin 30+ goals is an image every player shooting on the net in their backyard conjures, but is the 9 a necessary role that every team has to field? What if your best

0 The Role of the Withdrawn Forward – Attacking eBook

0 Make Possession Drills and Games Fun

By Danny Carvalho Question - “Sometimes when I work on possession at training sessions, the players get bored. They want to play games or shoot on goal. Do you have any possession drills or games that might do a better job of keeping the interest of my players?” Here goes a great idea that will

0 Crazy 1v1s

By Philip Cauchi Title:  1v1s all over the place. Area of practice: 20 yards by 20 yards. Number of players: Eight players grouped into four pairs. Workload:  2 sets of 6 repetitions x 30 seconds each repetition with a 90 seconds rest between repetitions and three minutes rest between sets. Description of the practice: The

0 Short and Simple Fitness Drill

By Keith Scarlett - This drill can be done with or without a ball. Two rows of cones 10 yards apart, staggered. Player starts at the front left cone and sprints to the first cone in front of them. The player then backpedals to the cone back and to their right. They then sprint to

0 Goal Kick Routine for Teams that Struggle Aerially

By Matthew Carroll With an ever increasing focus on playing out the back goal kicks have moved from a mundane element of the game to a useful attacking set piece that helps attack minded teams set up the opposition how they want. They can play short and draw opponents forward to beat a press, or

0 Dealing With Pressure From Back Passes

By Philip Cauchi - Introduction: The modern game requires the goalkeeper to be more active in the offensive organization and offensive transition phases of the game. It is therefore of no coincidence that goalkeepers need to be good and very confident with the ball at their feet while under pressure from the opponents who try

0 1v1 Small-Sided Game

By Arthur Bell - Setup: Area – 20yd x 20yd box. Players x 4 black, 4 yellow & 2 red Markers x 9 red. Balls Execution: All players stay in their zone. Each team tries to work the ball from one end red player to the other. Players have unlimited touches. The same end red

0 Counter-Attacking From Deep

By Philip Cauchi Level of ability: Ideally the players should have a sound technical foundation in passing and receiving the ball under opposition pressure. Therefore the players should be able to understand basic visual communication, perceive key stimuli to make decisions, and pass the ball (execute the decision) with accuracy. Adaptations: To increase the time

0 Attacking When Down to 10 Players

By Matt Carroll In a game dominated by the concept of seeking numerical overloads, it makes sense that going down to 10 men can often be seen as a sign to pack things in and pray for the best. Teams down to 10 men, usually later in the game, tend to “park the bus” and

0 How to See the Switches

In this week's Animated Drills Video Matthew Carroll shares a drill to train your players how to see opportunities to switch the play. The diagram is created with the Academy Soccer Coach software. See more at www.academysoccercoach.co.uk 

0 Zonal Defending For Young Players

By Danny Carvalho Question - “My players have just moved to the 11v11 age group. I have done some training sessions on the back four and zonal defending, but we keep breaking down. Sometimes players follow the opposition and man mark which destroys our zonal and spacing positioning. How can I help my young players

0 Soccer-specific high intensity endurance

By Philip Cauchi Title: Soccer-specific high intensity endurance Aim:  To develop the players’ ability to perform many quality soccer actions per minute.    Introduction:  The following practice develops the players’ ability to perform many soccer actions per minute but also for them to quickly adapt and adjust their position according to the needs of the team

0 1v1 to Two Goals

By Keith Scarlett - One 20 x 20 yard grid split into 2 10 x 10 yard grids. Players play 1v1 in the large grid. There is a neutral player with balls outside of the grid. The neutral player plays a ball in and the attacker tries to get to it first and attack one

0 The Role of the Center Forward – Defending eBook

0 Hybrid Zone for Defending Set Pieces

By Matthew Carroll Hybrid Zone for Defending Set Pieces The zone for defending corners has become a much derided tactics, the main criticism being it leaves too many question marks for defenders in such a high intensity moment. There is truth in this since it can lead to situations where both players go to the

0 Visual Quick Reactions

By Philip Cauchi - Title: Reacting quickly to visual stimuli. Aim: To develop quick reflections specifically for goalkeepers. Key points: 1. Ready stance in goal. 2. Focus on the position of the ball. 3. Look at the hips of the attacker to anticipate where the shot is aimed. Practice: Shooting with three goals. Preparation: Three

0 Give and Go Drill

By Arthur Bell - Setup: Area – 20yd x 20yd box. Players x 6 Markers x 6 red. Balls Execution: Player 1 plays to Player 2 and then closes Player 2. Player 2 plays a “one two” off Player 3 and around Player 1. As soon as Player 2 has played the “one-two”, Player 3

0 Off the Ball Movement

By Philip Cauchi Aim: Progress the attack. Team function: In Possession. Key concepts: 1. Off-the-ball movement to open passing lanes. 2. Create passing angles. 3. Attract defenders to create space. 4. Staggered lines. 5. Control with the back foot. 6. Do not turn into pressure. Practice 1: Receive and play forward on the half turn.

0 Defending Against A Possession Team in a 9v9 Setting

By Matt Carroll To start off it is not recommended that this be used at the 9v9 level, rather than in short sided games for older players as a teaching method. This strategy can be used as a defensive way to neutralize a team's advantages in possession if they are a team that likes to

0 Competitive Shooting Drill Your Players Will Love

In this week's Animated Drills Video Matthew Carroll shares a competitive shooting drill that your players will love.The diagram is created with the Academy Soccer Coach software. See more at www.academysoccercoach.co.uk 

0 Relay Games For Soccer Endurance

By Philip Cauchi Title: Relay Games For Soccer Endurance Aim: To develop soccer-specific endurance Introduction: The following are three relay games that target the development of soccer-specific endurance. Although personally I am more in favour of global and small-sided games to develop endurance, these might prove handy in introducing variety to the training routine, to

0 How to Take Advantage of Speed

By Danny Carvalho Question - "I have a very fast center forward who is almost always the fastest player on the field. Do you have any suggestions on how we can take advantage of his speed?" Be the fastest player on the field can be a blessing and a curse. It will always depend on

0 3v2 vs 3v2

By Matthew Carroll - Description ; The 3v2 vs 3v2 drill can be used to either focus on the attacking players or the defending players. With the focus on the attacking players the teaching points can be moving with pace to take advantage of numerical superiority, scoring off numerical mismatches, or counter pressing. If the