All Posts by Mike Saif

0 Teaching Quality Finishing

By Philip Cauchi Level of ability: This session is aimed for average to above average levels of ability. The players should have an understanding of the individual principles of play such as playing with the head up, adapting an open body profile, receiving and controlling the ball using the back foot and playing forward using

0 Receiving to Shoot in a Private Session

In this week's Animated Drills Video, Matthew Carroll shares private shooting session. The diagram is created with the Academy Soccer Coach software. See more at www.academysoccercoach.co.uk 

0 Pressing in a 3-2-4-1

By Matt Carroll The 3-2-4-1 is unique for its M shaped defensive covering system in the back that doesn’t sacrifice forward attacking options as much as the 4-2-3-1 does. It also provides more firepower for pressing. This article will discuss some tactical concepts for pressing with this formation. Just as in the 4-2-3-1 the press

2 How to Make Defending Interesting For Your Players

By Danny Carvalho Question - “My players don't like it when we work on defending. I coach U11's. Any ideas on how I can make my defending sessions more interesting and fun for my players?” My plan A for a motivating session is always to reward them for performing the expected actions or behaving in

0 Team In Team Out Continuous Play

By Philip Cauchi Title:  Team in – Team out: Continuous play. Area of practice: 30 yards by 25 yards. Number of players: Two goalkeepers and twelve outfield players.  The outfield players are divided into three groups. Workload:  Continuous play for eight minutes with a rest period of three minutes in between series.  Play three of

0 Competitive 1v1s to Goal

By Keith Scarlett - Setup at the halfway line as in diagram below. Once ball is played forward and the first person in each line takes off after it. The player who gets to the ball first has to stop for one second, and then goes 1v1 against the defender as quickly as possible.  

0 The Role of the Withdrawn Forward – Defending eBook

0 Interval Sprint Dribbles

By Matt Carroll - The purpose of this individual technique has two main purposes. First is to increase sprint speed by allowing for recovery between sprints to ensure that they are done at max capacity. The second is to help players begin to increase their ability to receive the ball at high speeds. Setup: Set

0 Covering for Attacking Fullbacks

By Matthew Carroll While commonly associated with a more defensive mindset, the 5-4-1 does allow for some creative forms of attacking football. Most notable of these is the use of attacking fullbacks making deep lying runs or counter attacking dribbles to exploit over aggressive opponents throwing numbers at the back five. The best way to

0 Quick Footwork With Reactions

By Philip Cauchi - Aim: Getting quickly into position to make the save. Key points: 1. Quick short side-steps. 2. Weight on the balls of the feet. 3. The weight of the body inclined slightly forward. 4. Leg cross-over technique to quickly get into position. 5. Arms to the side and in front of the

0 Building a Session Around Finding Space

In this week's Animated Drills Video, Matthew Carroll shares how to build a session around finding space. The diagram is created with the Academy Soccer Coach software. See more at www.academysoccercoach.co.uk 

0 Build-Up Play 1-3-4-3 v 1-4-3-3

By Philip Cauchi Level of ability: This training session is targeted for high level amateurs up to professional players who have a good tactical understanding and how one system can uses its strengths while exploiting on the weaknesses of the opponents. Adaptations: The session is targeted to end in an 11v11 match. Therefore the ideal

0 Shape of the 3-5-2 Formation

By Matt Carroll The 3-5-2 formation has been gaining popularity among many teams in the Premier League who want to exploit the versatility of the wingback positions and keep a strong presence in the midfield while maintaining two full time strikers.  This article will review the basic shape  of the 3-5-2 in its setup as

0 How to Teach Your Players to Delay When Defending

By Danny Carvalho Question - “When defending, my players "dive in" too often and don't win the challenge. What drills can I use to teach my players to delay and be more patient?” One of my favorite works is the individual defensive skills and tactics. Most people think it’s too hard and challenging but it

0 Transition 1v1s

By Philip Cauchi Title:  Transition 1v1s. Area of practice: 15 yards by 12 yards. Number of players: Six to eight players maximum. Workload:  Work continuously for five minutes with the players rotating all the time.  Therefore the players rest between repetitions as part of these five minutes.  Perform twice (2 x 5 minutes with a

0 Active Shooting Drill

By Keith Scarlett - Place cones and balls as in diagram below. One player starts off with the first cone opposite the pile of balls. This player then runs around the first cone, receives a pass and takes a shot on goal. They then repeat this step around each cone. By Keith Scarlett

0 Triangle Corner Play

By Matthew Carroll This corner play combines the physicality of placing numbers into the box with the agility and speed that comes from corner plays that start outside of, or at the top of, the box. The first row of players should line up on the near post, far post, and someone should look to

0 Goalkeeper Communication On Crosses

By Philip Cauchi - Introduction: Dealing with crosses is often a major headache for goalkeepers. This holds true when playing against opponents whose strengths lie in this aspect of the game. Dealing with crosses is a cohesive team effort. First we aim to eliminate or reduce as much as we can the opponents’ strength of

0 Dribbling Passing and Receiving Drill

By Arthur Bell - Setup: Area – Half pitch. Players x 12 - 20 Markers x 12 red. Balls x 4 Outside players have a ball each. Execution: Player 1, dribbles towards cone in front, turns and dribble back to initial marker and turns again. Player then plays a pass to player 2 in the

0 Possession to Switch Point of Attack

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

0 Opening Up After Recovering Possession

By Philip Cauchi Level of ability: The players should be well familiar with the concept of making the pitch as big as possible when in possession of the ball. Being able to play both short and long passes is a must as is receiving and controlling the ball with an oriented touch. Adaptations: Reducing the

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