All Posts by Mike Saif

0 Transitions with Overlaps

By Matthew Carroll - Description: This is a twist on the classic transition game that helps players recognize opportunities to overlap within a game. Coaches should allow the game to start off naturally, and then stop midway through to ask players to identify when overlapping was effective, and when it was ineffective because they were

1 Using the Defensive Midfielder to Attack

By Matthew Carroll The key to the flexibility of the 4231 is the diverse applications of the two CDMs. The ability of one to push forward with the other providing defensive cover allows teams in the system to differentiate their attacks based on the positioning of the ball on the field. While this is a

0 GK Distribution Under Pressure

By Philip Cauchi - Title: Playing the ball with the feet under pressure Aim: To be able to play accurate vertical passes when under pressure. Key points: 1. Be light on the balls of the feet. 2. Oriented first touch. 3. Weight and direction of the kick (pass). Practice: Receive the ball to score in

0 Attack v Defense SSG

By Arthur Bell - Setup: Area – 2/3 of pitch. Players – 8 black, 4 yellow. GK x 1 Markers - 10 yellow, 4 red. Balls. Execution: Player 1 starts with the ball, passes to Player 2, then supports play. Player 2 passes the ball to Player 3, then supports play. Player 3 passes the

0 The Role of the Holding Midfielder – Defending eBook

0 Combination Play to Switch the Field

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

0 Distribution From the Holding Midfielder

By Mike Smith I have often used a holding mid with the idea of supporting defensive play. Most of the time this player is placed in front of the defensive line in the center of the field. However, as many teams want to quickly get the ball wide, up the field, or both, the holding

0 Attacking the Corners with a 3-5-2

By Matt Carroll A 3-5-2 provides plenty of attacking options in the midfield, but sometimes that can get messy, a “too many cooks” situation. Players can play on top of each other closing down passing or dribbling options, and in a effort to get on the ball players tend to crash central, reducing the width

1 Including Conditioning Into Regular Training Sessions - Part 1

By Philip Cauchi Question - I only have my players for two training sessions a week, so I have to do the fitness work in the regular training sessions.  Do you have any good drills where I can teach technique and even tactics while getting some conditioning work in? The below practices can aid in

0 1v1s For Soccer Speed

By Philip Cauchi Title: Soccer specific speed in a 1v1 situation. Theme: Soccer speed with the ball. Development of the soccer domains: Technical-tactical: Run fast with the ball, keep control of the ball and accuracy in the shot. Mental: Focus on finishing the attack even while under pressure from the defender. Socio-psychological: N/A. Physical: Quality

0 5v5 Transition Game

By Matthew Carroll - Description: This is a great drill for teaching transition moments both offensively and defensively. There are opportunities to discuss counter pressing, transitional passing patterns, width, depth, and can even be used as a game day warm up to start players focusing on the flow of the upcoming game. Setup: Create a

0 Interchange Relationships in a 4-2-3-1

By Matthew Carroll The 4231 Formation is a commonly used system because of the flexibility for tweaking it provides. The key for teaching this to players is to discuss the key relationships on the field they should have with their teammates. Although the team is made up of 11 players, having the players focus on

0 Saving Low Driven Shots Drills

By Philip Cauchi - Title: Saving low driven shots drills Aim: Save low driven shots aimed towards the corner of the goal. Outcomes: 1. Start in the ready position with the hips slightly inclined forward. 2. Take a step forward before diving to make the save. 3. Lead into the dive with the toes of

0 Switching Play Drill

By Arthur Bell - Setup: Area – 30yds x 20yds. Players x 18. Mannequins x 2. Markers x 4. Balls x 2. Execution: Both groups start at the same time, at the same end. Player 1 passes the ball to Player 2. Player 1 runs between the mannequins towards player 2. Player 2 lays off

0 The Role of the Holding Midfielder – Attacking eBook

0 Defensive Cover the Right Way

By Mike Smith Pressure, Cover, Balance. Foundations of defense. While tons of work is put into the various aspects of pressure, we as coaches often miss a chance to improve our team defense by only dealing with cover as the next player in line to pressure. For this reason, many players simply fly to the

0 Attacking From Wide Areas

0 Using Hunting Triangles

By Matt Carroll A quick Youtube search of the 1978 Dutch National Team reveals what pressing can look like when taken to its most extreme measures. Packs of roving players, up to 8 at a time, running full sprint at the opposition player on the ball leading to blind passes forward or out of bounds

0 How Do I Coach My Goalkeepers With No Goalkeeper Coach - Part 3

By Philip Cauchi Question - We don't have a goalkeeper coach, so I have to do all the GK training.  I have to get this done in regular training sessions with the team, so do you have any ideas for me to get my goalkeeper training done at the same time as my players? The

0 Aerobic Circuit With a Ball

By Philip Cauchi Title: Soccer specific aerobic circuit. Theme: Maintain the quality of soccer actions. Development of the soccer domains: Technical-tactical: Concepts of triangles, distances and angles, space creating and quick ball circulation. Mental: Attitude towards winning the ball immediately upon losing it. Socio-psychological: Communication (verbal and visual) and collaboration. Physical: Maintain the quality of

0 Side by Side Transition Game

By Matthew Carroll - Description: This small sided game is used to improve game and spatial awareness with a focus on utilizing the 6 to switch play. It can also be used to teach defensive positioning and 1v1s Setup: Create two grids that are connected in the middle. The size of the grid should be

1 Saving Low Driven Shots

By Philip Cauchi - Title: Saving low driven shots. Aim: Use the scoop technique to save shots close to the body. Outcomes: 1. Feet shoulder-width apart. 2. Stay behind the ball’s trajectory. 3. Eyes fixed on the ball. 4. Be light with the weight on the balls of the feet. 5. Arms and hands close

1 Passing Combination Drills

By Arthur Bell - Setup: Area – 30 yards x 30 yards Players x 12. Markers x 12. Balls. Two players at each of the corner yellow markers. One in the red marker gate. A ball at each corner. Execution: Passing in an anti-clockwise direction. The player who is standing in the middle of the

2 How Pep Guardiola's Teams Score Goals

By Matthew Carroll Pep Guardiola’s teams have been hailed as, to his annoyance, “tiki-taka” based teams. Teams that string together a million passes until they wear down the opposition into making a catastrophic mistake and then use that possession to exploit it. While Manchester City can play games where they can keep their possession stats