All Posts by Mike Saif

0 Corner Combination Play

By Anthony Hazelwood The following activity has an 18 x 18 yd. box area where players will play 2 vs. 2. An additional triangle on each side is placed three yards from each side. Pairs will play for 90 seconds and then switch/rotate with corner players. This will achieve adaptations in the anaerobic energy system

0 Musical Cones

By Matthew Carroll - Description: The Musical Cones Activity is a variation of the children’s game musical chairs. It is a fun warm up activity that will get players focusing on their control on the dribble, as well as their balance and ability to stop the ball. Recommended for younger age groups but can be

0 Sheffield Unites 3-5-2 Formation – Attacking eBook

0 Using Two False 9's

By Mike Smith I have a player on my high school team who eats breathes and sleeps soccer ( Yes, just one. We are a small school, I wish I had more.). He loves not only playing the game, but also studying the game. A few years ago, actually when he was a junior varsity player,

0 The Sweeper Keeper

By Mike Smith - I wrote a previous tactical based article on the role of the sweeper keeper in support of an aggressive high pressure attack. While this is not usually my preferred style of play, from a keeper training aspect, many of the points of focus in using the “ sweeper keeper” can help

0 The X Passing Drill

By Arthur Bell - Setup: An area 30 x 30 yards. Players x 16. Cones x 8. Balls x 4. Execution: Four players at each corner. Second player in each corner has a ball in their hands. First player in each corner sprints into the small central box and turns 90 degrees to the left.

1 Defending and Pressing Against a 4-3-3

By Philip Cauchi The following is a training session which complements the video analysis done by coach Evert van Zoelen from WORLD CLASS COACHING. It is about defending and pressing in a 1-4-4-2 system of play against an opposition playing in a 1-4-3-3. The key principles and sub-principles of play are highlighted in the following

0 Technique Triplets Passing, Turning and Fitness

By Keith Scarlett This activity works on technique, first-touch, passing, receiving, turning and fitness. Set-up: The players break into groups of three. Two players start 40 yards apart with the third player in the middle. Each player on the outside has a ball while the player in the middle does not. How it Works: The

0 Exercises to Train Visual Perception Part 1

By Philip Cauchi Question - Do you have exercises where I can train "Visual Perception" where the players will be better at scanning the area? Try these exercises and see how they work for you. Exercise 1: Passing by numbers. Area: 8 yards x 8 yards with cones or poles marking the corners. Load: 6

0 Team Defensive Transition – Aerobic Capacity – Match Endurance

By Anthony Hazelwood The following activity educates a team to defensively transition effectively and stop the opponent from breaking into their attacking third. The specific fitness target is match endurance while adapting the player’s aerobic capacity in an extended small-sided format. When preparing the activity, if needed, concentration and difficulty levels may be increased by

0 No Elimination Knockout

By Matthew Carroll - Description: No Elimination Knockout is a game that creates systematized chaos in which the structure of the game is constantly changing from a individual game into a team orientated one. The defensive side works mainly on pressing and denying space to their opponents Setup:A grid is created in which one team

0 4-4-2 Defending eBook

0 Half Spaces and the Five Five

By Mike Smith I had the pleasure of writing an e-book titled How Pep Guardiola Wins with Inverted Fullbacks. During my research I discovered how much focus Guardiola put on “ half spaces” and how effective this understanding had been to Man City’s success. In addition, I began to understand how the majority of the time,

0 Effective Goalkeeper Communication

By Mike Smith - A vocal keeper is a must, however there is a saying in the educational field which I find holds very true in sports as well – “ Just because you can talk, doesn’t mean you can communicate”. One of the first things I usually find myself doing with new teams is

0 Two Goal Shooting Drill

By Arthur Bell - Setup: An area 40 x 30 yards. Goals x 2. Goalkeepers x 2. Outfield players x 5 – 8. Supply of balls. Execution: Player A passes into the Player B and makes a supporting run. Player B sets the Player A up for a shot at goal. Player A must react

0 Playing Through the Opponents Defense

By Philip Cauchi In this session we identify how through securing possession we can play through the opponents’ defence. We start our plan by asking ourselves structured questions which will guide us on designing the training session. The same questions can be asked to the players so that they themselves arrive to the solutions of

0 4v4 Flank Game

By Keith Scarlett This activity is a 4 v 4 game plus 2 flank players plus 2 neutral players to regulation goals. Two goals should be set up about 25 metres apart. The field is 30 metres wide. A channel is made along the sidelines 5 metres wide. Each group puts on the field, one

0 4-4-2 Attacking eBook

0 The Benefits of Wing Play

By Philip Cauchi Question - What are the benefits of good wing play and attacking from wide? Our main aim in soccer is to score more goals than our opponents to win the match. It is therefore imperative that in possession we aim to play vertically as much as possible to break defensive lines and

3 Sprinting Rondos

By Anthony Hazelwood The following activity has three 10 yd. x 10 yd. rondo areas at 15 yards away from each other. Each rondo grid will have 5 players and they will play a 4 vs. 1 activity. When playing, the defender in the middle just needs to touch the ball to rotate with another

0 The Plus Minus Game

By Matthew Carroll - Description: The plus minus game is a high intensity small sided game with built in rest periods for players. The purpose is to create a high level of intensity with a variety of numerical advantages and disadvantages. Setup:A field is set up with the 18 then continues 30ft out. At the

0 Central Triangle Plus Width

By Mike Smith I was asked this week by a fellow coach for a scouting report on a team in my district, which is currently ranked 26th in the state. He was overly concerned with formation in my opinion so what I told him to do was disrupt the triangle in the middle and force play

0 Top Down and Down Up Save Progression

By Mike Smith - Try this simple training progression to help improve your keeper’s quickness and reaction time, I call it Top Down / Down Up. How often do we shoot on the keeper, allowing them to make one save and then giving them recovery time – regardless of what happens with the ball after

1 Pass and Move Drill

By Arthur Bell - Setup: 5 - 8 players. Cones x 3 Supply of balls. Execution: Player A passes on ground to player B. Player A then runs to half way. Player B receives and passes to player C. Player B follows the pass to player C. Player C receives and passes to player A.