All Posts by Mike Saif

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.

0 Forced Man-Marking

By Keith Scarlett This activity works on 1v1 defending, pressure, cover, recovery and defensive communication. Set-up: The playing area is 25 x 20 metres. Only one ball will be in play at a time. There are two-lines on either end of the pitch, the end-line; which is at either end of the playing area and

7 Defensive Communication

By Philip Cauchi The practices that form this session target to develop the communication levels between the defenders and to recognise when to remain compact and delay play and when to be more aggressive in order to win the ball. To keep things simpler and highlight the details that both the players and the coach

0 Positional Play eBook

0 1v1 Speed Reaction

By Anthony Hazelwood The following activity has a 15 yd. x 15 yd. playing area where two teams split up and form a single file line located at the sides of the grid. On the coach’s signal, the first player from each line will sprint to the cone located at the middle of the grid.

0 Sideways Transition

By Matthew Carroll - Description: The Sideways Transition activity is designed to recreate the transition moment from a 50/50 ball. Setup: A 25x25 grid is arranged with two full sized goals at either end arranged 15yds away from either end of the grid. Goalkeepers are placed in either goal. Teams are arranged into two teams,

0 What Are Some Good 9v9 Formations?

By Philip Cauchi Question - What are some good 9v9 formations? Here is a breakdown of some 9v9 formations and their pro's and con's.  Hope it helps. 1-3-3-2 system of play. Progression to the 11v11 game: 1-4-4-2 by adding a player in both the defensive and midfield lines. 1-3-5-2 by adding the two wing backs

0 Discussion – Getting Started Again After the Pandemic

The Covid-19 pandemic has changed the sports landscape...and changed the world.  As we come through the other side of the pandemic, the world will have a new normal, but how will this affect sports, and soccer?Here, we discuss the how do we get started again? Coaching our kids, resolving the season, the pro game, social

0 The Pros and Cons of the Triangle Midfield

Most teams play with three central midfielders in some kind of shape.  The Triangle Midfield is mostly played with either one holding midfielder and two attacking midfielders or two holding midfielders and one attacking midfielder.Here, we discuss the pro's and con's of the Triangle Midfield, including the qualities each position should have and the various

0 Study the Shooters

By Mike Smith - I am a firm believer in the ideals of probability, muscle memory and geometry. I think all of these are key aspects of good fundamental keeper training. However, at some point, a keeper has to be able to rely on their own unique abilities – just like a natural goal scorer

0 Diamond Passing Drill

By Arthur Bell - Setup: 10 - 16 players - working in a 20 x 20 area. 4 Cones. Supply of balls. Execution: The ball is passed round the diamond. Players follow their own pass. Variations: 1. A1 passes to B1 and then runs to B1’s position. B1 passes to C1 and follows his pass.

0 Compact Attacking

By Mike Smith I am absolutely a believer in getting the ball out wide to the flag to hit in crosses as a bread and butter style of offense. I also understand the idea of using width to make the field too big for any opponent to cover. However, what if your team just isn’t good

0 3-5-2 Attacking eBook

0 Pros and Cons of Counter Attacking

Counter-Attacking used to be reserved for underdog type teams who would sit back and defend and hope to sneak a win by scoring a goal on a fast break, counter-attack. But teams like Liverpool with Jurgen Klopp at the helm are now using quick counter-attacking as their style of play...and have done so with a

0 Various Ways to Penetrate the Opposition

By Philip Cauchi The aim of this session is to achieve penetration. Penetration can be achieved through various means but the most important outcomes are to have width in attack, length, movement off-the-ball, timing of passes through seams in the defence and timing of runs behind the defence. Session title: Achieve penetration. Total duration: Approximately

0 Sniffer Game

By Keith Scarlett This activity works on shooting and finishing. Set-up: Add an 18 x 44 yard grid to the penalty area as shown. Place a goal opposite the regulation goal at the end of the new grid. There are 3 defenders and two attackers inside each grid. Goalkeepers are in each net. The two

0 Soccers Biggest Problem

Let's face it, diving in soccer is cheating.  Pretending you have been fouled when you have not been touched is cheating.  Faking you have been hit in the face when you haven't been touched to try and get an opponent sent off, is cheating.This has become the biggest problem in soccer worldwide.  Here, I discuss

0 What Are Good Club Curriculum Practices?

By Philip Cauchi Question - What are some good club curriculum practices? Introduction. Having a club curriculum aids in having a direction. Coaches will know what is required of them and what content should their players be experiencing throughout their developmental process. Dividing this curriculum into smaller outcomes for each age group makes it more

0 Training the Center Midfielder For Anaerobic Capacity

By Anthony Hazelwood The following activity has a playing area where a Center Midfielder (CM) will play against three defenders and 4 teammates positioned on each sideline. The CM will be working to adapt their anaerobic capacity through phases of intermittent endurance by being in constant movement for a minute at a time. The grid

0 Two Man Rondo

By Matthew Carroll - Description: The two man rondo is an activity designed to improve player’s vision and mental conditioning by creating a series of distractions that increase as the activity proceeds, but still requires all the base technical elements to be executed to precision throughout Setup: Set up a normal rondo with every alternating

0 The Training Sessions I Used To Win a National Championship

I share the actual training sessions I used during the season I coached my team to a National Championship.

0 Don’t Get Mugged on Corners

By Mike Smith - Something which is more and more common these days, at least in my neck of the woods, is the instant shielding of the keeper by the attacking team on corners. While for me this tactic skirts the edge of legality sometimes, if done within the boundaries of the laws of the