All Posts by Mike Saif

2 A Dutch Style Warm-Up

By Lawrence Fine, Author of the FineSoccer Coaching Bible.

A dynamic warm up is vital to a successful training session.    There are many different versions and mixed feelings regarding whether there needs to be a ball involved or not.  Many feel any time in training that doesn’t utilize a ball is wasted time.  I, and others, feel it’s more important to get a good warm up and to have the players truly ready (both physically and mentally) for when the ball is then added to the warm up.  You can find more of this type of warm up in our book, Dutch Drills For Total Team Training

In this activity, start with 4 cones in a line, 10 yards apart.  Another 2 cones are in a different line 10 yards apart and 10 yards to the side of this first line. 2 more cones are in a similar line 10 yards to the other side.

Two lines of players start by going to cone 1, then to cone 2, then to cone 3, then to cone 4, then to cone 5 and then to cone 6.  When they get

1 Working on Defenders Endurance in a Numbers Down Situation

By Jebreel Bubtana, BRASA, Brazilian Soccer Academy

This exercise starts with 3 attackers in a large triangle shape around 25 yards out from goal and 2 defenders that start either side of the goal (figure 1). The idea of this exercise is to get the defenders working as hard as possible, which is why they are in a numbers down situation. To keep this exercise at a high intensity, make sure that there are a number of balls ready for the defenders to pass into the attackers. This will speed up the exercise and keep the defenders working at maximum intensity. This also puts the attackers and defenders in a real situation that they are likely to face in a game. Award the defenders points for stopping the attackers from scoring a goal, this will provide them with an incentive to work hard, especially for the younger age groups.

The defenders start with the ball and pass the ball to one of the attackers. Make sure that the defenders

0 Training Effective Defensive Clearances

By Lawrence Fine, Author of the FineSoccer Coaching Bible.

Welcome to the FineSoccer Drills Newsletter.  Today’s featured activity works on defensive clearances.

Because of the tremendous success of teams such as Barcelona and Spain’s national team there is a great emphasis on playing out of the back but all teams (and players) have to clear balls from time to time. Most teams don’t work on it much because it’s not a glamorous type thing to work on but too often, it’s the difference between winning and losing.

Start with a back around the 12 yard spot and servers spread out 30-40 yards out.

Start by having the servers play simple balls into the box for the back

0 When to Distribute Quickly and When Not To

By Lawrence Fine, Author of the FineSoccer Coaching Bible.

Welcome to the Goalkeeping Newsletter.  Today’s featured activity works on quick distribution (and when NOT to distribute quickly).

Start with a keeper in goal and a 4 v 4 situation.  There is a second goal 60 yards away.

The server starts by playing a ball to the team attacking

0 Unique Small-Sided Games

I continue to run one practice per week outdoor with my older teams during the winter months when weather permits. This means that we are often training when the it's pretty cold. On very cold days I organize small-sided games to keep the players moving and loose. They get a lot more out of playing games than they would if I tried to coach specific concepts.

Playing small-sided game should not be a matter of dividing up into two teams and throwing the ball out. My favorite small-sided games are those that

0 Improve GK Distribution With This Fun Game

By Lawrence Fine, Author of the FineSoccer Coaching Bible.

Welcome to the Goalkeeping Newsletter.  Today’s featured game works on distribution.

Soccer golf is a game people use at camps or for breaks etc but why not use it as a way to work on distribution.  Every time a keeper makes a save or their is a goal kick the keeper has to distribute the ball.  It’s about distance (sometimes) and about accuracy (all the time).  Here is a fun way to work on both.

Start with the keeper in a corner, each with a ball.  Pick some targets out on the field (or around the field.  In this case we have 7 but you can have as many as you want.

The keepers can start with the ball in their hands or on the

0 Training Overlaps For Attacking

By Lawrence Fine, Author of the FineSoccer Coaching Bible.

Welcome to the FineSoccer Drills Newsletter.  Today’s featured activity works on overlapping runs, decision making, defending and getting to goal.

Start with a keeper in goal, a line of players near the center of the field with balls, a line of attacking players on one sideline and a defender in the middle of the field (with other defenders off to the side ready to take the defenders place.

The activity starts with a pass from the center player to the

4 The Importance of Goal Safety

By Lawrence Fine, Author of the FineSoccer Coaching Bible.

Safety is such an important part of youth soccer but it gets a lot more lip service than actual service.

The one topic that is mentioned most often is goal safety.  We all know how important it is to make sure goals are secured but how many are actually doing it?  Sadly a recent event is a good reminder of how important this is.  A 9 year old child was killed in Arkansas recently due to a soccer goal falling.  To see more, please go to http://www.4029tv.com/r-video/26631921/detail.html

As a coach, when you first get to the field, if there are goals there, make sure the goals are secure. It doesn't matter if the weather seems fine and there isn’t any wind in the area, this is something that has to happen EVERY TIME   I was running a college training session a number of years ago and all of a sudden heavy winds started up and while the team was scrimmaging, BOTH GOALS blew over in opposite directions.  We were very fortunate that both keepers were far enough off their lines that they weren't

1 Anaerobic Endurance of a Recovering Defender

By Jebreel Bubtana, BRASA, Brazilian Soccer Academy

This week’s exercise is designed to simulate a breakaway with a defender sprinting back to stop the attacker from scoring. This is a great exercise as not only does it work on the anaerobic fitness of the defenders but it is also a situation that the defender is very likely to face at some point during scrimmages or games. It is important to add an incentive for the defender in this exercise as they have to work very hard in this.

Set up and directions:
The attacker starts 40 yards away from goal with a ball and the defender starts 10 yards further back to the left or right of the attacker. You will also need someone in goal. The distances suggested can be modified depending on the ages of the players. For younger players, you can bring the distance in closer to goal and for older players you can push the starting point of the attacker to the halfway line, again with the defender starting 10 yards further back than the attacker (figure 1).

The exercise starts as soon as the attacker touches the ball. This is the cue for the defender to start

0 Maintaining Soccer Fitness Indoor

The indoor season provides a change of pace and focus that I think is good for player development but you don't want to completely lose the base of fitness that was built during the outdoor season. The challenge is that you have a limited amount of space to work with when you're training indoor. We use a school gym, and a small one at that. I look for exercises that mimic the movement patterns of the game while using space as economically as possible.

The warm-up below is from Dave Tenney

0 Taking Players On 1v1

By Lawrence Fine, Author of the FineSoccer Coaching Bible.

Welcome to the FineSoccer Drills Newsletter.  Today’s featured activity works on the first touch and taking a player on 1 v 1.

Start with an attacking player 30 yards from goal between two cones..  A defender is 5 yards back.  A server starts with balls, from 20 yards away.  There is a keeper in goal.

The server plays a ball to the attacking players feet (the ball should be hit with pace).  The defender is

1 Critical Footwork For Goalkeepers

By Lawrence Fine, Author of the FineSoccer Coaching Bible.

Welcome to the Goalkeeping Newsletter.  Today’s featured activity works on backward footwork.

The reason this activity is so important is keepers spend a lot of time working on coming forward, getting off their line etc but not nearly enough time getting back.  For the most part, for every step a keeper takes forward, he will have to take the same number of steps backwards.

Start with a keeper at the near post, a cone on the 6 outside the goal and a server with some balls around 15 yards from goal.

The keeper sprints out to the cone and sets as if

0 Short Passes or Direct Play?

By Stevie Grieve, Author of Coaching the 4-2-3-1, Modern Soccer Tactics and Winning Soccer Tactics.

Dortmund gain a point with well worked direct play

Borussia Dortmund are Bundesliga Champions, and showed one of the reasons why against Real Madrid. They can mix their play up well and some games require a different style to win, and Jürgen Klopp decided that this game would require a solid base defensively, and a direct approach, specifically through Lewandowski using the speed of Reus, Goetze and Grossenkrautz to get the ball into dangerous positions behind the Real Madrid defence. Both goals came from this approach and all 3 players mentioned contributed to the goals.

Reus loses him marker to give Lewandowski a passing option

As Piszczek has the ball, Reus drops off to offer a pass, but as he is pressured, Reus spins behind his marker and Piszczek plays the long pass to

0 Anaerobic Endurance Whilst Working on Passing and Moving

By Jebreel Bubtana, BRASA, Brazilian Soccer Academy

I use this regularly during my warm up not only to work on my player’s fitness but also to get them passing and moving, getting them in the right frame of mind at the start of a practice. Sprinting over short distances is seen constantly during a game of soccer and this exercise works on this as well as the passing technique of your team.

Set up and directions:
Set up an area 15 x 15 yards with 4 cones in the corners. You will need 4 players per square with 1 ball (figure 1). You can set this up multiple times depending on your squad size.

The exercise is a simple passing and moving exercise in the square but after every pass, the player who passes the ball must

1 Finishing and Anaerobic Conditioning through 1v1 Battles

Agility, Speed, 1v1 Battles and Composed Finishing by Daniel Severn

For this week’s article I’d like to share an exercise that helps to create competition in practice whilst focusing on some key aspects of the game; agility, speed, strength and finishing – all under match-like pressure. This is a great exercise that can be adjusted to suit all age groups and abilities.

To start the exercise I will offer a reward for the winning team. I have found differing rewards will help motivate different age groups/genders. A simple reward that works with ‘most’ ages can be taking a 1-0 lead into the scrimmage.

I like to offer rewards for winning team games as extra motivation for the players. Finding the right motivation can really help to push the players that extra step with their work rate, and therefore, their conditioning.

Using team challenges in sessions helps to create real competition between the players (something which is difficult to replicate from match day). Having competition between team mates will guarantee to get all players working 100%. This particular exercise will have the whole team cheering; motivating each other and working at flat out speeds. The agility and short sprints adds a

0 Sole of the Foot Control

With the outdoor season coming to an end in the Midwest of the United States, I'm turning my attention Futsal training. For anyone not familiar with Futsal, it's played with a ball that is one size smaller than the ball the players use outdoor (U9-U12 play with a size three ball while U13 and above play with a size four). The ball is also constructed to have a low bounce to help keep it on the floor. The game is played on the same surface as a basketball court so the ball moves very quickly. These characteristics mean that it is sometimes easier to control with the sole of the foot rather than the inside of the foot.

During the outdoor season I discourage

0 Making a Save, Then Saving the Rebound

By Lawrence Fine, Author of the FineSoccer Coaching Bible.

Welcome to the Goalkeeping Newsletter.  Today’s featured activity works on a keepers recovery

Start with a keeper on the ground, as if they just dove and made the save but couldn’t hold onto the ball (in the diagram below, it shows the keeper with the ball in his hands but that is just a limitation of the graphics).  A field player is around 12 yards out and a server is on the goal line with a ball.

The server plays a ball out to the field player (which recreates the

0 Coaching the Back Four

Welcome to the FineSoccer Drills Newsletter.  Today’s featured activity works on the back 4 supporting each other.

Start with a keeper in goal and 4 players across the back (if your team plays with 3 across the back you can do that instead).  Two forwards from the opposing team are just in front of them and a midfielder with a ball is 20 yards away

The two forwards move along the line in front of the

0 Win $200 of Books and DVDs

Earlier this year we held a competition where coaches could submit their favorite "Shooting and Finishing" drill. We had some great entries and even compiled all of them into an eBook that we gave away free. If you don't have it, you can get it here. I have also posted the winning drill below which focuses on one-touch shooting.

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Shooting Competition - First Time Shooting

One of the most difficult techniques to acquire is that of the ability to shoot first time and none more so than for the younger players.

In their eagerness to score then very often they will either ‘snatch’ their shot and / or,

2 A Simple Exercise to Develop Short Passing Ability, Speed Dribbling Technique, Starting Speed and Anaerobic Capacity

By Justin Cresser Author of Total Soccer Conditioning: A Ball Orientated Approach

Today’s exercise is a simple exercise that focuses on speed dribbling, short passing and sprinting over short distances. We have also structured the exercise so that the work-to-rest ratio used targets the player’s anaerobic capacity.

Set-up and Directions:
Divide your players into groups of three. For each group, set up a 15 by 10 yard rectangular grid. Have one the three players stand in the centre of the rectangular grid. Give the other two players a ball each and have them stand on the corners of one of the long sides of the rectangle (See Figure 1).

Play is initiated with the player at the bottom of the rectangle dribbling as quickly as possible, but under control until they

0 Goalkeeper Conditioning and Technical Drill

By Lawrence Fine, Author of the FineSoccer Coaching Bible.

Welcome to the Goalkeeping Newsletter.  Today’s featured activity works on a keepers fitness, footwork and hands.

Start with a rectangle 20 x 6 (the dimensions of the goal box) with a server 15 yards away with a ball.  The keeper starts at one of the front corners.

The keeper starts by running backwards to the back corner, then sliding

0 A Killer Overlap Drill

By Lawrence Fine, Author of the FineSoccer Coaching Bible.

Welcome to the FineSoccer Drills Newsletter. Today’s featured activity is a two person overlapping drill.  It combines passing, receiving, dribbling and fitness.

Start with a player on the corner of the end line and the 18 and the second player is on the sideline around 25 yards out.

The player with the ball passes out wide to the front foot of the

0 Warm-Up for Shooting

One of the perks of being apart of WORLD CLASS COACHING is that I have access to a large library of training sessions from some of the top professional, collegiate, and youth coaches. We have published books and DVDs on every aspect and topic of coaching.

I often refer to our DVD especially for new ways to approach topics to keep my coaching fresh and interesting to the players I work with. I think we're all probably guilty of using the same few drills or exercises for a specific technique over and over. This can be a good thing because it allows us to focus on teaching the game rather than having to spend a lot of time teaching the drill. But changing things up on occasion can breath new life into a stale session and motivate players to perform at a higher level with the addition of new challenges.

In the past if I was looking for a new warm-up for a shooting practice I would have to scan through three or four DVDs to find what I'm looking for. This changed

0 Don't Forget the Goalkeeper In Training

By Lawrence Fine, Author of the FineSoccer Coaching Bible.

Incorporating the keeper into team training is vital to do but so often neglected.  Those teams “fortunate” enough to have a designated keeper coach tend to have the keepers go with this coach for part, if not all, of the team training.  The reason for doing this is because the skills, techniques and tactics in goalkeeping are so different than the rest of the team.

The problem with sending the keepers “off to train” is if they aren’t incorporated into the teams tactics, major problems will occur in games.

As an example, if a team is going to occasionally push up into an offside trap, if the keeper isn’t aware of his positioning, great goal scoring opportunities might be created AGAINST you.

In the diagram below the black team is establishing a line around 25 yards out from goal.

If the backs all decide to step up, in order to condense the field or to push the opponents into an offside position, the keeper