Welcome to the FineSoccer Drills Newsletter. Today’s featured activity works on possession, changing fields and quick attacks.
Start with a 5 v 4 situation in a 35 x 35 area in the corner of half the field. Two other attacking players are on the other half of the field out wide. There should also be a keeper in goal.
The attacking team must make 5 passes inside the corner grid and once they do, they can pass the ball wide to the
Welcome to the Goalkeeping Newsletter. Today’s featured activity works on shot blocking, footwork, fitness and positioning.
Start with a keeper at one post, servers with balls 8 yards out on an angle from the corners of the 6, a server at the 12 yard spot with a ball and two cones making a 4 yard wide goal 4 yards off the goal line.
The server closest to the ball starts by shooting toward the far post and low so the keeper should be able to
Developing whole body strength is essential for peak performance in soccer. How effective you are at shielding the ball from an opposing defender, getting up quickly from a fallen position and constantly withstanding shoulder to shoulder and other physical contact will depend on your whole body strength. Increased whole body strength also improves your ability to perform explosive movements such as jumping and sprinting that play a key role in soccer.
Strength for soccer can be categorized into three main types: basic strength, maximum strength, and strength endurance. Building basic strength is a precursor to developing maximum strength and strength endurance, and should be a focus of the early part the off-season. Maximum strength refers to the ability of a muscle or muscle group to produce the greatest amount of force. Training for maximum strength should only be done by well-trained and experienced players and is not necessary for all levels of play. Strength endurance refers to your muscles' ability to produce force over an extended period of time. Increasing strength endurance will improve the overall work capacity in your players and is very important for soccer, which involves continuous activity over a 90-minute (less for younger players) period. In this article we will focus on basic strength and strength endurance.
Contrary to what many coaches believe, developing basic strength and strength endurance do not require weights or fancy gym equipment. Doing body weight exercises such as push-ups, squats and lunges can be just as effective. Importantly, these exercises can be
Continue readingThis week's post comes from our Soccer Conditioning Experts at Soccer FIT. This article struck a cord with me because I think that as coaches we are sometimes guilty of the single-minded focus on technique especially for our youngest players. The post makes the point that we are in danger of obsessing over perfect technique to the point that we lose functional speed.
When it comes to “technical work,” can we be TOO technical?
Interesting question…and in my opinion the answer is “YES!” I understand that foot angle & toe placement when touching the ball is extremely important. But as coaches, we must ask ourselves “how much technique is
Continue readingWelcome to the FineSoccer Drills Newsletter. Today’s featured activity works on zonal defending with the back four and midfielders.
Start with a keeper in goal, 4 backs and 2 central midfielders defending a goal. There are 2 attacking forwards, four midfielders and 2 backs attacking. The attacking midfielders and backs each have a ball
The coach calls a number and whichever number he calls, that players ball is live. The defenders have to shift appropriately in order to
Welcome to the Goalkeeping Newsletter. Today’s topic deals with concentrating on the “easy” saves.
Normally when we speak about making the goal smaller we are referring to cutting off the angle.
Today's article is by Justin Cresser.
Balance training should be a fundamental part of a soccer conditioning program, but it is a component of conditioning that is frequently neglected by coaches. Developing good balance is essential for soccer players as it improves co-ordination and body awareness that is required in many game situations such as changing direction quickly or receiving passes under pressure. Balance training is also very important in the prevention of injuries. Think of the many instances where a player lands awkwardly after jumping to make a header or after a poor challenge. Having good control of the body lessens the chances of a player getting hurt.
One good thing about balance training is that you don't need to do many exercises to get a beneficial effect. Doing a few sets of just one or two exercises at the start of your conditioning or regular training session will be sufficient. Consider doing the following simple exercise at your next practice to improve your player's dynamic balance.
As I've discussed in earlier posts, I think that most coaches agree that our players don't watch the game being played at the highest level enough. Kids in countries where soccer is part of their culture grow watching professional player every week so when it comes time for them play they have a rich source of creative ways to break down defenses. They've watched Messi and Iniesta rip apart a back four with quick passing combinations and then tried the same thing with their friends at the park. Our players need to be given examples of ways to create goal scoring opportunities so they can look for those situations
Continue readingWelcome to the FineSoccer Drills Newsletter. Today’s featured activity is the first step in working on finishing with combination play.
Start with groups of 3’s spread out 30 yards from goal. Each player has a ball. A keeper is in goal.
Player 1 starts by dribbling toward the top of the 18, making a move and
Welcome to the Goalkeeping Newsletter. Today’s topic deals with through balls. One of the most difficult things for a keeper to do is deal with through balls. Some of the decisions that have to be made include: Should I go outside the box and clear the ball? Should I stay inside the 18 and let
Continue readingHere is a simple activity that works on explosiveness, agility and ball skills.
Start with 4 hurdles (height can vary depending upon the player but 1-2 feet high work fine) spaced in a line 1 yard apart. The players starts behind the last hurdle and there are 2 servers 5 yards from the first hurdle each slightly off to the side. The servers each have a ball.
The player starts by jumping over the first hurdle then quickly slides to his right and receives a pass from
Continue readingWelcome to the FineSoccer Drills Newsletter. Today's featured activity works on attacking with an overlap as well as defending the overlapping run.
Start with a keeper in goal and two attackers and one defender. The attackers are around 35 yards from goal to start and the ball starts with the middle player.
The player with the ball passes to his teammate who then
Continue readingWelcome to the FineSoccer Drills Newsletter. Today's featured activity works on dribbling and taking players on.
Start with your team in a 30 x 30 grid (smaller if you don't have a full team available) with half the players with balls and the other half without.
The players with balls are dribbling at half speed and the
Continue readingWelcome to the FineSoccer Drills Newsletter. Today's featured activity works on passing with proper pace.
Start with 6 players on the perimeter of a circle with a diameter of around 20 yards. They are in groups of 2's and are opposite their partners in the group. There is one ball per group.
The players start off passing back and forth with their partner. They play
Continue readingWelcome to the FineSoccer Drills Newsletter. Today's featured activity works on forwards working together, combination play and finishing.
Start with a keeper in goal, two forwards staggered but close together and a few players in line near midfield with balls.
The first player in line plays the ball to the deep forward (who has
Continue readingBy Ricky Clarke
Patrice Evra holds the blame for Liverpool’s late winner this weekend in the FA Cup 4th round. Evra has made some poor defensive mistakes recently, this weekend cost Manchester United a place in the 5th round of the FA Cup.
Below, I’ve outlined his key movements during Liverpool’s second goal.
Evra – Out of position (Part 1)
Evra’s starting position is really poor. With minutes remaining in the game he needs to be more compact.
Evra – Out of position (Part 2)
Carroll wins the header and sets up Kuyt. Smalling fails to recover and Evra’s recovery is too
Continue readingWelcome to the FineSoccer Drills Newsletter. Today’s activity involves finishing in a competitive environment.
Start with a 30 x 30 grid with two full sized goals and a keeper in each goal. It’s 2 v 2 in the middle and in each attacking half there is a player on each sideline and a player on each part of the end line
In the diagram above the black team is attacking the top goal and the yellow team is
Welcome to the Goalkeeping Newsletter. Today’s featured activity works on positioning, movement, reading the situation and shot blocking.
Start with a keeper in goal, a player with a ball at the 12 yard spot and two players on angles just outside the 18.
The keeper has to be prepared for one of three options.
Here is a fun game for young soccer players that involves a lot of running and also technical and tactical aspects. While it’s great for young players it’s interesting to do with older players as well. They will work just as hard, get just as much out of it and have a blast playing.
This game can be played with full sized goals and keepers or smaller goals without keepers. In this example the game will have keepers. The size of the field can vary but here the field is 40 x 30
Start with two teams lined up on one of the sidelines with a coach between them with balls.
The coach plays a ball to the middle of the field and the first player in each line starts by
By Ricky Clarke.
Clint Dempsey has become the first American player to score a hat-trick in the English Premier League. Dempsey produced an outstanding display of technical ability, movement and game awareness. Scoring three goals against Newcastle United in a rout this Saturday.
Below, I’ve outlined his key movements and decision-making process during his second goal.
Dempsey – Movement Pattern #1
Dempsey makes a great run across the defender, anticipating a pass from Zamora.
Welcome to the FineSoccer Drills Newsletter. Today’s featured activity works on penetrating passes in a game environment.
In the diagram below we have a 5 v 5 game with a neutral player in white. The size of the field can vary but something in the 40 x 30 range works well.
This is a typical small sided game but goals count as 3 points. A team can earn
Welcome to the Goalkeeping Newsletter. Today’s featured activity works on catching, distribution, footwork and fitness.
Start with 4 cones making up a 3 x 3 square
A keeper starts at cone 4 and a server starts 10 yards in front of the
Combining fitness, agility and skill work is a great way to get a lot done in a short period of time.
A simple example would start with a server with a ball and a player 10 yards away behind a cone.
Play would start with a ball to one side of the cone, The player comes forward 1 touches the ball back to the
Today’s post is from our Soccer Conditioning Experts at Soccer F.I.T Academy and looks at whether or not having our kids specialize in soccer at an early age is beneficial or harmful.
As a fitness professional, youth club staff member, and soccer dad, I hear ALL sides of the discussions about “early specialization in youth sports across the U.S.” While this trend affects many youth sports, this dilemma as it pertains to the American soccer landscape is the most interesting in my opinion. FACT- The U.S. is behind the rest of the world in technical ability, tactical competency, and situational soccer awareness compared to our competition across the world. FACT – The ONLY way to narrow this gap is for our youth..our children… the future of U.S. Men’s & Women’s Soccer is to play…and play more. FACT – The U.S has highest rate of youth
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