All Posts by Mike Saif

4 Shooting Drills Competition Winner

It was difficult to choose a winner in our recent shooting drills competition because we received so many good entries. In the end we picked this exercise from Dennis Hillyard of New York. We were looking for drills that were easy to understand, used equipment all coaches have access to, provided a lot of repetitions for the players, were scalable to larger and smaller numbers and provided progressions that could be used as the players develop. This exercise meets all of those criteria.

Shooting Competition - First Time Shooting

1 Crossing and Finishing

Welcome to the FineSoccer Drills Newsletter.  Today’s featured activities work on crossing and finishing.  There is a series of activities you can use in the DVD Winning Crossing & Finishing. The field is 50 x 40 (the size can vary depending upon the level of the players) with goals on each end, a keeper in

4 Footwork, Fitness and Ball Handling

Welcome to the Goalkeeping Newsletter.  Today’s featured activity works on footwork, fitness and ball handling.

It’s common for keepers to integrate a speed ladder into their training.  Frequently this might involve a keeper with a starting just in front of the ladder and they go through the ladder using various combinations.

Some variations include the following progression.  Everything is done 4 times unless

5 Fitness, Focus and Finishing

Here is a great activity that works on  fitness, focus and finishing.

Start with a keeper in one goal, a second goal on the sideline also with a keeper.  There is a server on the 18 and another server on wide of the second goal.  The players start behind 5 hurdles which are 1 yard apart 25 yards from goal.

The player starts by passing the server and then jumping over each

4 FC Barcelona - Style and Domination

FC Barcelona has become the world’s top club and has set the standard for all other clubs to follow.  With more than a dozen major championships and counting over the past four years, the team has achieved remarkable success in La Liga, the Copa del Rey, the Champions League and also the FIFA World Club Championships.  Further, the bulk of the 2010 World Cup Champion Spanish National Team mainstays call Barcelona their home club.

What has prompted this run?  Certainly talented players including the likes of Lionel Messi, Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta, Gerard Pique and others are critical to the team’s stunning run.  However, the Barcelona model is much more complex, as the coaching, philosophy, tactics, team culture and more all contribute to the spectacular results and consistency that have been the hallmark of the club in recent years.

A new book that we've just released call, FC Barcelona: Style and Domination, A Tactical Analysis of FC Barcelona examines the special qualities and practices that have been critical to the club’s recent success.  From a profile of the manager and summary of the club’s overall

4 Switching Flanks and Quick Attacks

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

0 Shot Blocking and Positioning

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

1 Combining Strength Endurance With Technical Training

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

8 Technical Work – The Faster the Better

This 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

0 Zonal Defending With the Back Four and Midfielders

Welcome 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

4 Concentrating On the "Easy Saves"

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.

3 Integrating Balance Exercises Into Technical Training

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.

 

Continue reading

0 Forward Passes and Runs

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

0 Finishing With Combination Play - First Step

Welcome 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

0 Dealing With Through-Balls

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

0 Explosiveness, Agility and Ball Skills

Here 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

0 Attacking and Defending the Overlap

Welcome 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

0 Dribbling and Taking Players On

Welcome 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

0 Passing With Proper Pace

Welcome 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

0 Combination Play For Forwards

Welcome 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

5 Shocking Defending Costs Manchester United

By 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