All Posts by Mike Saif

1 Working the Ball Out Of the Back

Welcome to the FineSoccer Drills Newsletter.  Today’s featured activity works on working the ball out of the back.  This type of activity is an excellent way to work on specific parts of the game of soccer while incorporating all aspects of the game.  There are numerous examples like this in the book Brazilian Soccer Academy Volume 2.

This activity uses half a field.  The team with the ball has a keeper in goal, 4 backs, 3 midfielders and one target player.  The opposing team has 2 forwards and 3 midfielders.

The keeper starts with the ball and the objective is to get the ball to the

0 Reacting to Rebounds

Welcome to the Goalkeeping Newsletter.  Today’s featured activity works on reacting to rebounds.

Most of a keepers training deals with balls coming toward them.  It makes sense since most shots come toward the keeper.  The thing to keep in mind is when there is a rebound (off the keeper, off the posts, off a defender) the ball might be going away from the goal.

Here is a simple activity to work on reactions and covering rebounds.

Start with a keeper standing in a ready position and a server 5 yards behind him with a ball in his hands.

The server tosses the ball against the keepers back and as soon as the

1 Conditioning Within a Small-Sided Game

Here is an interesting 3 v 2 exercise which, when done at full speed works on attacking, defending and a lot of fitness.

The game is on a 40 x 30 grid with full sized goals and a keeper in each goal.  One attacking player is at midfield with two defending players.  Two attacking players are on the end line.  There are players ready to take each players position.

One keeper starts with a ball and starts by rolling the ball into the targets feet.  The two other attackers join

2 Diamond Drills

One of the perks of my job is that I get to see the sessions of some of the top coaches from around the world and then I can do that session with my youth teams. Sometimes I adjust the size of the areas or add neutral players to make the session work for my players but they are able to benefit from the basic ideas and the kids enjoy hearing that they're doing the same practice as professional or youth players from prominent clubs around the world.

I was looking through, 'Training Sessions of English Professional League Team', and came across a session from Sheffield United's U15 team. I've done a number of different diamond drills with my team and the variations in this

1 Crossing and Finishing

Welcome to the FineSoccer Drills Newsletter.  Today’s featured activity works on crossing and finishing.  There are many variations you can do with this activity.  To learn more, check out the DVD Tactics & Drills For Flank Play.

Start with 2 goals 25 yards apart.  There is a keeper in each goal and a server with balls behind each goal.  There are 3 sets of 2 attacking players to the side of each goal and 1 player out wide on each end line.  Use as much width as you can.

One server starts by playing the ball out wide.  The wide player has one touch to receive the

0 Different Goalkeeping Stances

Welcome to the Goalkeeping Newsletter.  Today’s topic addresses the different stances of a keeper depending upon the positioning of the defense.

Frequently, when we speak about a keepers stance we are referring to their stance when they are preparing for a shot. In this stance, the knees are bent, the hands are out front, the shoulders are directly above the knees, the chest would be perpendicular to the projected flight of the ball etc.

The thing to keep in mind is there are other stances and body positions as well.  The first one that comes to mind is the

2 Soccer Agility, Lateral One Step and Sprint

Lateral movement forms a major part of speed during soccer, specifically during ball control. If a player possesses the skill of moving laterally, then opponents can be avoided. It is highly beneficial to forwards who need to make repeated runs with lateral movement in between. Here is an exercise that will help to improve speed and balance while changing direction: Lateral One Step and Sprint.

Purpose:

-        To teach athlete to maintain speed and balance, while

6 Transitional Possession Game

This is my favorite possession game because it includes so many aspects of the game as well as a great fitness component. It's also very scalable to the number of players you have as well as the ability level of the players.

Two teams of players are assigned one half of the field. They're also numbered

1 Zonal Defending

Welcome to the FineSoccer Drills Newsletter.  Today’s featured activity works on zonal defending.  There are similar activities to these in the DVD Zonal Defending: Defending as a Team.

Start with 3 players along the midfield line with balls.  Then add 4 midfielders and 3 forwards (or use whatever formation you want).

Next add a keeper, 4 backs and 4 midfielders for

0 Break-aways and Shot Blocking

Welcome to the Goalkeeping Newsletter.  Today’s featured activity works on communication, organizing, breakaways and shot blocking.

This activity involves 7 field players and is a regular 5 v 2 game working on possession and defending from their perspective.

The keeper starts on the sideline and is working on organizing the two defenders and telling

1 Integrate Conditioning Into Small-Sided Games

Today I’m going to show an other interesting way to integrate soccer fitness into small sided games and activities.  There are many other options shown in the DVD Modern Soccer Conditioning: Fitness with a Technical and Tactical Element.

This is a 7 v 5 game plus keepers on half a field.  There are two fill sized goals and one team is working on attacking and the other team is working on defensive shape and counter attacks.

The players start on the field and each of the attackers is assigned a number from 1-7.  There are 7 balls on the sidelines.

To start the game player 1 on the attacking team sprints to the

0 Creativity Through Small-Sided Games

For over 20 years I have coached teams of all ages and abilities from U6's to U18's and from recreational teams to national champions.  And over the years, my coaching philosophy has steadily changed to using more small-sided games in my training sessions...and for the better.

I find that not only do players prefer to play small-sided games, they are a better way of teaching skills, technique and tactics than typical soccer drills and exercises.

Small-sided games also allow players to express their creative side much more than when standing in a line waiting for their turn to make a pass or take a shot for example.

So I am really excited about our new book, Developing Creativity Through Small-Sided Games.  And you can get it either in print OR as an immediate download eBook.

Try more small-sided games in your training sessions and you

5 Switching the Point of Attack

Welcome to the FineSoccer Drills Newsletter.  Today’s featured activity works on possession, spacing and switching the point of attack.  There are many other activities such as this one in the book Improving Your Team’s Possession Play.

This game can be played with various numbers and on with different size fields.  You would use the numbers you have available and the size of the field would depend both upon the numbers of players as well as what you want to emphasize.

In the example below, we are using 6 v 6 with 1 neutral player.  The field is 40 x 40 and there is a 5 yard square in each corner.

The neutral player is on whichever

1 Dealing With Crosses, Then Quick Distribution

Welcome to the Goalkeeping Newsletter.  Today's featured activity works on dealing with crosses and then quick distribution.

The reason for today’s activity is to reinforce to the keeper that making a save or catching a cross is just the start of the play and NOT the end of the play.

Start with a server out wide on each side, a keeper in goal and 5 gates spread around the half of the field.

One server plays a ball in as a cross and the keeper comes out and catches the ball.

1 Soccer Agility – Twister

Soccer Agility – Twister

Agility is a fitness component that is highly specific to soccer. Agility is used throughout a game of soccer in making attacking runs, tracking attackers and eluding defenders.  This is an exercise that involves complete body movement and is more specific to a game scenario.

Purpose:

-         To provide an agility training exercise in a reactive environment, replicating a game scenario.

Coaching Cues:

-         Repeat the colour combination twice to the athlete, before giving the 'go' command.

-         Ensure athlete sprints between cones.

-         A cut manoeuvre must be used to change direction, i.e. outside foot plant inside foot drive.

-         Arms cheek to cheek.

-         Powerful push back under hips.

-         Stable body position out of turns.

-         Always finish

2 Soccer Speed – Running Form Video

This weeks post is from Scott Moody, our Conditioning Experts at Soccer F.I.T. Academy.

I seem to get questions regarding teaching running (sprinting) mechanics (form) to young soccer players every week. Parents and coaches are continuously asking me to work with an athletes sprint form, and they bring up Ronaldo as being a player they would like to emulate. They mention his form and technique, his explosiveness and his speed on the pitch as key aspects that they would like to see developed in their young players. In this 15 minute video, Ronaldo’s form is broken down in sprinting and jumping exercises and compared with champion sprinters. I think you will enjoy this…

1 Attacking With Speed

Welcome to the FineSoccer Drills Newsletter.  Today’s featured activity works on attacking at speed.  There are many other options to try with this activity and you can find others in the book Improving Your Teams Speed of Play.

Start with a 40 x 25 field with 2 full sized goals and a keeper in each goal.  There is a midfield line and 3 attackers and 2 defenders in each half.

If the yellow team starts with the ball it would be 3 v 2 going to goal.  The black team defends and if either

0 A Goalkeeper With No Teammates

Welcome to the Goalkeeping Newsletter.  Today’s topic deals with when a keeper has no teammates.

A keeper always has teammates but there does come a time when the keeper must act as if it’s him against the world.  This time is when the keeper has called for a ball (frequently a cross) and is going after it.

First, let’s look at the theory and then the reality.

In theory, looking at the diagram above, when the player with the ball serves a ball into

3 Building Conditioning Into Regular Training Routines

There are many ways to work on a soccer teams fitness.  These can range from sprints, to longer runs to ladder work, to plyometrics, to resistance work to weights to any number of other activities.  One thing that is often forgotten is much of the fitness work can be built into the various games and activities.

One of the most valuable games I like to play with teams is the 5 yard sprint rule after every pass.  This can be a 3 v 3 scrimmage up to full sided 11 v 11.  It’s a regular game with the only restriction being that after every pass there must be a hard 5 yard sprint by the passer.  Any passer who doesn’t sprint after

0 Receiving Balls Out of the Air

I was reviewing the sessions I've run in the first two months of the season and noticed that I hadn't run a session on dealing with balls in the air.

This is a topic that I usually do once or twice a month with my girls teams because they seem to have more difficulty in this area than my boys teams do. I'm not sure why this is the case. In talking to other coaches, some have suggested that girls don't play as many throwing and catching games as boys do. Whatever the reason, I've used this session with a number of teams over the years.

Juggling
I begin with a juggling warm-up. It begins with free juggling and progresses to include some form of limitation depending on the level of the players.

Progressions

• One juggle and catch - for players having trouble with the technique of juggling
• Progressive Juggling - One and catch, two and catch, three and catch, etc.
• Right Foot, Left Foot continuous pattern

Throw, Receive and Dribble Away
The players each have a ball in their hands. They jog around the area, throw the ball slightly

1 Attacking With Speed and Defensive Communication

Welcome to the FineSoccer Drills Newsletter.  Today’s featured activity works on attacking with speed and defensive communication.  This is a nice progression on attacking and defending and similar type progressions can be found in the book Modern Attacking & Goalscoring.

The first part of this progression has three attacking players start 40 yards from goal.  The middle player has a ball.  Two defending players start on the end line at the corners of the 6.  There is a keeper in goal.

This is a standard 3 v 2 to goal with the one condition being the attackers only have 7 seconds to get

2 Footwork for Flighted Balls

Welcome to the Goalkeeping Newsletter.  Today’s featured activity works on footwork for flighted balls.

Catching (or punching) flighted balls requires the keeper to be able to judge the flight of the ball and also to be able to use proper footwork to approach the ball properly.  This activity works on the footwork.

Start with a keeper on the near post and a server holding a ball at the corner of the 6 and endline.

The server tosses the ball in the air just in front of

0 RESEARCH: Projecting the intensity of the session based on HR, Perceived Exertion and Global Position Systems.

RESEARCH: Projecting the intensity of the session based on HR, Perceived Exertion and Global Position Systems.

A recent study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research ((Gomez-Piriz, Jimenez-Reyes, & Ruiz-Ruiz, 2011) looked at a possible way to rate the intensity of a training session using various means of global positioning systems (GPS), heart rate (HR) and rate perceived exertion (RPE). The authors stated research that validated the use of HR and RPE as accurate predictors of session intensity, but wanted to examine the use of total body load (TBL), collected by measuring acceleration forces (walking, acceleration, deceleration, change of direction, tackling, etc.) during small sided games.

The authors quoted another study (Reily & Bowen, 1984) that mentioned how, “…unorthodox modes of motion such as running backwards and sideways and changing direction accentuate the metabolic loading” and therefore might through off the RPE. They also mentioned studies that determined

2 Adult Rules for Youth Soccer

I attended a tournament a few weeks ago with a set of rules that I haven't seen used for young teams in any other event. A player was not allowed to re-enter the game once they were substituted in each half. So a player could start the game, play for 20 minutes before being subbed but could not re-enter the game until the second half. The age groups involved were U11 to U14 girls.

The reasons for limiting substitutions in the game when it's played at the highest level make sense and contribute to an attractive and skillful game. If professional teams were allowed to 'roll' players in and out, the game would be more focused on speed and athleticism and much less on the skill of the players. There would also be substantially more physical play because if one of your defenders