All Posts by Mike Saif

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

1 Defensive Shape With Overlapping Runs

Welcome to the FineSoccer Drills Newsletter.  Today’s featured activity is a 4 v 4 game working on defensive shape with overlapping runs.
There are some excellent activities working on this aspect of the game in the book Defending & Goalkeeping Drills of the World’s Top Teams & Coaches

Start with 4 attacking players around 35 yards out and 4 defending players.  There is a keeper in goal and one of the central attacking players has the ball.

The two central players pass the

5 Change of Direction and Diving

Welcome to the Goalkeeping Newsletter.  Today’s featured activity works on explosiveness, change of direction, diving and shot blocking.

Start with a keeper in the center of the goal with a hurdle one yard in front of each post.  The hurdles are facing the sidelines.  A server is at the top of the 18 with some balls

The keeper starts by sliding, side to side, toward one of the

1 Soccer Agility-Change of Pace

Changing pace is critical in soccer. A player that possesses this skill is able to accelerate and decelerate quickly, transferring energy from the front foot to the back and then to the front again.  It is a skill used by strikers when making accelerating diagonal runs or when defenders need to intercept a penetrating ball.  Here is an exercise that will help teach this change from acceleration to deceleration:  Change of pace.

Purpose:

-        To develop the ability to accelerate and decelerate over a very short distance.

-        To develop sport specific evasion

0 Shooting from Central Areas in a 4-3-3

I've written about my teams transition to playing a 4-3-3 in previous posts. The process has been going really well. I've been very pleased with how we are defending with the system. This was a concern for me because I could see how we were going to be able to deal with the other team's wide players. The girls have done well sharing this responsibility between the winger, attacking midfielders and wing backs.

We've been able to create a lot of offense using the wingers and wing backs getting forward. The player we haven't used much is our center forward. The spaces in the middle have been so congested that it's been easier to get the ball wide and attack from there.

This week I want to work on attacking combinations in the middle of the field. We have a number of good resources for this type of session. An article in the September Magazine Update to our Member Drills Database includes a great session from Jan Pruijn of Ajax International. The session was originally presented at the Nebraska WORLD CLASS COACHING International Coaching Seminar held last February in Lincoln, NE.

Another great resource is Player's Roles in the 4-3-3. One of the two books focuses on

15 Corner Kicks, Free Kicks & Counter-Attacks

Welcome to the FineSoccer Drills Newsletter.  Today’s featured activity works on corner kicks, free kicks and counter attacks.  This is an interesting way to work on dead ball situations while incorporating other aspects of the game of soccer. There are other variations such as these in the book Brazilian Soccer Coaching: Learn How to Train Technically Superior and Tactically Intelligent Players Training the Brazilian Way

This is a regular 11 v 11 scrimmage (or less numbers depending upon how many you have available).  One team starts on offense and takes 10 corner kicks from one side.  Players line up as they would in a regular game.

The attacking team (in this case the black team) makes it’s normal runs trying to score while

3 Near Post Shots

Welcome to the Goalkeeping Newsletter.  Today’s activity works on near post shots and reading a situation.

Start with a server with balls12 yards out from the 6 extended.  Another player is near the 12 yard spot and a keeper is at the far post.

The server says “go” and the keeper quickly works his

1 Dynamic Warm-Up

When talking about fitness and conditioning one of the most important things for players (and teams) to do is make sure they get a proper warm up.  If you are a coach, it’s vital you make sure your players warm up properly.  If you are a player, it’s your responsibility to make sure you are warmed up properly.  If your team or coach doesn’t make sure you warm up properly, you should do it yourself.

Years ago, warming up meant static stretching and then a little bit of jogging.  Nowadays, one is much more likely to do some form of dynamic warm up

Below is an example of a dynamic warm up I used for years.

1 Creating Movement and Combination Play

My U13 team that is playing in the 4-3-3 formation played it's first tournament this weekend. I think it's very beneficial to have an early season tournament so that the team plays three or four games over the course of a weekend. Generally I'm not a fan of the current tournament system and feel that they put too much emphasis on who has the fittest team rather than who has the best team. But the advantage is that you can spot areas that need to be worked on in one game and then come back and focus on those in the next game.

After an early season tournament I usually have two or three weeks of sessions in mind based things that we need to improve on from those games. This weekend we were clearly the strongest team but we ran into a team that knew our players and system of play. They sat in and played a 4-5-1 (which looked more like a 4-6-0 at times) and just looked to catch us on the counter attack. They were successful in keeping us out because we

1 Movement OFF the Ball

Welcome to the FineSoccer Drills Newsletter.  Today’s featured game works on movement off the ball and the use of depth in the attack.  You can see similar type games in the book Brazilian Training Games; 102 Small-Sided Games, Exercises and Drills.

There is a tendency for forwards to come back far to get the ball and while their eagerness to be involved is commendable, the problem is it makes it difficult to stretch the field in the attack.  This makes it easier for the opponent to compress the field when defending and eliminates a lot of space to work with,

This game is on a field that is 50 x 30 (size can vary depending upon the number of players on the field) with two teams of 6.  Use flags (or poles) to make a goal 10 yards in from each end line.

This is a regular game with the exception that a team can score from

4 A Catching Game to Work on Hands & Distribution

Welcome to the Goalkeeping Newsletter.  Today’s featured activity is a catching game to work on hands, confidence and distribution.

Start with 2 keepers 10 yards apart (the distance can vary depending upon the level of the keepers.  You do want this to be done between 2 keepers of similar abilities.  One keeper starts with a ball in their hands.

The keeper with the ball throws the ball at the other keeper.  The ball can be thrown at any

0 Agility and Perception

All too often coaches train agility with their athletes simply by running pattern-based drills with ladders, dots, cones or lines. And although this is a necessary tactic in teaching pattern movement, it quickly loses it value once the players understand where they need to go. The player’s focus is isolated on getting to the cone by reaching with the foot or hand. Their vision is focused on the cone or line where they lose the athletic feel of the pattern, and when this happens the drill loses its effectiveness.

In reactive-situational agility we do not want the player focused on moving to a spot on the field, and we certainly do not want them