All Posts by Tom Mura

2 Technical Warm-Up

0 Get Even Sharper

By Mike Smith Lesson 1 Make the Pass Make the Run Set-Up This warm up puts into play some simple attacking elements, but requires advanced timing.  Set one cone in a 30 yd diagonal to the starting cone and then drop another cone about 15 yds below the diagonal cone, as shown. The starting player serves

0 Working the Ball into Wide Areas

By Sean Reed - Objective This session will focus on creating opportunities to play into wide areas and to finish in front of goal. Set Up – 1st Phase Diagram 1 Set Up Working within 2 penalty areas plus 5yds in length and 5yds wide either side 2x teams with 2x goalkeepers and 2 neutral

0 4 v 4 Counter Attacking

By Alex Trukan What your FB and winger need to realize is they are connected, they are a unit. One player’s movement relates to the others and they should work together to manipulate the opposition FB. If both players stay on the line when attacking, their options of moving the ball forwards would be limited.

1 Benefits of Passing Backwards

By Alex Trukan Passing backwards is generally considered by many fans as boring and rather pointless. Although, going backwards is probably more common for possession tiki-taka type of tactics, it is still considered as undesirable, with the highest priority to go forwards whenever possible. Completely agreed, however, regardless of the team’s style of play, a

0 Shielding and Turning in Threes

This week's Animated Drills Video shows a combination of diagrams and training footage of a simple but effective exercise that will train your players to be aware of the pressure and make decisions about when to turn and when to lay the ball off. The diagrams are created with the session planner on Planet Training

0 One-Setup Training Session

0 Role of the Wide Players in the 4-2-3-1

By Sean Pearson With the new USSF mandated birth year and small sided games changes there is a lot of trial and error regarding formations and systems of play. Instead of 8v8 formations, as coaches, we are now trying to figure out how to position our players in the new 7 v 7 and 9

0 Encouraging Improvisation and Creativity

By Sean Pearson Area Size: 36 x 42 Yards Teams: 15 mins Players: 6 v 6 Objectives To understand when and where to improvise and be creative For players to feel encouraged to try different ways of attacking to increase confidence Set-Up Three zones of equal area divide the field into 3 sections. There is an overload of 3v1 in

2 #094 Check Your Shoulder!

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2 Ball Circulation - Barcelona Passing

0 Ball Circulation - 4 v 4 + 4

0 Ball Circulation - 4 v 4 + 4

0 Ball Circulation - 3 v 3 + 4

0 Sharpen Up

By Mike Smith Having been around this game along time I can comfortably say in almost every soccer match, at every level, there are goals left on the field by not challenging the near post and simply letting the keeper catch the ball and by not crashing the back post for a clean up. This lesson

0 Four Goal Games

This week's Animated Drill Video shares some ideas for four goal games that focus on training your players to be more aware of their spacing and look for opportunities to switch the point of attack. The diagrams are created with the session planner on Planet Training that is available through from Planet.Training. Please feel free to

0 The Role of Central Midfielders

By Sean Pearson Area Size: 32 x 45 Yards Teams: 15 mins Players: 8 v 8 Objectives For the deep midfielder to understand their role For the attacking midfielder to understand their role Set-Up Three zones separate the sections of the team, defense, midfield and attack. In the defensive section it should be 4v2, midfield section 2v2 and

1 Transition and Overload

By Sean Reed - Objective This session will focus on the transition from an attacking phase to a defending phase with an overload. Set Up – 1st Phase Diagram 1 Set Up 12 Outfield players and 2 Goalkeepers The pitch is 2x penalty boxes with an extra 5yds Team in Red bibs start with 3

0 Penetration in the 2 - 3 - 1

By Sean Pearson With the new USSF mandated birth year and small sided games changes there is a lot of trial and error regarding formations and systems of play. Instead of 8v8 formations, as coaches, we are now trying to figure out how to position our players in the new 7 v 7 and 9

0 Ball Circulation - 3 v 3 + 3

0 Attacking Quickly from Your Own Half

By Alex Trukan Transition to attack starts when a team is still defending and out of possession. Their defensive strategy and shape will influence the options available upon winning the ball back. Not only the pressing line will influence the distance to the opposition goal when the ball is won but also the amount of

0 Turning Game

By Alex Trukan The following game is focused on developing players’ Aerobic Power, an ability which is fundamental to developing all other physical attributes, serving as body’s recovering system between high intensity actions and bursts. Strong aerobic system ensures proper oxygen supply to muscles as well as improved lungs capacity and blood circulation. This training

0 #093 Practice like a Girl, Compete like a Boy

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0 Four Goal Game