By Alex Trukan This game is focused on improving aerobic endurance as well as 1v1 duels. From the physical point of view, it helps players to maintain many actions throughout the whole game, what will enable them to be more involved and affect the game more even towards the end of it. From the technical
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By Josh Jones-Keen - This is another topic and drill that was discussed at the recent FA Keepers Conference. As players get faster and the game changes dealing with 1:1’s is becoming more & more important. 40x40 yard box with two small boxes in side for the Keepers. [wpsharely id="821"][/wpsharely] 6v 3 with a Keeper in
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By Sean Reed - Objective This is a defending session that focuses on defending 1v1, getting up to the ball. Passive Defending – Getting up to the Ball Diagram 1 Set Up The minimum number for this session is 3, beyond that you can split the groups or put more players into one group. As the
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By Alex Trukan The ‘Four Goal 1v1 Game’ helps the players to develop explosive power, an ability mainly used in 1v1 duels as well as when intercepting the ball or during shoulder to shoulder battles. It is evident all over the pitch that more explosive and powerful players get advantage and pose a real challenge
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By Alex Trukan This practice is focused on developing an ability to produce explosive actions based on combining speed and strength. That is very demanding for the body’s energy system and therefore work to rest ratios should be administered carefully. Technical focus at the same time is turning in 1v1 situations what links perfectly to
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By Alex Trukan Starting speed is a physical quality that often makes the biggest visible difference in football games. Players able to accelerate over short distances and start the run powerfully gain immediate advantage over other players. That ability might be used in attack, for example when a striker makes a run past a defender
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Continue readingBy Alex Trukan This simple practice is easy to organise and can be suitable for a variety of age groups and ability levels. It contains a lot of technical work focused on turning as well as incorporates an element of finishing. Physically, it develops power to change direction, accelerate and exploit space in front of
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By Alex Trukan This game involves a 1v2 situation with a recovering player from behind that creates a transition based scenario. It also challenges the attacker to make a decision to counter attack quickly before opposition gets organised. From the conditioning perspective, the practice is based around developing capacity to produce high intensity actions with
Continue readingBy Alex Trukan This modification of 1 v 1 scenario involves an option to use a teammate or go individually. It therefore creates more decision making than in a typical 1v1 situation and is more realistic to the game. From the conditioning point of view, it trains anaerobic energy system which is responsible for high
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By Sean Pearson Area Size: 40 x 35 Yards Teams: 5 v 5 Time: 15-20 Minutes Objectives To understand when and where to move before the pass To think 2 passes ahead This session focuses on player’s movement off the ball. Personally I feel this is one of the most important aspect of a soccer team. To
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By Alex Trukan
This practice is focusing on developing reaction time and quick bursts of acceleration over short distances. Its’ design ensures the practice is fun and challenging at the same time what makes it suitable for almost all age groups. Relating to the match context, the exercise will help the players to make quicker decisions, react and accelerate to win possession or make a tackle.
Set up and Directions
Set up four cones, two on one side, and two opposite them. Organise two players, both of them between two cones, opposite
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By Sean Pearson Area Size: 35 x30 Yards Teams: 4 v 4 + 1 Time: 15 Minutes Objectives To understand when and where to attack 1v1 To be positive in decision making A lot of emphasis in today’s soccer is put on possession and passing but what if a team is ‘parking the bus’ passing in front of
Continue readingBy Alex Trukan
The presented exercise is designed to develop repetitive short sprinting power in a running with the ball scenario with a finishing element. From the physical perspective, it helps the players to be quicker and more explosive when trying to win a race to the ball or be faster than the defender in and around the box. That is linked to technical element of running with the ball and shooting on goal. The organisation of the practice ensures that work to rest ratio is easier to manage as well as players get enough repetitions without long waiting periods.
Set up and Directions
Cone off two channels of approximately 20 yards in length and 4 in width. Place one goal on the opposite ends of the channels. Divide the players into pairs and set half of the pairs at the beginning of one channel (opposite the goal) and the other half at the start of the second channel. Two coaches/players are needed to play the
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This practice is designed to improve the quality of high intensity actions, developing speed and power to accelerate. It is relevant for all the positions, in particular, defenders (e.g. accelerating towards the ball played in behind) or strikers (e.g. getting away from defender). It has also a technical element of turning as well as shooting. For the players it is highly engaging and fun game that develops them physically, psychologically as well as technically.
Set up and Directions
Position two goals with the back to each other, 5 yards apart. Organise goalkeepers into goals. Divide the team into two groups, and set them next to the
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This game is a perfect option to challenge the players in tight 1v1 situations with the defender from the back. That will develop players’ strength, core stability, balance as well as agility to keep possession of the ball away from the defender and at the same time progress as a team onto opposition’s half and score. It is highly motivating and engaging game for almost all ability levels.
Set-Up and Directions
Set up a pitch of approximately 25x35 yards. Divide the pitch into four smaller areas. Place one goal on each end. Divide the team into two groups of five, organise goalkeepers in goals. Set every player on each team into different area, so in each of the
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This is a great game focused on improving multiple physical attributes including aerobic and anaerobic power (high intensity efforts and recovery time between them). Apart from that it forces players to adapt to different overload and underload situations. From the technical point of view, it includes a variety of 1v1 and 2v1 situations which then build up into 4v4 game. The practice is suitable for almost every age group and level of players.
Set-Up and Directions
Organise a pitch of approximately 30x40 yards with one goal on each end. Divide the players into two groups and position them next to the goals. Organise one goalkeeper in each goal. Provide a
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The following practice is focused on developing endurance through extensive interval training method. That is especially relevant for improving recovery time between high intensity actions. For example, after quick bursts of acceleration or recovery runs. That is achieved in a modification of 1v1 practice, which involves three separate players defending their own gate and at the same time attacking oppositions’ goals. The practice is highly engaging and competitive and can be adapted to suit different numbers of players.
Set-Up and Directions
Organise three gates, each 4-5 yards wide, in a triangle shape as shown on the diagram below. Designate one player with one ball each to every single gate. The area size can be increased to develop running with the ball rather than dribbling. The number of gates can be adapted to the players available (i.e. 4 Gates).
The game starts on the coach’s signal. The players are then
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The ‘Hit the Ball’ 1v1 Game is aimed at improving explosiveness and speed with the ball in a 1v1 competitive scenario. That will help the players to dominate duels against the defenders, improving the quality of ball control on the speed and under pressure. The organisation of the exercise, however, is not only focused on the dribbling content but also contains a passing element what makes it more competitive and match realistic.
Set-Up and Directions
Organise a 15x25 yards area with four cones, 5 yards apart, on each side. Place a ball on each of the end line cones. In 5 yards into the middle of the area, place another 4 cones in the same line as the end line cones. Divide the players into pairs. One player starts with the ball on one side of the middle area, while his partner positions himself on the opposite side of the central area.
The game starts with a player in possession of the
Continue readingI recently did a podcast episode on 1 v 1 Training For Every Situation on CoachingSoccerWeekly.com. One of the games I use a lot is a continuous game. The players love it because it is fast paced and fun.
I like it because the players have to transition quickly between attack and defense. There is also an emphasis on quick attacking that I've seen transfer well into match situations.
The attacker must get the ball into the
Continue readingBy Lawrence Fine, Author of the FineSoccer Coaching Bible.
Welcome to the FineSoccer Drills Newsletter. Today’s featured activity works on 1 v 1 play and getting shots in tight spaces.
Too often we work on shooting with a stationary ball or with a lot of space to work within. This activity helps prepare the attacking player to be able to get a shot hit in a tight space.
Start with an attacking player on the top of the D, a defender at the top of the 18 and a keeper in goal. The attacking player has a ball.
As soon as the attacker touches the ball, the game is
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