By Mike Smith This session is focused on small groups of players working together to defend the space behind them. I am first and foremost a defensive minded coach. I have had tons of success teaching teams to drop back early in two lines of four, essentially playing a 4 man midfield like a 4 man back
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By Sean Pearson Area Size: 24 x 30 yards. Divide area into 3 equal areas of 8 x 15 and an area in front of the goal 24 x 10 Teams: 3 v 3 Time: 20 - 25 Minutes Objectives: To know who is pressure (1st) defender, cover (2nd) defender & third (3rd) To recognize when, where
Continue readingBy Lawrence Fine, Author of the FineSoccer Coaching Bible.
Welcome to the Goalkeeping Newsletter. Today’s featured activity works on quick movement, balance, and catching.
Start with a keeper standing in a 6 x 6 square. Each corner is numbered 1-4. There is a server 10 yards away with a ball.
The server calls a number and the keeper must
Continue readingBy Lawrence Fine, Author of the FineSoccer Coaching Bible.
Welcome to the Goalkeeping Newsletter. Today’s featured activity works on footwork, fitness, balance and catching.
Start with a speed ladder on the ground and a keeper on one end facing a server who has a ball.
The keeper starts by hopping (with two feet) into the
Continue readingBy Lawrence Fine, Author of the FineSoccer Coaching Bible.
Welcome to the Goalkeeping Newsletter. Today’s featured activity works on footwork, fitness and balance.
There are still too many coaches who think that running laps is an effective way to work on fitness. Others lean toward full field or half field sprints. The problem with this type of fitness work is, while there is a place for it, it’s not the type of movement that a keeper does. Keepers do a lot of forward and backward movement but more in the 5 yard range as opposed to the 50 yard range. This is an activity to work on the type of fitness and movement that is more applicable for keepers.
Start with 6 cones staggered in two lines 5 yards apart. The keepers start in a line at one end and there is a server 10 yards from the last cone, on the other end.
One thing to emphasize from the very beginning is
Continue readingBy Lawrence Fine, Author of the FineSoccer Coaching Bible.
Welcome to the Goalkeeping Newsletter. Today’s featured activity works on footwork, shot blocking and balance.
Start with a server, with balls. near the 18 on a slight angle and a keeper in goal at the near post. There is a cone in the middle of the goal.
The keeper starts by
Continue readingBy Lawrence Fine, Author of the FineSoccer Coaching Bible.
Welcome to the FineSoccer Drills Newsletter. Today's featured activity works on defensive stance and individual balance while defending.
Coaches frequently talk about defensive stance and the need to stay low, balanced etc. The thing that frequently gets neglected is the approach and how the defender should get from running toward the attacker to the good balanced stance. This activity will work on this important part of defending.
Start with a group of attackers near the midfield line, a group of defenders on the end line, a keeper in goal and a server out wide with some balls.
The server starts by passing a
Continue readingBy Lawrence Fine, Author of the FineSoccer Coaching Bible.
Welcome to the Goalkeeping Newsletter. Today’s featured activity works on strength, balance, catching and a little bit of fitness.
Start with a keeper and a server 10 yards apart. The server has a ball in his hands.
For a one minute period the server volleys balls to the keeper who catches and then
Continue readingBy: Dan Minutillo - Author of Formation Based Soccer Training
Coaches of great soccer teams like Barcelona, Real Madrid and Arsenal struggle to find and maintain a balance between game day offense and defense measured by goals for as compared to goals against. Arsene Wenger, longtime coach at Arsenal, said as late as April 2013, over 30 games into the EPL season that Arsenal had only now just found the proper balance between offense and defense during League games--too many goals against, not enough goals for. Numbers up on attack, high in the front third of the pitch but numbers down in the middle third of the pitch when defending on transition.
Offensive balance means that a team has not over committed players high up field going forward on attack during the run of play to expose it to quick transition if it loses the ball. Defensive balance means that a team has held shape and has committed enough players or the right players behind the ball as the team is attacking to slow transition in the event the ball is lost. Defensive balance promotes the freedom of movement of the attacking players during an attack but offensive balance does not likewise influence defensive balance. This will make more sense as the theme of this article is developed.
What is game day offensive and defensive balance and how is it attained by a team?
Game day offensive and defensive balance is a tactical maneuver, no matter what formation is used, to ensure
Continue readingWelcome to the Goalkeeping Newsletter. Today’s featured activity is extremely simple and works on catching, balance, fitness and strength.
Start with two cones two yards apart with a keeper in between them. A server stands 10 yards away with a ball in his hands
To start the keeper stands between the two cones and
Welcome to the Goalkeeping Newsletter. Today’s featured activity works on footwork, balance and shot blocking.
The keeper starts on the near post with a server 12 yards out on a slight angle with some balls. There is a cone in the middle of the goal.
The players slides to the middle