Welcome to the Goalkeeping Newsletter. Today’s featured activity works on footwork, positioning and shot blocking.
Start with a couple field players near the top corner of the 18 with balls and a keeper in goal.
The first player starts dribbling across the
Welcome to the FineSoccer Drills Newsletter. Today’s featured activity works on finishing around the 18 and dealing with pressure.
Start with a server with some balls around 25 yards from goal. A forward starts on the 18 and a defender is marking the forward. A keeper is in goal.
The server plays the ball into the forward and the forwards job is to
Welcome to the Goalkeeping Newsletter. Today’s featured activity works on diving, coming forward and strong hands.
A keeper starts on a line with the coach facing him 5 yards away with a medicine ball in his hands. There is another line 18 yards away.
The coach drops the medicine ball slightly out in front and
Welcome to the FineSoccer Drills Newsletter. Today’s featured activity works on short passing, movement and then getting the head up for the longer pass.
Start with 4 even groups in each in their own 30 x 30 grid. There is one ball per grid
The players pass amongst each other within their
By Justin Cresser 4 v 2 (attackers v defenders) keep-away in a small playing area is an excellent way to work on improving possession skills. In today’s session we use the same number arrangement but with some added benefits. This game uses a 40 yard by 40 yard playing area, and has 4 attackers taking
Continue readingBy Justin Cresser
In my time of coaching, I have seen many goals that occur from poor defensive clearances, and in particular, poor defensive headers. Players either mistime the jump, don’t get high enough while jumping, or use poor technique.
This is exercise emphasizes rapid backpedalling and jumping ability, as well as defensive heading technique. It mimics game situations in which balls are lofted in behind a player, and is essential especially for centre-backs, who perform several headers per game while backpedaling or backtracking.
Set up two cones 10 yards apart in a straight line. Designate one cone as the starting cone. Divide your players into pairs and have one player stand in between the two cones, but 2 yards away from the starting cone, facing their partner who is standing behind the starting cone with a ball in their hands (Figure 1).
Play is initiated by having the player in between the cones accelerate towards and touch the starting cone and then immediately backpedal (at speed) towards
Continue reading
By Rico Chan
It is not uncommon that teams (especially youth teams) fail to take full advantage of fast-break attacks due to poor decision making. Of course it is the players who are responsible for making those decisions on the pitch; but, as coaches, we can lay down some principles to guide such decisions. During Newcastle’s 3-1 win against West Brom, Newcastle’s Ben Arfa, Papiss Cisse and Demba Ba demonstrated some quick and accurate decisions that sealed 3-points for Newcastle as they push for a Europa League spot.
Newcastle’s 2nd goal: creating a 1v1 situation
It started with Ben Arfa advancing the ball under pressure with a 1 v 2 situation in the attacking half. I’ve highlighted the 3rd Newcastle attacker as his determination and pace in joining the attack was
Continue readingWelcome to the Goalkeeping Newsletter. Today’s featured activity works on explosiveness and catching.
Start with a line of keepers behind a hurdle (the height of the hurdle can vary but between 1-2 feet high is ideal). A server starts with a ball 10 yards on the other side of the hurdle.
The first keeper jumps off of 2 feet over the hurdle and the server plays a ball in for the keeper to make
Welcome to the FineSoccer Drills Newsletter. Today’s progression works on individual and team defending.
Start with two grids side by side that are 10 x 20 each. One player starts on each end line with one having a ball.
The player starting with the ball passes to the other pass and then follows
By Justin Cresser During the competitive season, the main conditioning goal is maintenance of fitness levels established in the pre- and off-seasons. With technical and tactical exercises a top priority, it can sometimes be difficult to include activities for all the different fitness components. I like to include the following (and similar) exercises in my
Continue readingWelcome to the FineSoccer Drills Newsletter. Today’s featured activity simply involves adding structure to a small sided game.
Frequently a team will end a training session with a small sided game. They might play 7 v 7 including keepers
Instead of doing it this way, consider putting them into positions and
Welcome to the Goalkeeping Newsletter. Today’s featured activity involves three keepers and works on attacking the ball, movement, shot blocking and distribution.
Start with two keepers 30 yards apart and the third keeper is in the middle. There are two cones making up a 6 yard goal in the middle. One of the keepers on the outside starts with a ball.
The keeper with the ball (2) shoots and tries to score between the two cones. Keeper 1 makes
By Justin Cresser
Pattern play involves rehearsing specific patterns to simulate situations that are likely to occur during the game. It does not usually incorporate opposition and can be integrated into phase of play training for a specific element of the game such as wing play or counter attacking. In addition to developing position-specific skills and role awareness, pattern play can also be used for conditioning.
Consider the following pattern play exercise to improve the anaerobic capacity of your central striker (number 9), the right or left wingers (numbers 7 and 11) as well as the central playmaker (number 10).
The starting positions are shown in Figure 1. Play is initiated by the number 10 who dribbles at speed for a few yards and then plays a pass into the feet of the number 9 who has faked a forward run, turned sharply and checked back diagonally into space.
The number 9 plays a 1-touch pass back to the number 10 who then plays a ball into the
Continue readingWelcome to the FineSoccer Drills Newsletter. Today’s featured activity works on defensive transition and shape.
Start with two attacking players at midfield with a ball. Two defending players are out by the sidelines and a keeper is in goal
The attacking players pass the ball back and forth.
Welcome to the FineSoccer Drills Newsletter. Today's featured activity works on 1 v 1 attacking and defending around the 18.
Most of the time, when we work on 1 v 1 play, it's with the attacker facing the defender. However, frequently in games, the attacking player receives the ball with his back to the goal and must create space and turn in order to get the shot. While the attacking player is trying to create space and turn, the defending player is trying to prevent the turn and force the attacker away from the goal.
This is the type of training you would do with small groups because otherwise, there is too much standing around.
Start with a keeper in goal, a line of attackers (in black) at the corner of the 6 and end line and a line of defenders (in yellow) just a step wider than the attackers and 2 yards back. There is a server with some balls wider than the defenders.
The server plays the ball toward the top of the 18 and the first
Here is a 4 v 4 game working on target player and transition while giving a nice anaerobic workout.
This activity uses half a field with a full sized goal and a keeper in goal. Two players start in the D and 3 yellow and 3 black players start at midfield. A coach starts at midfield with a ball.
The coach calls either “yellow” or “black” and whichever color he calls is the
Continue readingHere is a shuttle activity that works on fitness, change of direction and finishing.
Start with 4 balls in a line. One is on the 12 yard spot, one is halfway from the 12 to the 18. One is on the top of the 18 and one is at the top of the D. A keeper is in goal and the player is at a line 10 yards from the closest ball.
The player starts by sprinting to the ball at the 12 yard spot and hitting
Few players enjoy sprints for conditioning. However, if you turn it into a soccer related activity you can get them to work even harder and enjoy themselves while doing so.
Start with a keeper in goal, two cones 15 yards from the midfield line, a player on the line between the cones and a player with a ball at midfield. There are a few players ready to replace the field players.
The player with the ball starts by passing to the
Here is a great activity that works on fitness, focus and finishing.
Start with a keeper in one goal, a second goal on the sideline also with a keeper. There is a server on the 18 and another server on wide of the second goal. The players start behind 5 hurdles which are 1 yard apart 25 yards from goal.
The player starts by passing the server and then jumping over each
Developing whole body strength is essential for peak performance in soccer. How effective you are at shielding the ball from an opposing defender, getting up quickly from a fallen position and constantly withstanding shoulder to shoulder and other physical contact will depend on your whole body strength. Increased whole body strength also improves your ability to perform explosive movements such as jumping and sprinting that play a key role in soccer.
Strength for soccer can be categorized into three main types: basic strength, maximum strength, and strength endurance. Building basic strength is a precursor to developing maximum strength and strength endurance, and should be a focus of the early part the off-season. Maximum strength refers to the ability of a muscle or muscle group to produce the greatest amount of force. Training for maximum strength should only be done by well-trained and experienced players and is not necessary for all levels of play. Strength endurance refers to your muscles' ability to produce force over an extended period of time. Increasing strength endurance will improve the overall work capacity in your players and is very important for soccer, which involves continuous activity over a 90-minute (less for younger players) period. In this article we will focus on basic strength and strength endurance.
Contrary to what many coaches believe, developing basic strength and strength endurance do not require weights or fancy gym equipment. Doing body weight exercises such as push-ups, squats and lunges can be just as effective. Importantly, these exercises can be
Continue readingToday's article is by Justin Cresser.
Balance training should be a fundamental part of a soccer conditioning program, but it is a component of conditioning that is frequently neglected by coaches. Developing good balance is essential for soccer players as it improves co-ordination and body awareness that is required in many game situations such as changing direction quickly or receiving passes under pressure. Balance training is also very important in the prevention of injuries. Think of the many instances where a player lands awkwardly after jumping to make a header or after a poor challenge. Having good control of the body lessens the chances of a player getting hurt.
One good thing about balance training is that you don't need to do many exercises to get a beneficial effect. Doing a few sets of just one or two exercises at the start of your conditioning or regular training session will be sufficient. Consider doing the following simple exercise at your next practice to improve your player's dynamic balance.
Here is a simple activity that works on explosiveness, agility and ball skills.
Start with 4 hurdles (height can vary depending upon the player but 1-2 feet high work fine) spaced in a line 1 yard apart. The players starts behind the last hurdle and there are 2 servers 5 yards from the first hurdle each slightly off to the side. The servers each have a ball.
The player starts by jumping over the first hurdle then quickly slides to his right and receives a pass from
Continue readingWelcome to the FineSoccer Drills Newsletter. Today's featured activity works on attacking with an overlap as well as defending the overlapping run.
Start with a keeper in goal and two attackers and one defender. The attackers are around 35 yards from goal to start and the ball starts with the middle player.
The player with the ball passes to his teammate who then
Continue readingWelcome to the FineSoccer Drills Newsletter. Today's featured activity works on dribbling and taking players on.
Start with your team in a 30 x 30 grid (smaller if you don't have a full team available) with half the players with balls and the other half without.
The players with balls are dribbling at half speed and the
Continue reading