Tag Archives for " Fakes "

1 Three Fakes Every Player Should Know

I believe that we should teach our players to be very comfortable and confident with the ball by teaching them different fakes . During the initial learning phase I want the players to use them every time they get the ball. Some coaches say that you can't teach creativity but I think that you can give them the tools and then teach them how to use them. This can look a bit rough at first as the players get comfortable with the fakes but if they use them enough they learn when to use a move and when to choose another option.

There are so many different fakes you can teach that an important question becomes

0 Giving Players Confidence to Go 1 v 1

I've seen coaches run sessions that work on executing fakes and moves. Then when I watched the team play there was no sign of any moves. Why bother working on them if the players aren't going to use them in the game?

If you ask players why they don't try the moves in games they'll tell you that they are afraid of making a mistake. That tells me that the coach has not built confidence to actually use the moves into his or her session.

It's not complicated or difficult to build the confidence needed to use the moves in the game but as with all confidence it must be built on success.

This simple progression will help your players become more

0 Training 1 v 1 Skills at Home

The summer months are a great time to recharge and take a break from formal training and playing but that doesn't mean that players can't work on improving their individual skills in their own time.

0 1 v 1 Training

I would say that most coaches believe that it's very important for all soccer players to be very comfortable with the ball at their feet. How they go about developing this confidence varies widely from one coach to another. Some will focus on fast footwork exercises, others will use cones or other obstacles to encourage players to keep the ball under control.

I've had the most success using fakes and moves to train ball control, creativity and 1 v 1 ability at the same time. The moves engage the player's imaginations and make it fun to practice. I discussed which

0 A Progressive Method to Teaching Fakes

In last week's post I discussed the first few fakes that I teach young players. I thought it would be a good idea to share HOW I teach these fakes to players as young as six and seven.

I set up by arranging a set of cones in the pattern below.

This allows me to see everyone from the front of the group and it gives them the

4 Which Fakes to Teach Young Players

I'm in favor of teaching young players to be very comfortable and confident with the ball by teaching them different fakes . During the initial learning phase I want the players to use them every time they get the ball. Some coaches have told me that you can't teach creativity but I think you give them the tools and then teach them how to use them. This can look a bit rough at first as the kids get comfortable with the fakes but if they use them enough they learn when to use a move and when to choose another option.

There are so many different fakes you can teach that an important question becomes

2 Moves and Fakes

We had a discussion in the office the other day about the difference between fakes and moves. The discussion revolved around how you can use a move that doesn't fake the defender and whether we should be teaching young players moves or how to fake. This is an interesting subject because there's no shortage of