Mike Smith Archives - Page 2 of 6 - WORLD CLASS COACHING Training Center

0 Top Down and Down Up Save Progression

By Mike Smith - Try this simple training progression to help improve your keeper’s quickness and reaction time, I call it Top Down / Down Up. How often do we shoot on the keeper, allowing them to make one save and then giving them recovery time – regardless of what happens with the ball after

0 Study the Shooters

By Mike Smith - I am a firm believer in the ideals of probability, muscle memory and geometry. I think all of these are key aspects of good fundamental keeper training. However, at some point, a keeper has to be able to rely on their own unique abilities – just like a natural goal scorer

0 Compact Attacking

By Mike Smith I am absolutely a believer in getting the ball out wide to the flag to hit in crosses as a bread and butter style of offense. I also understand the idea of using width to make the field too big for any opponent to cover. However, what if your team just isn’t good

0 Don’t Get Mugged on Corners

By Mike Smith - Something which is more and more common these days, at least in my neck of the woods, is the instant shielding of the keeper by the attacking team on corners. While for me this tactic skirts the edge of legality sometimes, if done within the boundaries of the laws of the

0 What is Your Holding Mid Holding For?

By Mike Smith This year I have a player who I think will make a text book holding mid. He loves soccer and has played recreationally his whole life but this year ( his junior year of high school ) is his first season of real, organized, competitive play. However, he has worked his way into

0 The Shape Has to Match Style

By Mike Smith This past off season one of my former players was speaking with the new coach for her old school and mentioned calling me for some help as when I was there ( it is a very small, rural area ) the team she played on was able to establish the program as a

0 Using Futsal to Train Fundamentals

By Mike Smith Question - Are there drills I can use on a Futsal court to train the overall fundamentals of soccer? Absolutely! Our local YMCA used to section off their basketball courts for the winter Futsal league – and it was packed with players of all ages. I decided to coach a group of

0 Positional Specific Shape

By Mike Smith My middle school soccer coach was the first coach to really introduce me to the concepts behind what we were actually trying to do on the field and I credit this for my interest in an overall tactical approach. I remember thumbing through one of his old soccer books and noting the difference

0 Anticipate Blind Shots

By Mike Smith - I often times challenge my field players to hit “ blind” crosses to space, anticipating a target player will get there. The searching ball/shot is a staple of every soccer game at every level; however few keepers actually regularly train to save these “ blind” shots during the run of play.

3 Debate – 4-3-3 v 4-2-3-1 Which Is Better – Video

This discussion with Alex Mason, DOC, Sporting Omaha and Mike Smith, Head Coach, University Heights Academy Boys Soccer, Hopkinsville, KY, breaks down the strengths and weaknesses of the 4-3-3 and the 4-2-3-1. Both share how they line up defensively and how that changes when in possession. They also explain how their line ups and tactics

0 Coaching Discussion With John Murphy

John Murphy, head coach at Georgia Southern University shares his views on tactics, systems of play, training sessions, his favorite practice sessions and more. Murphy has authored these two goalkeeper coaching books. Full Season Goalkeeper Training Program Team Training For the Goalkeeper

0 Build From the Back With 7v7

By Mike Smith Question - We play 7v7 in our U12 league here in Sweden. We run a 2-3-1 and want to train build up play from the back. We also need to work on attacking from this system as well. Are there some drills which help with both? The only real issue with build

0 Forget the Ball, Control the Space

By Mike Smith No, don’t totally forget the ball in regards to soccer in general, however, a critical part of implementing a defensive style of play is perfecting body position, spacing, angles and timing; all of which have very little to do with the ball. The short version is “ don’t stab” but since the purpose

0 Work Up from the Ground

By Mike Smith - While most of the time I am a huge advocate of running training sessions which replicate actual match conditions, the need for players and coaches to take the time and breakdown / develop individual skills is the foundation which any match success is built on. From a keeping standpoint, a goalie

0 Hit the Third Runner for Better Counters

By Mike Smith Something I noticed in watching the World Cup is the number of counter attacking teams. I don’t consider myself an arm chair coach, but as one who loves a counter attacking style I did catch something which is worth mention, and practice for those of us who like to run the break: using

0 Your Feet Get Your Hands There

By Mike Smith - I can’t count the times I have heard a keeper say “ I was just a step away” after missing a save, yet continue to leave their feet immediately or stretch their arms out first instead of taking that extra step.? The bad habits of immediately jumping or reaching too soon

1 Is the 4-2-3-1 Too Advanced For High School Players?

By Mike Smith Question - Is the 4-2-3-1 formation with attacking full backs too advanced for the high school soccer team/athlete to be successful? Short Answer: No, the 4-2-3-1 formation with attacking full backs is not too advanced for the high school soccer team / athlete to be successful. The more important question to ask

0 Possession with a 4-2-4

By Mike Smith I am not trying to coin a new style of play, but early on in my coaching career, when I was encouraged to focus on my own coaching education and soccer IQ I remember watching the Brazilian National Team and thinking “ They just get in a big circle and pass it around.”

0 How to Smother the Ball

By Mike Smith - One of the best training tools I have learned to use over my years of coaching is to simply re-create game like scenarios for my players. I have found this technique the most useful when working with keepers as so much of goal keeper play involves quick decision making during a

0 Is Playing Up An Age Group Appropriate?

By Mike Smith Question - Is it appropriate to play older teams on a regular basis during a season?. Short Answer : Yes, especially after U13. There is more to the story, which I will address in a moment, but for all practical purposes after age 11 ( 6th grade) any soccer player who is

0 Practice Attacking in a 2-4-4

By Mike Smith If you are of the mind the best defense is a good offense, then practicing in a 2-4-4 deserves your consideration, as chances are your side is doing it anyway. When I run a 4-4-2, I love the standard ball out to the wing mid, service into two forwards , one on each

0 Game Ready GK Warm Up

By Mike Smith - One of the tell-tale signs of good team is how they warm up their goalies prior to a game. Good teams ( coaches ) understand practice activity and pre game activities are, or at least should be, similar but different animals. Especially in youth sports, practices are a mix of individual

0 Good Drills For Support Play

By Mike Smith Question - Do you have any good drills / exercises to help with support play when we have possession of the ball?. There are three drills which I have found work well to support possession play, each one dealing with the differing phases of possession: winning the ball – transitioning into possession

1 Run Your Center Midfielder in a Circle for Better Support

By Mike Smith Over the years, I have been fortunate enough to coach a few players who I just wanted involved in every play and touch on the ball. Unlike the specialized players like lock down defenders or natural goal scorers or wing players who could always hit the right cross given time and space….. these

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