By Mike Smith The idea of transition, which Merriam Webster defines as the passage from one state to another, should contain elements of both states until the full change is made. From a soccer perspective, this to me means taking an extra step between defending and all out attack especially when a quick counter opportunity is
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By Mike Smith When attacking from crosses, I always want a near post and a far post run. However, IF the crossing player can get to the end line and engage the keeper themselves, the near post runner needs to drop off and open space. I am not a big fan of low percentage near post
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By Mike Smith Even if your team is a high pressure team, taking the time to get behind the ball and get in shape can still be critical to preventing counters or getting burned by a speedster. This session works with the idea of a group of 4 defenders focusing on getting in shape to deny
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By Mike Smith This is one of my favorite sessions as it works on midfield movement, midfield recovery (marking ) and beating a defense with an accurate long pass. IF your team struggles in transition or playing on the ground through the midfield this will help them both improve AND recognize opportunities for a quick deep
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By Mike Smith Do your players try to do too much, force play or actually play themselves out of opportunities? I see this a lot, especially in high school soccer. This session is built on the simple concept of teaching players to recognize when the pieces for an attack are in place. The idea is to
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By Mike Smith This session contains several simple patterns of passing and movement, based on a diamond shape, which are especially good for training midfield and attacking movement in the offensive third. Lesson 1 Two Ball Pass and Move Set Up Groups of 4 players set up in a diamond made of 8 cones spaced 7-10
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By Mike Smith Several years ago I realized what General Patton said was very true – “ A good plan now is better than the perfect plan tomorrow.” While I really love to see my team get set up and swing the ball the entire width of the field at will, sometimes the opponent is just
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By Mike Smith This session is great before your first seasonal contest, to keep sharp or to prepare for tournament play. Lesson 1 4 Corner Warm Up Set Up Groups of 3 to 4 players take up positions at the corners of the penalty box. The players on the end line alternate diagonal services to the
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By Mike Smith It is almost just as simple as it sounds. The fact is, defensively the most important space is only 8 yds wide and 8 ft high, and is always stationary in the center of the field. Tucking in and protecting this space is a guaranteed way to have a chance for victory in
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By Mike Smith This session focuses on midfield movement to get players open, even when the numbers are equal. Lesson 1 3 v 3 with Targets and Neutrals Set Up Set up a 20 x 20 yd grid as shown. Two teams of 3 work against each other inside the box. Each team has a target
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By Mike Smith This is a great session to run when your team is ready to play, but needs to clean up and clarify basic midfield and back line roles and supporting runs. Lesson 1 Give and Go Box Set Up A group of 4 players work inside a 10 x 10 yd box. The
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By Mike Smith One of the first things I remember a coach telling me as a youth player was “ Every run should have some shape.” I was that player who would argue a straight line is a shape. And while there are plenty of chances for the simple, straight line approach the fact is, most
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By Mike Smith One of the most basic principles to follow for success on the soccer field is “keep everything in front of you”. When defending using Pressure and Cover, keeping everything in front means not getting split. Just the act of not getting split alone allows for the delay most teams need to recover defensively,
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By Mike Smith Whether it is a forward coming back to support on defense and then trying to get back up top, or a defender making a run into the attack, runs from deep can cause a lot of trouble for a defense. For these runs to be effective your players must have combined vision and
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By Mike Smith Almost every day, on soccer fields across the world, the same few words and phrases are repeated constantly. “ Wide”, “ Pass it ”, “Push Up”. Right there in that mix, “ Mark Up “ has to be included. Whether playing zone, man or a mix, effective marking is a critical step toward
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By Mike Smith This session focuses on passing accuracy first, movement second and combined vision and timing third. This is a great session to sharpen up passing accuracy while building into a 4 man combination attack. Lesson 1 Three Passing Stations Set Up Set up three stations as shown on the diagram. The bottom station is
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By Mike Smith Players win or lose games. Coaches either put their players in positions to be successful or not, and a coach can and should certainly impact the game. Still, the guys and gals with the boots on ultimately determine the outcome. Because of this fact, teams whose players are actively thinking and reading the
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By Mike Smith This training session is a functional tactical approach that emphasizes that we must have clarity on our roles. For this session, seven and eleven must stay wide when ball is down the middle of field. When ball moves to flank, the near side player must stay wide and the far side needs to
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By Mike Smith “Be in the right place at the right time.” Tons of success stories on and off the field and in all walks of life have come down to that statement. In soccer, the idea of team shape exemplifies this concept. However, actively managing team shape can be hard for players (especially young ones
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By Mike Smith Some players have that thing you just can’t coach – touch, creativity, vision….. but that doesn’t mean those things can’t be polished. So many times momentum is gained or lost on simple hustle; not just speed, but complete mental, emotional and physical hustle. This session gives players a chance to work on timing,
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By Mike Smith Lesson 1 Get, Give and Go Set-Up Set up 6 passing stations ( as shown .) 3 should be 10yds and 3 should be 15 – 20yds in width. Make sure 3 stations run lateral and 3 run vertical. Groups of 2 pass to each other between the cones at each station. An
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By Mike Smith So many good things come from basic triangle passing. 2 players can use wall passing in triangle shapes to consistently move the ball. 3 players moving in triangles adds even more to the equation. And, many times during a game, a team will find itself with its back 4 holding a line, 2
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By Mike Smith While so much of success in sports comes down to strength and conditioning, even in the best team environments running for conditioning is on the low end of favorite player activities. I have found it astonishing over the years how many players love soccer, but hate running. Unfortunately for those players, soccer is,
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By Mike Smith Pele famously stated, “ There are no tactics without technique”. And while a skillful debater could argue the advantage of tactical awareness and application, Pele’s words still prevail. From a developmental stand point, I boil down the idea of technique into one aspect, first touch. “It”, i.e. success, all comes down to that
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