Tag Archives for " Movement "

1 Repetitive Turning Exercise

I like using high energy, repetitive exercises for skill training. They engage the players and give them a lot of opportunities to practice a skill that we have worked on before.

One of my favorites is Tag Turning.

Basic Pattern

1. Two lines of players are facing each other
2. One player has a ball (Player 3)
3. A player from the opposite line starts in the middle (Player 1)
4. Player 1 goes back toward his line and tags the next player (Player 2)
5. Player 1 then checks back toward the ball and Player 3
6. Player 2 follows closely behind
7. Player 1 calls for the ball and Player 3 passes it to him
8. Player 1 receives the ball and turns around Player 2 using one of the four turns taught earlier
9. Player 2 then moves to tag Player 3 while Player 1 passes to Player 4 and the pattern continues

0 #035 11 Different Diamond Drill Variations

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3 Passing on the Move

We often train passing in static lines where the passes go all go in the same direction. Teaching players to pass while moving is important to transfer the techniques of passing to game situations. These exercises are ones that I've used to make the transition from static to dynamic passing.

Passing on the Move

Players pass the ball back and forth up the field receiving with

0 Striker’s Movements in the Final Third

By Alex Trukan

Most of the work done by the strikers shown on the TV and appreciated by fans is when they're in possession of the ball: goals, assists, one on ones. That’s what matters the most, but we, as coaches especially, should also focus and appreciate all the work behind the scenes: subtle movement to create space, dropping down into midfield, body position to play forwards. All of these things have influence on the performance of the team. Striker’s movement in the final third is one of fundamental team tactical component that not only creates chances for himself, but also helps in the build-up play of the whole team.

Starting position and playing between the lines

Basic position of the central striker (number 9) in a 1-4-3-3 system would be between two central defenders of the opponent. That provides him an opportunity to be able to

6 Movements of the Midfield Three in a 1-4-3-3

By Alex Trukan

The system with a three midfielders operating in a triangle is widely known and implemented all around the world. Over the last years, numerous variations of this tactics have been developed and used what has led to the successes of the teams like FC Barcelona or Bayern Munich. One of the crucial components of this system are movements of the midfield three, which not only enable more effective build-up play but also support forwards in the final third of the pitch.

Starting positions – basic shape

When the defenders are in possession during building up play from the back, three midfielders form a triangle with a point down (defensive midfielder being positioned closer to own goal than the two offensive midfielders). That creates some defensive cover and great attacking potential with two

0 #014 Do Your Players Move Without the Ball?

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1 Defensive Movement

By Lawrence Fine, Author of the FineSoccer Coaching Bible. Welcome to the FineSoccer Drills Newsletter. Today’s featured activity works on defensive footwork. One of the big problems players have in defending is poor footwork. If the players work at getting into a good stance/position and then using proper footwork to move backwards they frequently do so

0 Improving Possession Play

Getting our players to make runs off the ball is difficult if they don't know where or how to run. Giving the players options to choose from will take some of the decision making out of the process.

I've started to teach my young players three different runs that create the foundation of our player movement. They are also somewhat progressive so that if one doesn't create an option then they can move to the next one or the one after that before coming back to the first one again.

This concept is from David Goldstein's Improving Your Team's Possession Play.

The three runs that this session focuses on are checking, drifting and

0 Quick Movement, Balance and Catching

By 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

0 Scrambling to Make the Save

By Lawrence Fine, Author of the FineSoccer Coaching Bible.

Welcome to the Goalkeeping Newsletter. Today’s featured activity works on scrambling to make the save.

This activity is designed to work on when the keeper has been caught out of position (possibly because of having made a save and then given up a rebound).

Start with two goals, three yards wide that are six yards apart. There is one keeper and two servers with balls 10 yards from the goals.

One server starts by

0 Passing and Movement off the Ball

By Lawrence Fine, Author of the FineSoccer Coaching Bible.

Welcome to the FineSoccer Drills Newsletter. Today’s featured activity works on passing and movement off the ball.

This is a simple diamond passing activity. One player starts by himself, 3 players are opposite him, 15 yards away and there are cones on each side, 10 yards apart.. The first player in the line of 3 has a ball.

The player with the ball passes to the

1 Passing, Following and Seeing Space

By Lawrence Fine, Author of the FineSoccer Coaching Bible.

Welcome to the FineSoccer Drills Newsletter. Today’s featured activity works on passing, following the pass and seeing space.

Start with 5 players in a circle (you can use the center circle of a field for spacing purposes. There is one ball.

The player with the ball passes to any of the

3 Possession and Finding a Target Player

By Lawrence Fine, Author of the FineSoccer Coaching Bible.

Welcome to the FineSoccer Drills Newsletter. Today’s featured activity works on possession and finding a target player.

Start with a 30 x 30 grid with a 5 x 5 area in the middle.

This is a 6 v 6 activity (the number of players and the size of the

2 The Top Clubs in Europe Do this in Training ....Do You?

This week's post comes to us from Bob Warming, the Head Men's Coach of Penn State University. Warming ranks third among active NCAA Division I coaches with 441 wins. He has been voted Big 10 Coach of the Year for two out of the last three years.

Coach Warming has traveled the world examining the training methods of the top teams and coaches. The innovative training system he describes below is something that most of us don't use and will certainly help take your team to the next level. 

First of all, don't feel bad if you haven't been doing this type training. And...if you are not doing this...don't feel alone! In my experience, very little of this type training is being performed in American soccer training sessions. It's not being taught in our coaching schools and yet it is prevalent throughout top teams in the world. If the academies and first teams at major clubs are doing this type training...shouldn't we be doing this type training in the USA?

I believe that we can add an important component to our youth training in America. I have seen this training develop quicker feet, quicker minds, and a transformation on my own players about thinking, combining and playing in Triangles. I only wish my players had started doing these type exercises when they were younger! And that is the main reason for this article.

Since we began using this methodology as part of our training, we have

0 Defensive Pressure and Attacking Speed

By Lawrence Fine, Author of the FineSoccer Coaching Bible.

Welcome to the FineSoccer Drills Newsletter. Today’s featured activity works on  defensive pressure and attacking at speed.

Start with a 30 x 20 grid, 3 attackers, and 2 defenders. There is a group of balls on the end line the attackers are starting on.

One of the attackers starts with a ball and as soon as he touches the ball the

1 Combination Play Exercise

A large part of teaching combination plays is teaching timing. The challenge is that timing is developed through an understanding of the basic principles and then getting the number of repetitions necessary to get a feel for the timing.

It's best to first teach the patterns of movement and basic principles of each combination play separately. The ones I focus on with young players are the give-and-go, overlap and layoff.

Once these have been learned and understood then I like to combine them into a pattern that allows for a lot of repetitions on both the left and the right side.

This setup is one that can be used for many passing activities from

0 Reversed Passes

By Sean Pearson Area Size: 2/3 of Field Teams: 8 v 8 Time: 20-25 Minutes Objectives To draw defenders out of position To realize when to run beyond the striker The players in black are set up in a 4-3-3 point down system (without full backs). This allows the #8 & #10 to start higher and closer to

0 Training Movement in Futsal

In any sport, movement is the key to creating options. When players don't move or move in easily predictable ways they become easy to defend. The fewer players that are involved in the game, the more important movement becomes. With only four field players, Futsal places a high demand on player movement to pull the defense out of position and create openings to attack.

I attending the recent US Youth Futsal National Level 3 course in Gardner, KS. It was conducted by US Youth Futsal Technical Director Keith Tozer. The 20-hour course covered the basic techniques and

2 5 v 2 Progression

I feel confident in saying that most coaches use a 5 v 2 possession game in their training plan. It's a great exercise that is a technical challenge but also requires the players to make good decisions about where to pass and how to support. Like any exercise, if you use it too often it

0 Situational Agility: Face or Turn Back to Player

This post from our Soccer Conditioning Experts at SoccerFIT highlights an area that I'm always working on with my players: Facing up or Back to Pressure.

This post is taken from Sub Chapter 5.11- of our SoccerFIT Yearly Program, where we are talking about body position as it relates to soccer speed/agility, specifically regarding the ability to anticipate a situation and make subtle changes to the hard wired agility patterns based on desired tactical outcomes…

Body Position in Relation to Other Players: The third developmental coaching point is

0 Creating Movement to Create Options

During the winter my teams play Futsal. I have always been frustrated by my team's lack of movement and interchanging of positions. The players tend to stay in a small area which creates fewer options.

I put the following session together in order teach my players to pass, move and be aware of the movements of their teammates. If each time a player passes and moves another player slides to

0 Teaching Three Runs to Create Options

This is one of those sessions that I read or saw another coach present but I can't recall where. I wish I could give the coach credit because I've found it to be a very useful session to teach players how to make runs for their teammate with the ball.

The three runs that this session focuses on are checking, drifting and

2 How To Improve Decision Making With Your Team

Welcome to the FineSoccer Drills Newsletter. Today’s featured activity is a game that involves decision making, spacing, movement and much more.

Start with a 40 x 40 grid with a 10 x 10 area in the middle. There is a 4 yard wide goal in each corner.

This is a 6 v 6 game (the numbers can vary) with a neutral player in the middle. Each team is

0 A 3-person Passing Combination Working On Passing and Movement

Welcome to the FineSoccer Drills Newsletter.  Today’s featured activity is a 3 person passing combination working on passing and movement.

Start with a 20 x 10  with two players in opposite corners and one in the middle. Player 1, on the outside starts with a ball.

Player 1 passes to player 2 and then sprints to the