Tag Archives for " technical "

2 #018 Creating a Technical Training Plan

Click Here to Listen to Podcast Click Here for the Show Notes

0 Warm-Up for Mind and Body

By Patrick Kasperitis -

A warm-up is intended to be a wake-up exercise for the mind as well. We need to prepare our goalkeepers to be able to focus on a specific task with many different stimulants around them. This warm-up exercise will incorporate functional agility movements with handling and playing with the feet.

The exercise is set up as below. I generally look to do all footwork at least off to the side of the goal for two reasons: 1) preserve the integrity of the ground inside of the goal area, and 2) when doing work with our feet, I ask our goalkeepers to try and avoid taking touches inside of the frame of the

0 Changing Your 4v4 Games

Small-sided games are an excellent way to give your players a lot of touches while retaining the core elements of the game. In my opinion the 4 v 4 format is the best of all. It has everything the full sided game has but it allows for a lot more touches and opportunities for each player to contribute to the game. There's no where to hide in a 4 v 4 game.

Obviously, different methods of scoring drastically change way your players approach game. I like to challenge the players with different environments that challenge them to come up with solutions to the problems the game presents

We have three different books that I look to for new ideas when it comes to small-sided games. One of them is 'Coaching Soccer Champions'. The author, Terry Michler, is the winningest high school coach in the country. He's been the Head Coach

0 #011 Four Favorite Fun Warm-Ups

Click Here to Listen to Podcast Click Here for the Show Notes

2 Competitive Shooting Activity

When WORLD CLASS COACHING conducted a tour of Dutch club a few years ago I was fortunate enough to attend. While visiting the Ajax Academy I watched a session presented by Robin Pronk, coach of the U17 Boys Academy team. The focus of his session was on passing combinations but after going through a number of progressions that lead to a small-sided game the team then moved to a series of shooting competitions.

Shooting Game
The teams from the 7 v 7 scrimmage are used for this

0 #008 The Triangle Training Method

Click Here to Listen to Podcast

0 Running with the Ball

Everyone does dribbling exercises but you don't see many coaches teaching their players to run with the ball. It might seem like this doesn't have to be 'taught', players will just do it on their own. But their is a when, where and how to running with the ball. This is an example of a

0 Creating a 'False 9'

This excerpt is from one of our most popular titles, 'The False 9'. This is a unique offer of both an eBook and videos that compliment each other very well. Detailed diagrams and descriptions from the eBook are followed up with video analysis that present a complete picture of the techniques and tactics that are

1 Breaking Down the Technique of Shooting

A player's shooting technique is a bit like a golfer's swing; there is a generally accepted way to shoot a soccer ball but there are also individual differences that can exist without a negative effect on the final product.

Even though there we can accept individual difference, I think it's important to give young players a template to work from. This session is designed to give a player the key points so that they check for breakdowns in these areas if they are not hitting the ball with the kind of power or accuracy they are looking for.

Volleys in Pairs

I start with volleys and focus on

0 Dynamic and Active Warm Up Variations

A good pregame warm-up should get a team physically and mentally prepared to play from the first whistle. You can look for some patterns that may point to a need to change how your team warms up before matches.

Does your team often have a slow start or go down a goal early?

Does your team always play better in the second half?

If you answer yes to these question then the issue may

0 From Futsal to Soccer

Rather than standing in lines and running around cones, it’s through playing futsal that many elite level players, particularly in Brazil and Spain, developed their silky ball skills, smooth passing and lightning quick decision making. Players love small sided games, and the benefits are obvious. Players get more time on the ball, more touches and the intense nature of futsal puts them under more pressure to be perform. It’s a wonder it’s taken so long for coaches to realize the benefits of harnessing futsal in their training programs.

0 Improving Your Team's Speed of Play

I think that most coaches have a couple of resources that they go back to time and again. Improving Your Team's Speed of Play by David Williams is one of those books for me. The quality of the sessions and thoughtful coaching points always give me ideas that I can use in training with my teams.

This excerpt is from the Small-Sided Games section of the book.

Suppose I have seventeen players, including two goalkeepers, of a reasonably high standard to work with. My aim for this session is to improve the players understanding and ability to run with the ball.

The two teams are set out in a 3-2-2 formation plus a goalkeeper, and I have included the extra player as a floater ( F ). In the defending zone three defenders play against two strikers and

1 1v1 Recovery Runs

By Daniel Severn

This week’s exercise can be used as a technical warm-up or as the main technical focus of the session. Ideally you will use 4-6 players for this exercise but could add more to a group if necessary. The exercise will be performed at a high tempo and help to develop dribbling, first touch, and sharp changes of direction.

Set Up and Directions
The exercise is set up as shown below, showing one player with a ball, one waiting behind him and two players at the opposite end.

The player with the ball begins the play by dribbling the ball across towards

1 Checking and First Touch Exercise

Jebreel Bubtana

This technical warm up works on movement to create space away from a defender (checking) and first touch at various heights.

Set up the field as shown below in figure 1.

The player without the ball will sprint to the disc on the right (check to the disc) to start the exercise. As soon as they as they

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

0 Fitness and Technical Circuit Training in Pairs

By Jebreel Bubtana

This is a great way to work on your player’s fitness and technical ability on the ball, with passing, first touch and dribbling included in the circuit.

Get your team to partner up and set up the field as shown below in figure 1.

There are 5 stations in this circuit described in more detail below:

Station 1 – The player without the ball must shuffle through the ladders as quickly as possible. After this is done, that player then

1 Just Let Them Play

I sat down to plan my U8 and U10 practices the other day and while going through my old sessions and thinking about previous games I realized that it would be a great day to just let them play. We didn't have any games the following weekend and there hadn't been a practice this season that I just let them go at it.

I regularly have the boys play various 1v1 games and we always finish with a small-sided game at the end of training but every once in a while I like to plan an entire session around playing competitive 1v1, 2v2, 3v3 and 4v4 games. This gives the players a break from the usual format and gives them a chance to use all of the skills that we've been working to improve. They love it because

10 Playing Out of the Back

The year our club is emphasizing the need for our teams to learn to play out of the back from goal kicks and goalkeeper possessions. It will take time for the players to learn how to maintain possession under pressure and build up an attack. There will also be times when we give up goals because of mistakes by the goalkeeper and defenders. However, the long term up-side far out weight the loss of a goal or even a game. If we train our players to deal with pressure and play around it from the back, they will be better able to do this all over the field.

This starts with our youngest teams. Here is how we want our U8, U9 and U10 teams to take goal kicks:

4 Ball Orientated Conditioning

During the summer I spend some time combing through new training ideas for the upcoming year. As I begin to assemble my training calendar for the fall I'm always on the lookout for economical drills and exercises that incorporate conditioning aspects along with technical and tactical elements. With only two days of training per week, I don't want to spend 30 minutes just training conditioning to get my players fit for soccer again after the summer break.

With my older teams (U13 to U18) I hold a series of preseason conditioning sessions to give the players a base of fitness that we can work from. With my younger teams (U8 to U12)

0 Technical Station - Including Through Pass and Shooting

By Daniel Severn

This week’s exercise is again a two player exercise. It helps to develop agility, first touch, the timing of runs and through passes, dribbling techniques, passing and shooting. It is a great all-round exercise with a high intensity.

Set Up and Directions
The exercise is set up as shown below. Our player in yellow will be our ‘attacker’ and the player in black will be the ‘feeder’ in this situation. Our attacker begins positioned behind a line of five cones. Two cones are positioned at opposite diagonals, approximately five yards from the last cone from the attacker. The feeder starts centrally between these cones.

Play begins with the attacker performing agility (e.g. shuffling / quick feet / jumping) through the cones. When the attacker gets to

1 Technical Conditioning

By Daniel Severn This week’s exercise can be used as a technical warm-up or as the main technical focus of the session. There are endless variables with this exercise; I will share some of my favorite ones at the end. This works best if the players can be paired up, but there is also a

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 Warm-Up for Shooting

One of the perks of being apart of WORLD CLASS COACHING is that I have access to a large library of training sessions from some of the top professional, collegiate, and youth coaches. We have published books and DVDs on every aspect and topic of coaching. I often refer to our DVD especially for new

0 Unique Small-Sided Games

I continue to run one practice per week outdoor with my older teams during the winter months when weather permits. This means that we are often training when the it’s pretty cold. On very cold days I organize small-sided games to keep the players moving and loose. They get a lot more out of playing