and
FineSoccer Drill 187
Passing, Movement, Fitness & Penetration
http://finesoccer.com/finesoccer_drill_187.htm
Here is an interesting way to work on
passing, movement, fitness and looking for the penetrating pass.
Start with a 15 x 15 yard grid and have a 4 yard equilateral triangle in the middle made up of coaching sticks (if you don't have coaching sticks, you can use cones). There are 5 players in the activity with one being a defender and the other four being on offense. The 4 players try to maintain possession while also looking to score goals by playing the ball through the triangle to their teammates. The defender is NOT allowed inside the triangle so she must be constantly working her way around the triangle trying to cut of the penetrating passes. See the diagram below for the set up
The thing that makes this such an interesting activity is the required movement off the ball by the offensive players. On every pass they are moving in order to get into a better position to either make a penetrating pass or to receive one (as opposed to the norm in possession games when players wait till they receive a ball before thinking what to do next, in this game the players have to be thinking ahead of the passes because it's not good enough to just play the ball through the triangle, a teammate has to be there and receive the ball for it to count.
Play this game for a 5 minute period with each player having a one minute turn on defense. It gets the players working hard, thinking and competing while having fun trying to beat their teammates. The player who gives up the fewest number of goals on defense wins.
There is a tendency in this game for the offensive players to get to close to the triangle which takes away the passing angles (just like in a regular game where they come to close to the middle). This is easy to correct and is a good learning opportunity for the players.
Give this game a try and let me know what you think on the FineSoccer Forum
Have a great day!
Lawrence
Welcome to the Soccer Newsletter. Today's subject deals with dealing with contact in the game of soccer.
One of the things that some players (and parents) have difficulty with is accepting the fact that soccer is NOT a non contact sport. Besides the obvious times such as tackles to win a ball which most seem to understand, there are also the other times such as when shielding and during shoulder charges that the game can become very physical while still being played within the laws of the game.
If a player has the ball within playing distance and keeps her body between the ball and the defender this is considered a form of shielding. It's most effective when the player shielding the ball initiates the contact by leaning into the defender. By doing this, she always knows where the defender is (if there is no contact, it's easy to lose the defender which makes it harder to shield). Also, the person initiating the contact
is usually better prepared to deal with the contact. This means that if the player shielding the ball doesn't make contact with the defender and then all of a sudden the defender bumps the player shielding the ball (without committing a foul) the player shielding the ball will frequently get knocked off balance and lose the ball. However, if the player shielding the ball is the one who initiates contact it's the defender who gets knocked off balance a bit. See http://finesoccer.com/finesoccer_drill_48.htm below for ways to work on shielding
If two players are running side by side within playing distance of a ball and make contact shoulder to shoulder this would be considered a legal shoulder charge (there are other considerations for legal shoulder charges such as the arms in close to the body etc). Even if this contact seems to give one player an "unfair advantage" over the other player it's allowed as long as it's done within the laws of the game. Sometimes you see two players running for a ball and after a legal shoulder charge one player gets knocked to the ground. When this happens you frequently hear the yells from the sideline that it's a "foul!" However, just because one player is bigger or stronger doesn't make it a foul.
In the same way that there is contact in soccer with shielding and shoulder charges there are other times there is contact such as balls in the air, marking a target player etc. The players who understand that there is contact in soccer are better prepared to deal with it (please understand I am NOT advocating dirty play or unnecessarily physical play just dealing with the reality of the game). The fans that understand this are also better prepared to understand the game.
Physical contact is part of the game and those who train for it are the ones who will be better prepared to excel at the game.
FineSoccer Drill 48
Shielding & Aggressiveness
The first part of the aggressiveness drills is to have an 8 x 8 grid for each two players in your group. The two players are working on shielding (see Soccer Edition 37 for more on shielding). One player starts with the ball and when the coach says "go" the other player tries to win the ball from the first player who is trying to keep the ball by shielding. If the second player wins the ball, then she tries to shield the ball for the remainder of the 10 seconds. The key is to emphasize that the player without the ball is trying to legally win the ball and that soccer is a CONTACT sport so this is a great way to work on it. This can be done as a competition where each player starts with the ball 10 times and see who has the ball the most times at the end of the 10 second periods. See the diagram below for the setup.
Next, switch from 2 players to 3 players in a grid. Start with a player in each corner with the ball in the middle. When the coach says "go" each player tried so win the ball and keep it by shielding it from the other 2. This also should be done as a contest. If the ball goes outside of the grid, they all lose that battle. See the diagram below for this setup.
Now that the players are used to winning the ball and keeping it, we now add winning the ball, keeping it and then going to goal. Start with two lines approximately 25 yards from the goal. When the coach says "go" the first player in line A sprints around the goal going toward the post nearest her first. At the same time, the first player in line B goes around the goal toward the post closest to her. The ball is on the top of the 18 and the first player to the ball, wins it, shields it until she can find the opportunity to turn and then goes to goal. If the second player then wins the ball, she then goes to goal. This drill works on conditioning, aggressiveness, shielding, finishing, goalkeeping and defense. The coach should have the next two players in line start as soon as the two in front of them get near the ball. This drill can have as many as 12 field players going to one goal without there being too much standing around. See the diagram below for the setup.
The last step in this progression is to have a 6 v 6 game with two goals on a small (40 x 30) field. The ball gets served into the middle and either team can win the ball and score on either goal. This will encourage the players to fight to win the ball since defending in this game is very difficult. Be careful to watch for fouling as it is possible for this game to get out of hand if not monitored properly.
Give these drills a try the next time you are looking for more aggressiveness with your teams.
Have a great day.
Lawrence
FineSoccer Drill 186
Shape, Balance, & Movement off the Ball
Today's activity works on shape, balance,
movement off the ball, passing receiving and much more. It's a progression
that takes a fair amount of time but is well worth it.
Start with a field that is 60 x 50 (size can vary) with a 5 yard end zone on each end. See diagram below.
There are two teams of 5 players per field and the first game is to see which team can score the most "goals" in a 3 minute period. The way to score is to pass the ball into an end zone and have it received by a teammate and then passed back to another teammate who is outside the end zone. A team can't score in the same end zone two times in a row
Next is the same game but now a player can't stay in the end zone for two attacks to that side in a row. This means that if 1 passes to 2 who is in the end zone and 2 passes to 3 then 1 must replace 2 in the end zone. See diagram below
Next is the same game as above but now it's team against team. Instead of having 1 ball per group, there is now 1 ball per field so there is now defense. The other change is that a team can now score in the same end zone two times in a row as long as it's passed to a different player in the end zone.
Next is the same game as above but now each team is assigned an end zone to attack offside is called. This changes the game dramatically as now they must make runs off the ball to time their runs and passes in order to get into the end zone without being offside. Players can not dribble into the end zone
Next is the same game as above but now players can either dribble or pass into the end zone.
The next step would be to replace the end zones with goals and end with a scrimmage
This type of progression works on always maintaining proper shape and balance. As the progression advances you also work on defensive shape and communication when factoring in the offside possibilities.
Give this progression a try and see how it helps in working on many aspects of the game of soccer
Have a great day!
Lawrence
Welcome to the Soccer Newsletter. Today's subject deals with starting games better.
How often have you seen a team get scored on in the first minute or two of a game and then go the rest of the game without allowing any goals or even goal scoring opportunities? While this could happen to any team at any time, some teams seem to fall behind early more than others. Is there something that can be done to correct this problem?
Too often these teams that start games poorly do so because of a bad warm up. I wrote a newsletter for the Goalkeeping Newsletter early on before there was a Soccer Newsletter and because of this, I get a lot of emails about suggestions for a team warm up. Rather than reprinting that newsletter, I would like to suggest that people check it out at http://finesoccer.com/edition10.htm
Even if a team warm ups properly before a game they might not have the correct attitude to get the game at the correct intensity. If players are talking about what they did in school the previous day or what they are going to do that evening, then they are not preparing to play that game. A few minutes of actually talking and thinking about what needs to be done to play well will do wonders for preparing for a good start to the game.
Also, doing the small things early will make things go smoother in the beginning of a game. For example, if both teams are wearing white during the warm up, rather than hoping the other team will change and possibly having players running around trying to find their alternate jersey, find out early on which team has to change and get it done long before the game so no one is worried about where their jersey is instead of what they should be doing.
Another reason some teams get off to a slow start is they are worrying about things that are out of their control. For example the field wont be exactly what they want it to be (too big, too small or bad surface etc). Since there isn't anything that can be done to fix that, don't let it bother you and deal with the things that are in your control. If it's real cold outside, you as a coach can complain about the weather and distract everyone or talk to the players about keeping moving on the field to stay warm and play better. Turn the negatives into positives and the team won't "sweat the small stuff".
When a game is 90 minutes long (or however long your age group plays) it's important to be prepared to play all 90 minutes as opposed to playing the last 80 minutes hard in order to offset the lack of preparation in the first 10
minutes of the game.
Any questions, comments or suggestions should be sent to Lawrence@finesoccer.com or they can be posted on the FineSoccer Forum at
http://finesoccer.net
To subscribe to any of the FineSoccer Newsletters please go to http://finesoccer.com/subscrib.htm
Have a great day!
Lawrence
PS To learn more about preparing a team through training please go to
http://finesoccer.com/full_season.htm
I have been watching various teams and keepers warm up recently at a few tournaments I have attended in the past 3 weeks and the one pattern I keep seeing is that teams and keepers do a horrific job of preparing for matches. (For those of you who don’t know, horrific is a bad thing). Teams show up for matches, sit around and talk while getting dressed and then frequently go on a completely inadequate run before stretching as a team. Then they kick a few balls at goal or play a low intensity game of keep away and think they are ready to play. Please understand I am not watching rec. teams at these tournaments but rather some teams from clubs with national reputations. As is my tendency, I just sat there and watched and kept thinking this is amazing. I am now going to write what I consider to be an appropriate warm-up for both a team as well as a keeper (one might wonder why I am writing about a team warm-up on a keeper newsletter but one of the advantages of writing this newsletter is I get to write whatever I want!).
I believe that a club team should arrive at the field approximately one hour before the scheduled kick off. This allows the team an opportunity to get acclimated to the park, the climate and the overall situation. One of the things I have been speaking about recently with some players is situational nervousness. This is when a person is very comfortable in their normal setting but as soon as they are put in a different situation they lose their comfort zone. For this reason, the longer a player has to get comfortable with their new surroundings the better it will be for them (usually). If you are at a tournament, see how the refs are calling the game, check out the size of the field and if given the chance, walk the entire field to see if there any holes, hills, dips etc that could affect the game. In most cases, the longer you are allowed to familiarize yourself with the surroundings, the more comfortable you will be.
Approximately 45 minutes before kick off; I will send my team on a run. This is the same warm up we use at every practice so it allows them feel comfortable with what is going on. This run goes from one sideline to the other (or the equivalent if you can’t get on the field because of other games). It involves, jogging to the other sideline and then back, jog there and then backwards back, skip there and then backwards back and then slide side to side there and slide to side back always facing the same direction.
This small run prepares the players for their first stretch. One of the keys to stretching is to realize that every player is built differently so they each need to stretch different parts of their bodies for differently length of times. For this reason, I don’t have teams stretch together but rather stretch on their own thinking about what their individual responsibilities are for that game. I will give them approximately 8 minutes for this stretch although I usually can sense when they are done based on their actions.
All that this stretch has prepared them for is to get a better run in so they can get a good stretch next time. This next run is done on their own and should include runs forward, sideways, backwards and jumps along with some sprints. Again, this run will last as long as is necessary and as a coach gets to know their team, they can usually sense how long is necessary. After this run, they get another stretch. Older players usually have a general idea of what needs to be stretched (somewhat based on what is sore from last time) but with younger players, I encourage them to stretch from the lower part of the body on up. In other words, they should start with their ankles then calves, and on up. This should help to ensure they don’t skip any parts of the body.
After this second stretch, the keepers go have a catch and the rest of the team will begin a real easy drill where everyone is jogging around the half of the field (outside of the 18) and three balls get passed around. After each pass there is a mandatory 10-yard sprint. Once the keepers feel they are ready, they will go to sitting, kneeling and catcher position diving (anyone who doesn’t know what I mean by this can read about it in the archives of the newsletter). Then the keepers will face easy shots from each other or from the trainer while the team proceeds with tunnels across the field. As the session progresses the keepers will face harder and harder shots and then move on to crosses. This is the advantage of having two or more keepers as they can warm themselves up.
Once everyone is ready, I will give him or her a break to get a drink and stretch yet again.
We will then move on to a small-sided game with the keepers participating. This should last less then 10 minutes but be played at full intensity. One of my objectives is to jump all over teams from the kickoff but I also want to be prepared in case the other team does that as well. After the small-sided match I will let the team do whatever they feel is necessary in order to be ready to play. This can be anything from stretching, passing, shooting, or going to the bathroom. I can honestly say that my teams and keepers warm up harder then many teams every play or practice but that is all part of the plan.
I don’t believe in the typical game plan of knocking the ball around for the first 5-10 minutes of the match to feel how the other team is going to play. I always want to dictate and want to attack from the kick off. The most effective boxer in recent history (before the rape, etc.) was without question Mike Tyson. While there are many things to learn from him regarding what not to do, the one thing I think he did better then anyone else was step up better prepared to win from the opening bell (I am not a boxing fan but I just always loved the attitude until he went off the deep end).
One of the reasons I believe very strongly in the conditioning program I have attached to the web site is it will allow you to warm up properly to enable you to play at a high level from opening kickoff to the last whistle. Using this warm-up, I have seen my teams regularly be better prepared for their matches and my keepers both physically and mentally prepared to play. This has also allowed my teams and keepers to play with very few injuries over the years which I think is a result of good conditioning, good stretching, always playing hard and lots of luck
The other thing I want to discuss briefly is intensity of training. I have been seeing way too many teams, players and keepers train at less then a high level of intensity. I explained recently to some keepers that if I elect to do a drill for one minute then I normally don’t care that much about the first 30 seconds. Anyone can do a drill properly when they are fresh but it takes a fundamentally sound keeper to be able to maintain their technique (and concentration) when they are tired. As a drill moves on and the keeper gets tired, that is the time when you start to see whom the real players are. In order to be a real keeper, you must be able to push yourself through the first stage of exhaustion. Admittedly, a keeper can usually make it through a game without getting exhausted physically but the real question is can they make it through the mental exhaustion that a high level keeper will go through.
In the last 5 minutes of a tournament final (maybe the 5th match of the weekend) is when you see who was pushing themselves in that second 30-second period. I don’t believe there is any secret to do it other then getting in shape and being mentally tough. Remember only idiots still believe you have to be crazy to be a keeper, people who understand the position know you have to be mentally very strong in order to excel as a keeper.
Shortly after I began writing this, I received an email from one for the subscribers asking about a warm-up for his keepers. It was a coincidence that this was the subject I had chosen but I would like to emphasize that I welcome your comments and questions and suggestions. If I don’t get ideas from others, I might just start to babble (again). Send your comments to comments@finesoccer.com.
To subscribe to the Goalkeeping Newsletter please go to www.finesoccer.com/subscrib.htm.
Have a great week.
Possession, Finding the
Target Player and
Supporting the Penetrating Pass.
Here is an excellent activity to work on possession with the idea of progressing the ball and also supporting the target player.
Five players in a 30 x 15 area with a middle line. Three of the players are in one half on offense and one is on defense in the same half. The fifth player is in the other half on offense. See diagram below for setup
The three x's must make 3 passes with the defender trying to win the ball. After 3 passes the x's try to pass the ball forward to the 4th x and then the 4th x (who represents a target player) must one touch the ball to one of the other x's who have joined him the in that half of the grid. Once successful they go back and do it again. Players rotate positions every two minutes.
Now that they understand how to do this, we can turn it into more of a free flowing activity. Once the x's have three passes they can play the ball forward and two of the x's join the target player and the defender goes over as well and now it's 3 v 1 in the opposite direction.
Next we add a second defender to mark the target player so now it's 3 v 1 and 1 v 1 . See diagram below
Now once the x's have 3 passes they try to find the target player and two x's go across and it resumes at 3 v 1 and 1 v 1.
Next we can add a 4th x in the top grid and a second defender so it's now 4 v 2 and 1 v 1.
This activity works on numerous aspects of the game but I really like it for emphasizing getting midfielders and backs into the attack once they play a ball forward as opposed to simply playing a ball forward and then stopping.
Give this activity a try and let me know what you think on the FineSoccer Forum at http://finesoccer.net
Have a great day!
Lawrence
We would like to thank Lawrence Fine and FineSoccer.com for allowing us to publish this article on the NASL website. Please visit http://www.FineSoccer.com and sign up for Lawrence's free coaching newsletters and articles.
Created:
12/20/99
Last Updated:
05/29/04
Since
February 24, 1999
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