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by Gary Rue
garyrue@bellsouth.net
 

NOTE:  Gary did not write these exercises and tips with the idea that someone would publish them.  I subscribe to the Soccer-Coach-L e-mail list and Gary is one of the coaches that posts extremely well thought out replies.  These are some of Gary's posts that I collected for use in coaching my own teams.   I approached Gary and he was gracious enough to allow me to publish them here.  If you like what you see or have a question about one of the exercises you can reach Gary at garyrue@bellsouth.net There are 50+ more pages of Gary's posts categorized at the Home Page of Exercises of the Day by Gary Rue. Click here and enjoy.

Need some FUN Games
Alternatives to Scrimmages

       The following may not be the fun games for which you are looking, Scott, but they are different enough from normal scrimmages, etc.

• 3+3v3
   
• Setup: Three 2 yard goals in a triangle about 25 yards apart.  Three teams of 3 with different colored pennies. Each team defends a goal. The team that loses the ball is on defense as the other two teams attack their goal. Players need to communicate. Progress up to 6 per team with full size goals 60 yards apart with GK's.
  
• 3v3v3
   
• Setup: Same as above except each team is on their own and can attack the two goals they are not defending.
  
• Hi Gary . Interesting variation of the last one is to use 3 balls when you get up to 6v6. Each team then gets 5 points to START, GAINS a point when they score, and LOSES a point when they are scored on. Winner is team with MOST points when ANY team reaches zero.. This sets them to thinking (hmmm -  we have 6 points, red has only 1 and gold has 8. SO, we had better join up with red at this stage to let them get a point somehow.
  

Practice Tip - Rent Your Equipment

        Do you require your players to wear shin guards and bring balls to practice?  What do you do if they don't? Sometimes I have some spare balls or a shin guard or two that I gladly rent out to players that forget. The rental fee is a few pushups and sit-ups or perhaps post practice cleanup.
        I also charge for storage in my van of player's equipment and personals that were left at the practice or game site.

Practice Tip - Electric Air Pump

          I consider an electric air pump to be essential coaching equipment. Buy one that plugs into the car and you have a safety device for your car as well. I can't remember prices, but I think these pumps are in the $10 to $20 range--a pretty good investment, even if you don't coach.
         As your players arrive at practice, check the air pressure in their soccer balls. With an electric pump, you can quickly pump up the ones that are flat.
         Along with the pump, I recommend a can of three-in-one oil to squirt on the inflation valve. The oil will cause the rubber expand enough to seal the main area of most leakage. Though the oil should be enough to moisten the valve, I also use Vaseline to lubricate the needle. I have "saved" many a ball with oiling the valve. I only use the oil when I think a ball is in trouble.
         Of course, you could take the stance it is the players' responsibility to keep their own balls pumped up--yeah, right!

Practice Tip - "Hefty" Tip

      
        Every so often, the practice and game can get a little damp. Players are very apt to get muddy. If they don't know by now, I remind the car drivers (be it parents or players) at the beginning of the season to bring some covering to protect their car seats.
        Also, a couple of plastic garbage bags in the players bag can serve a multitude of purposes. For instance, a bag can be use as a rain cover for the bag itself, or to store dirty clothes and shoes after a practice or game, or to cover those car seats.

Fundamental Catching Exercises for Goalkeepers

QUESTION: Does anybody have any new U11 Goalie Drills?

ANSWER:
The following are the catches that a new U11 GK should work on and learn:

       First of all, teach the ready position, hands forward, palms facing out, fingers pointed towards ball, elbows close together, knees slightly bent, feet moving in a direction or slightly bouncing, and the body is balance with a twinge of lean forward.

       After the ready position, start with the catch. Serve the ball about chest high. The hands should be in the form of a W with the index fingers turn slightly in from parallel, and the thumbs near each other, but not touching. The server should see the ends of the fingers when the catch is made. That means the hands are forward and the catch is high on the ball. Too low of a catch may allow a hard shot to bend back the fingers, allowing the shot to go through.

      Move the ball to the left and right, asking the player to move the feet to get behind the ball. The hands should move in tandem. The W is maintained on every catch. Serve wider where the GK has to catch with the fingers pointing to the side (the GK should still move the feet and try to get behind the ball). The arm on the opposite side of the ball must be high in order to get both hands in a W behind the ball.

      Now move the serves to waist or below. From the ready position, the hands just turn where the little fingers are next to one another. The key component here is that the forearms and elbows are close together. The arms have to be extended a little to get the elbows in front of the body. At the catch, the hands roll the ball up to the chest. Often the chest is bent down around the ball. Increase the pace of the serve. The GK should hop as the catch is made to cushion the catch.

       The ground pick up is one of the most important of the catches. The GK should ALWAYS run through a ground pick up. Here the elbows must be close together, the lead foot leg should bend, dropping the trail leg knee behind the ball. The GK must learn to get the arms to the side of the lead leg. The ball is scooped up to the chest as the body comes up and the trail leg swings through the area of the pickup.

       Note, GK of any age can't catch enough balls. New GKs should start catching a ball as soon as they arrive at practice.         

FOLLOW-UP QUESTION:
From Richard Jackson [mailto:rjackson3@SPRYNET.COM]
Subject:        Young Keeper Instructions

                This is for anyone with some advice and especially Gary.  Aside from all the technique training, I give my young keepers the following two ROTs (rules of thumb) concerning coming off their line to meet the ball.  (By young I mean U-12, 13, 14) 

• 1- If you still have your defenders between the attack and the goal, stay put. When the attack has gotten past your defenders, you have to come out.
• 2- When you start, don't stop. In other words, when your instincts tell you to come out, trust them and don't stop half way and change your mind - you wind up in "no man's land".
  
  Questions -
  1 - Are these basic ROTs correct?
  2 - Any other guides or clues for the keeper to use to decide when to come out on the ball?
  
  
  

ANSWER:

       Rich, they sound great. Be careful, however, that the second one is not misinterpreted. By that I mean, there are still times where a GK can start his move, but stops (and backs up?) when he sees that his assessment and timing is incorrect. But, as you said, once they make up their mind, then go all out.

       My (pointed) football coach once told me, if you are going to block the wrong man, then block him 100%.

       I'll add a few more rules of thumb--come to a balanced stance anytime the ball is about to be played and move when the ball is not being played, regardless of your positioning in the goal mouth. It is best to be able to respond in any direction to a shot, then it is to be moving to the desired defensive location at the time of the shot.

      Move to ball when you can get close enough to play it away, make a save or block any shot attempt. If the attacker will have an opportunity to chip the GK, then the GK has moved too soon. If the GK can sneak out and time the ball to make the save about 16 yards out, then that will give him a little room to spare. In the MLS shootouts, it appears that the GKs move off their line a little sooner than this, but the chip seems to be a difficult ball for most of the attackers to hit. I think the height of the GKs helps here, because the chip must be higher the closer the attacker gets to the GK and the goal.

      When dealing with a breakaway, the GK should inch out, then make his move. Here again, the GK should go balanced at every point where the attacker touches the ball, until the GK can close down the ball and the shot.

Good stuff, Rich.

Goalkeeper Tip - Ground Pickups

         After working on general catching, including ground pickups, I would focus on having the GK move off the line to pickup the ball and run through the pick up.

There are several things a coach can do. Here are a few.

• Warm-up:
  As a server runs backwards, the GK rolls a ball to him. The server plays the ball off to one side and the GK must run through the pickup, rolling the ball back to the server for a layoff to the other side.
  
  With three players, a GK in the middle is passed ground balls alternately. The GK must pick up the ball on a run through and pass it back to that server.
  
• Exercises:
  Place a gate (two codes about 10 yards wide) about 5 yards away from the goal line. With the GK a yard or two off the line play a ground ball between the gate from about the top of the penalty area. The GK must make the pickup before the ball crosses the gate. Increase the distance of the gate from the goal line as the skill is developed.
  
  Using field players as passive attackers, play a ball into the area with an attacker running after the ball. The GK is to make the run through pickup. Have the field players attack the ball from different angles until the GK is used to making the pickup under pressure of an attacker's presence. Gradually increase the attacker's involvement, being sure to play 60-40 balls to the GK. At some point, everything is live. The serves can be more 50-50 or even 40-60 where the GK can start making decisions on when to come out. (As we are talking new GK here, this progression is late in the development stages.)
  
  At a more advanced stage, the ball is played from the halfway with an attacker running on. The GK must decide if the ball will reach the penalty area before the attacker (hand pickup) or if the GK must go out of the area and play the ball with his feet.

Three Man Combo Practice

       We worked on three man combination play at my last practice.  First I described to the team (specifically new players) before we started training the meaning of the terms "check" or "check to." Check means that a player from in front of the ball (or possible from the side) would move from some distance towards open space and the ball. We are looking for the longest possible pass, so the checkers need to first extend the defense by moving away from the ball, then checking back to it.

         I then described the take-over where a second attacker "takes over" the ball from the first attacker who is dribbling. The take-over starts with a player who dribbles towards the other attacker. We try to use the outside of the foot dribble as an indication the take-over is on. The other point was the second attacker has to make his run on top (towards his own goal line) of the dribbler (on the side opposite the defensive pressure).

• Warm-up:
• Pass and move in large group. Stretch on your own when warm.
• 3-man combination setup, two men passing, with a check run being made by the third man
          - first we worked on the timing of the check man who made the run and demanded the ball BEFORE the pass arrived at the check target; once he received, he would drop the ball back to the other attacker.
          - overlap of the checker--A passes to C (checker) who drops to B; A runs past C and receives a long ball from B; C spins on the pass and receives a one-touch from A; now B is the checker.
          - take-over--A takes the ball over from B; C checks to A and receives pass; C flicks on to B as he runs by; C spins and receives the next pass from B; A becomes the next checker
          - dummy--A passes to B and sprints up field; C checks to B as soon as he sees A pass and go; B plays the ball to A as C "dummies" the ball and lets it go through to A; C spins after the dummy and receives the next pass from A; B is the new checker.
  
• Tactical Session
• 3v1 on goal--a defender is giving passive pressure on the checker; the players run through the above ending with a shot on goal.
• 2v1+1v1 on goal--same as above, except a defender is added to play the 2 attacker up top. The defender is move laterally as the ball is square passed between the two attackers. The purpose is for the check man to find the window of opportunity and for the attackers to make the pass to check man before the defender can block the path. The play continues on to goal.
  
• Match Condition
  7v7 game with 2 goals and GKs.

FOLLOW-UP QUESTION:
From Martin Sainsbury [mailto:crsmdjms@sgi.net]

     Gary. I really liked this practice plan.  The definition of terms and why and when the movement is important.   Can you give us  the signals  (for 1st, 2nd and 3rd attackers) as to when combination plays are "on".

GARY'S RESPONSE:

      Good questions Martin. I'll try to define these, but anyone, please feel free to ask off-line if the following is not adequate.

1.  Wall - Player A plays to player B (the wall), who one touches the ball back to  player A as if A passed the ball off a wall. The key clue that the wall pass is on is the immediate and hard run by A after he passes the ball.

2.  Run Around (Lateral Overlap) - the overlap is when one player runs pass another player. In this case, the player runs around the player with the ball and then up field (towards his attacking goal). The key to start this run is when the dribbler takes the ball laterally towards the overlapping player. The overlapper, essentially runs into the space vacated by the dribbler.

3.  Overlap (Vertical) - Here the overlap is when a back player runs past a forward player. This is most often a 3rd attacker run and the key is when the forward player moves and leaves space open to run into.

4.  Drop - The drop is also called a negative pass; that is, the ball goes back towards the defended goal line. Drops are useful in two circumstances. First, when there is heavy pressure on ball where a more positive pass cannot be made. Secondly, to reverse the ball from one side of the field to the other and to unbalance a defense. There should always be a supporting player in a drop position. Whenever a positive play cannot not be made, the drop away from pressure is probably the next best option. We tell players that receive a ball facing their own goal, that if they can't (or shouldn't) turn due to defensive pressure, then they should immediately pass the way they are facing (which is a
drop).

Practice Tip - Play the Angles

        In your scrimmages, watch for passes that are too vertical, that is straight up field or even straight across field. There are certainly special times for vertical passing, but on the whole, make your passes at angles. Try to set up your passing exercises where angled passing is obvious.

        An angled pass does two things. First it unbalances a defense, causing it to rotate across the field. Secondly, it gives the receiver more options as he should be able to receive the ball facing the field. In most situations a vertical pass must be received directly facing the passer reducing the receiver's options (and vision).

       The path of the ball moving up field should take a IN (towards the middle) and OUT (out towards the touch) pattern. When the ball is being reversed from one side line to the other, the ball should travel on a UP (towards attacking goal) and BACK (towards the defending goal) pattern.  These patterns are zigzag in nature.

       To get the in and out ball movement, you must have players that check to a wide ball from the middle. The get the up and back pattern, forward players have to check back (at an angle) to the back players.

Goalkeeper Tip - Diving

After working on catching, ground pickups and footwork, it's now time to start diving. The first step to plant the ball.

The hands are positioned on the ball in the "W" catch. When the ball is planted on the ground, one hand is directly behind the ball and the
other is on top of the ball. The third hand is the ground. The GK should sit on the ground, legs out in front, with the ball in the hands. As the GK falls to one side, he is to plant the ball. Key elements on to put the ball out in front and to NOT land on the elbow. The ball should be planted before the shoulder touches the ground. Look at the hand
position. The GK should sit back up and fall to the other side. After a
few times, the coach can serve the ball to GK to catch and plant.

The next step is to position the GK in the final dive position. The GK
should be touching the ground with his shoulder and hip. The top leg
should be brought up towards the chest, with the forearms covering the chest and the ball protecting the face. The bottom leg should be
stretched out.

Now the GK should squat with ball and fall into the dive position. One
of the common problems is falling on the arms and elbows. To help
prevent this, have the GK, without ball, put his hands in the prayer
position and fall to one side from a squat. This get the arms out of the
way and point out how the GK should fall with the ball. The coach can
then serve a ball to the GK who collapses into position.

Standing with ball, the GK takes a step, dropping the hip of the step
leg and falls with ball, planting it first. At this point, watch for
over stretching the arms reaching for the ground and falling on the
stomach or back.

When the GK can attain the dive position, it is now time to train with
some movement. With the GK at one post, server the ball low, but in the air for the GK to catch and dive. As soon as the GK dives, he passes the ball back to the server, recovers to standing position and receives another serve to the same side. This process continues until the GK reaches the other post. Encourage the GK to move forward on all catches.

Reverse direction.

Next, serve the ball on the ground, alternating serve sides. The GK
should now be making the saves moving forward, until he reaches the top of the penalty area.