, Author at Soccer Toolbox

Moving Grid Drill: Fitness with the Ball

Increasing your teams fitness level and ball handling skills will undoubtedly enhance your teams chance of winning. If you are looking for a conditioning drill that can improve your teams fitness level while simultaneously working on ball handling skills, you might like the Moving Grid Drill in the video below

Brent Ridenour, Ohio Northern University Head Men’s Coach and 2012 NCAA D-III National Runner-Up, demonstrates a simple yet effective drill that could easily be added to your collection of drills.

The drill that Coach Ridenour demonstrates is just one of several drills that you can check out in his DVD entitled Working to Win: Fitness with the Ball

The video has sound, so please make sure your sound is turned on.

It is a YouTube video, so you will need to make sure you have access to the site

The set up for the Moving Grid Drill is as follows. Cones are used to mark off four 15yd by 15yd boxes or grids. The boxes are placed in the four corners of one half of the field. Depending on what you want from the drill the size of the box can be changed. You can also move the boxes further apart if you want to make them work harder.

Four groups of five players each are placed into each box. The coach will call out a foot drill to use and the players will begin moving and handling the ball in tight spaces using the technique that coach called.

After 30-45 seconds the coach will may a call of Right, Left or Diagonal. On the call the players will push the ball out of their box and move to the box in the direction of coaches call. Their goal is to get the ball to the next box in three or four touches and get there as quickly as possible.

The coach will then call out another foot drill and the players will now execute that skill in tight spaces for 30-45 seconds. The coach will then give another directional call and the players move to the next box and begin executing the next foot skill drill.

You can vary the length of time in the box as well as the total time of the drill. Calling changes quickly makes the drill tougher physically as the player will be running more frequently. If you are wanting more skill work, then you can lengthen time in each box.

8 v 5: Continuous Attack Drill

Designing offenses and training players to create quality shots is the key to scoring more consistently. The first few seconds after your team wins the ball is the best time to catch the opponent at a disadvantage. If you can teach your team to attack quickly and efficiently after a change of possession you will increase your scoring opportunities.

In the video below Steve McCrath, Head Coach at Barry University, demonstrates a nice 8 v 5 game to work on attacking quickly and producing quality shots.

The drill is part of a collection of drills designed to improve attacking skills and your teams aggressive mindset. If you are interested in DVD that this drill comes from click the link Training Games for Attacking Play

The YouTube video has sound, so please make sure that your sound is turned on and that you have access to the site.

The notes and rules for the drill are posted below the video

The drills is called 8 v 5 unlimited touches. It is played in one half of the field with the same team on offense for 7 consecutive minutes. The drill is designed for the offense to be very aggressive, but still maintain their spacing fundamentals while moving effectively without the ball.

The goal is for the offense to get as many shots on goal as possible in the 7 minutes. Points are awarded for quality shots on goal, corner kicks and goals scored. If the offense gets a throw in, a knew ball is quickly entered at midfield and they attack from that position.

Should the keeper secure the ball, he can clear the ball to midfield and the offense must start a knew possession. He may also choose to outlet the ball and the defense can then possess the ball as long as the can in order to kill time and thus reduce the offense’s scoring opportunities. Anytime the defending team is able to get the ball to the midfield line, they can sub someone out. A new ball would be thrown in and the offense would begin a new possession.

After 7 minutes the teams can switch roles. This is also a good conditioning drill as play is continuous and fast.

Goalkeeping Drill : With Chris Ducar (UNC)

Proper training of your goalkeepers is of course critical. They need repetitions on the basic fundamental techniques of positioning and defending the goal in all possible game situations.

In the video below University of North Carolina Women’s Soccer Goalkeeper Coach, Chris Ducar, takes you through one of the drills he uses to work with his goalkeepers. The Tarheels one of the premier programs in NCAA Womens Soccer.

During Coach Ducar’s tenure alone they have one 9 National Championships and 22 overall in the school history.

The drill below is just part of a series of drills designed to help goalkeepers effectively defend. If you are interested in learning more about the DVD this drill came from, click the link Attacking Goalkeeping: Drills, Techniques and Tactics

The YouTube video has sound, so please make sure your sound is on and that you can access the site.

In this drill Coach Ducar is simulating that the offense has flanked the defense (not on a cross) and they have gotten down within the 18. This is a dangerous position and signals the keeper to change position.

In this situation the goalkeeper has three priorities. First step to the near post and take the shot away. Second win any ball that is served between the post and the 6yd line. Third protect against a ball that is cut back to the 12 yd line or bent back to the far post.

In the video he demonstrates a drill to rep the first two priorities. The key teaching points for the keepers first priority are as follows. The goalkeeper must move to a spot an arm’s length away from the near post and one step in front. They must not allow a goal from this position. They should be able to secure the ball, or knock it out, if the shot is taken from here, no matter how hard it is struck.

In the first part of the drill simply have the keeper move from the middle to the proper position near post and defend shots on goal from an offensive player.

If the offense can’t score directly from this position then they might pass the ball to an area between the post and the 6. This is the second priority of the keeper. She must win this ball. How far she covers depends on the distance of the serve, its velocity and her individual ability.

So in this part of the drill the offensive player serves the ball back to the middle to about the 6 where a coach or player is positioned. Should the keeper not win the ball, they are there to put it in. This drill allows the keeper to work on their collapse dive and extension dive. Key teaching point is to go attack the ball. Do not dive backwards.

Dynamic Warm-up

This article was provided by Training-Conditioning

By Peter Twist

Having athletes go through a dynamic warmup is a good first step toward injury prevention and performance optimization. Here, Peter Twist, MS, BPE, CSCS, President of Twist Conditioning, describes the importance of a dynamic warmup and provides sample exercises to achieve pre-game and pre-practice neuromuscular activation.
Warm Up Purposefully

A dynamic sport requires an athlete begin the game or training session ready to play and immediately meet the demands of the sport at maximum intensity. The warmup must optimize performance and lower the chance of injury through increased muscle temperature, muscle compliance, and physiological response efficiency.

The Science
Functionally, an increase in muscle temperature decreases the viscous resistance of muscles, combined with an increase in oxygen delivery to the muscles, improved central nervous system function, and faster transmission of nervous impulses. Stimulating muscle compliance mechanisms activates the command from the mind telling the rest of the body to perform quickly and efficiently. The warmup drives physiological and neuromuscular systems to create compliance between the mind and muscles.

Move Like a Statue
A warm-up run or linear aerobic work raises the core temperature and promotes oxygen delivery to muscles, but when followed up with static stretching, the benefits of the initial warmup are wasted. Research related to the physiological effectiveness of static stretching have reported decreases in the force producing capabilities of a muscle following a bout of static stretching. Decreased motor unit activation, firing frequency, and altered reflex sensitivity have been proposed to explain the stretching-induced decreases in force production. Ultimately, static stretching in the warmup slows nervous system activity, elongates muscles fibers, and allows the body to cool off, leaving the athlete ill prepared to jump into dynamic activity.

Demands of Sport
Sport requires us to move in multiple directions with the aim of creating space to get open for a pass or to take away space from an opposing player. To be successful these movements must occur at varying speeds, and through various ranges of motion all while appropriately reacting and responding to elements of unpredictability in their environment. No matter how many systems and structured plays are put in place by the coaching staff, the flow of the game is truly unpredictable. Luckily we can train and prepare the body to best respond as soon as the game commences by implementing a dynamic warmup.

The body is always in a state of learning, memorizing, and recalling. During the practice of a skill your body is lying down motor engrams that it will later recall in order to carry out a specific skill such as kicking a soccer ball. The success of the kick is directly related to how well it was taught and practiced by the athlete. As part of this learning process the body goes through the three phases of motor learning (cognitive, associative, and automatic) with the end goal of recalling and performing the skill quickly and successfully with very little cognition and optimal mechanics. Firing up sport specific motor patterns in the dynamic warm up activates the neuromuscular pathways, refreshes the pattern, and helps athletes be game ready.

Building a Dynamic Warmup
Time Allocation: Plan to dedicate 10 to15 minutes to your warmup. By the end of the warmup session athletes should be fired up and their nervous systems activated, but not to the point of fatigue.

Number of Exercises: 10 to 15

Sets and Repetitions: Perform one set of 10 to 12 reps of each exercise making sure to work both sides of a movement.

Exercise Selection: Look at the demands of the sport.
• Incorporate fundamental movements found in the sport into the warm up (lateral shuffle, 45-degree open steps/lunges, etc…). Take a multidirectional approach.
• What is the tempo and speed of the movements involved? Is it a sport that involves one continual pace, or does it have multiple changes of direction?
• Incorporate deceleration. The ability to stop quickly or decelerate is fundamental to changing directions and reducing the incidence of injury.

Be Progressive: Gradually increase in Range of Motion (ROM) and tempo. Also consider the neural complexity (performance difficulty) involved in the movement.

Perfect Practice for Perfect Performance: The dynamic warm up is the ideal time to develop and refine movement skills and teach athletes movement precision to solidify the mechanics needed for sport success.

Sample Game-Ready Dynamic Warmup Exercises:
Cool walk to toes
Crane toe touch
Lateral shuffle
Sumo squat
45-degree lunge
Cross over lunges
Lunge with upper body rotation
Back pedal
Lateral bound and stick
Lateral bound with coupling

Change the Way Athletes Train
Our mandate at Twist Conditioning is to change the way all athletes train to improve performance, reduce injury, and promote long and prosperous sport careers that transition into passionate recreation pursuits. The Twist training style builds Smart Muscle™ (the mind commands, the muscles comply) to give them a competitive edge.

Peter Twist, MSc BPE CSCS TSCC-Gold PTS is President of Twist Conditioning’s 3 divisions: franchised Sport Conditioning Centers, product wholesale, and the Twist Smart Muscle™ Coach Education program. To learn more about the Twist training methodologies, education, and equipment available in the USA, contact www.twistconditioning.com.

Game-Like Goal Scoring Drill:4v3

In a man up situation you want your players to have an attacking mentality.

You need them to to read the defense and react quickly in order to distribute the ball and create scoring opportunities in transition situations.

In the video below Marcus Wood, a 2010 NCAA D-III National Championship coach and 2010 NSCA National Coach of the Year, explains a 4 v 3 drill he utilizes to develop appropriate instincts in scoring situations.

This continuous 4v3 drill is just one in a series of drills that Coach Wood uses that will increase your players’ speed of play and help them better understand their positioning and their role on the field in attacking situations.

For more information about other drills click the link Game-Like Goal Scoring Drills for Soccer

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