This is a passing and moving pattern that you can use a warm-up or technical practice to focus on quality one-touch passes.

In the video below Tom Mura from World Class Coaching diagrams an activity that can easily be incorporated into your training sessions as a warm-up and/or to add some variety to your skill work.

This Four Player Pass and Moving Drill is just one of many great drills offered by World Class Coaching. In fact here is a link to a free eBook:. 50 Soccer Coaching Drills

The YouTube video below has sound, so please make sure that your volume is turned up and that you have access to the site. Note that some schools block access to YouTube

In order to build an attack a team must learn how to possess the ball.  This possession drill has players placed in their natural positions are are playing out of a 4-3-1 shape.

In the video below Jay Entlich, Columbus State University Women’s Head Coach, explains a drill requires a back four to maintain possession and connect with a three-player midfield who look to keep the ball before finding a target forward.

This drill is just an example of  three games that Coach Entlich uses to teach possession. Each game has variations that require players to think quickly and succeed mentally while keeping the ball. Players must be able to make quick decisions about when to pass forward and when to pass back. Each game in Coach Entlich’s training sessions has players move the ball back and forth between zones to simulate moving the ball between the different levels of a formation.

For more information about the other games in the teaching progression click the link Possession to Penetrate.

The YouTube video below has audio, so please make sure that your volume is turned up. Note that some schools block access to YouTube.

 

This post provided by World Class Coaching

By Steve Smith
Steve Smith has been a men’s college coach that holds an NSCAA Advanced National Diploma and a Doctorate in Physical Education.

Setup:
Two goals are set up 36 yards apart with a 44 yard width (two penalty boxes). Multiple balls are set inside of both goals and a keeper is placed in front of each net.

Execution:
Goal keepers attempt to score on each other by throwing, drop kicking, punting or serving off the floor. Each attempt to prevent the other from scoring and uses balls on frame to try to counter attack as quickly as possible. The first to score three goals is the victor. It is recommended that even field players attempt to beat the goal keepers of the team to help them understand the demands of keeper training and the difficulty of defending the goal.

Variations:
Add a single attacking field player to each side that can stay only in their defensive half.

Add a single attacking field player that can only attack in the front half.

Add a single attacking player that can go anywhere on the field.

World Class Coaching offers eBook dedicated to training the Goal Keeper. Click the link Coaching the Complete Goal Keeper for more information.

Here are two drills designed to help create scoring opportunities and score more goals.

In the video below Charlie Cooke, Director of Coerver Coaching USA, instructs players on an Introduction & Warm-Up drill during his Creating and Converting Goal Chances demonstration at  recent Glazier Soccer Clinic.  There are two groups of players that start on opposite sides of grids that are diagonal from each other. The focus is on different passing and receiving drills to get the players warmed up.

Coach Cooke works on two different drills, which are described below:

1.Dribble + Diagonal Pass

 

The first player on one side of the grid starts the drill by dribbling out towards the middle of their grid, then makes a diagonal pass to the first player from the other line.  This player then repeats the process and dribbles the ball before connecting a diagonal pass back to the second player in line. This continuous movement keeps the passes moving as players rotate to the back of the line where they passed the ball.  Coach Cooke makes the drill a competition after practicing for several minutes to challenge the players. The group that can connect the most passes in one minute wins.

2. First Touch to Space + Diagonal Pass

 

The second drill involves the same diagonal pass, but the receiving player must take a longer first touch into space towards the middle of the grid before playing the ball back.  This gives the players a chance to work on moving the ball and taking it with them into open space, which would be similar to getting away from a defender during a game. Coach Cooke makes this drill a competition as well to see which group can connect the most passes in one minute.  This drill is more of a challenge for players as they have to react quickly to receive the pass and then have to trap the ball into the proper space and distance.

For information about how to gain access to Coach Cooke’s entire presentation, as well as hundreds of other presentations, click the link Glazier Soccer Clinics

Here is a drill that will help train defenders to understand the roles and requires a high level of communication

In the video clip below Schellas Hyndman, current Men’s Soccer Head Coach at Grand Canyon University, instructs players on an Introduction to his Coaching the 3rd Defender demonstration. Coach Hyndman, who has over 30 years of experience, has excelled at both the collegiate (Eastern Illinois, SMU) and professional (FC Dallas) levels.

This drill is set up with two teams of three players in the grid with three small goals on each end. There is a third team of three players that is off the field and rotates in during the drill. The two teams on the field play 3 v 3 with each team attacking their offensive goals. The objective of the game is for each team to defend their three goals and not get scored on. If they can attack and score a goal, that is great, but the focus is on defending together and not giving up a goal. Once the ball goes out of bounds or the defensive team wins the ball back, the third team comes on the field and the offensive team goes off. This rotation keeps two teams on the field and allows a third team to be involved.

There are important defensive coaching points to make during this drill. First, the three defensive players need to be organized and understand their roles as the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd defender. The first defender must pressure the ball and force in one direction. The second defender needs to be providing support for the first defender and the third defender should be providing cover for both the 1st and 2nd defenders. In order to be effective defensively, this organization must happen with lots of communication. Make sure players are over-communicating until they get use to the drill and that they understand how one breakdown can affect the whole team or group by a goal that is given up.

Coach Hyndaman’s drill was part of his presentation at a recent Glazier Soccer Clinic. For more information about how to gain access to his entire presentation, as well as hundreds of other clinic presentations, click the link Glazier Soccer Clinic.

The YouTube video below has sound, so please make sure that your volume is turned up and that you have access to the site. Note that some schools block access to YouTube.