Short sided games are great way to teach skills. This post has a short sided game/drill to help teach your players to create goal scoring opportunities and to convert.
In the video clip below Charlie Cooke, Director of Coerver Coaching USA, instructs players on short sided games during his Creating and Converting Goal Chances demonstration at a recent Glazier Soccer Clinic.
The drill is set up as follows. There are two teams of players that start on each side of the field. One player passes the ball across to a player from the opposite line to start the drill. The objective for the offensive player is to try and dribble through one of the gates located at each end of the field before scoring a goal. The offensive player is encouraged to use change of direction moves if the defender closes the ball down or recovers quickly. The drill then progresses with two players from each side to create a 2 v 2 to small goals.
Coach Cooke discusses several important points during this drill:
- Quick dribbling
The offensive player must dribble quickly in order to create space and be effective. Players should be encouraged to sprint with the ball while keeping close control. If they slow down or don’t dribble fast enough, defenders will be able to close the distance and have a much better chance of winning the ball back.
- Changes of Direction
Each offensive player has the option of going to the opposite direction to attack. Quick changes of direction are important for players to practice and use in drills like this. Players need to be comfortable switching the point of attack in order to attack open space.
- Transitions
The offensive players need to be prepared and ready to transition to defense if they lose the ball, just as the defensive players need to be ready to switch to offense if they win the ball back. These transitions are constant during a game and players need to understand that the quicker they make them, the more successful they will be.
This clip is just a sample from Coach Cooke’s presentation. For information about how to gain access to the entore presentation, as well as other great clinic presentations, click the link Glazier Soccer Clinics.
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.