Deadly Sins of Soccer

Guys I came accross this lovely piece of mind opening tips;I think it is worth sharing with you.

• Square balls across the middle--this is a definite no-no in the defensive third. A square ball is the easiest ball to intercept. It also implies lack of support behind the passer. If an opponent incepts a square ball, the
passer and receiver must start their recovery runs from an equal horizontal
position. This gives the interceptor a head start on goal, as the passer and receiver must recover from greater distance.
• Stopping the ball--players that "trap" the ball to a stationary position are easy to target by defenders. If the defender is closing down a receiver as the ball is arriving, the defender does not have to change course or angle of run if the receiver "stops" the ball. Also, a player that plays with the ball in one spot often invites his teammates to go into hibernation while they wait for that player to do something with the ball. There are some very good distributors that can "hold up the ball" until runs develop. Even though the ball seems to be stopped with these players, it is actually being moved in a very precise way.
• GK staying on the line--as attackers and the ball gets closer to the
goalline the goalkeeper must start to cut down the shooting angles by
moving out. If the GK moves too soon, he may be open to a ball over the top. However, staying back on the line is an invitation to shoot at a wide open goal. In most situations, a GK should be at least 2 yards (younger ages) to 3-4 (teenage and above) when the ball is in the middle of the field and within shooting distance.
• Vertical support positioning--standing directly behind or directly in front of a player with the ball is a problem. Players need to support the ball at angles. If a on ball player is going to drop the ball, he must turn 180 degrees to get the ball back. With angled positioning it is only a half a turn. Also, the angled pass changes not only the vertical level, but the horizontal one as well. If a player is directly in front of the ball, he will have trouble turning and will not be open to the field. A player directly in front of the ball carrier also takes up valuable space the dribbler can go into.
• Allowing the attacker to dribble along the goalline--attackers that get to > the goalline must be kept wide. Defenders that overplay or over commit against an attacker that is wide can allow the attacker to dribble towards the goal along the goalline. This destroys a defense, as passing angles are created that will carry the ball away from the GK and into onrushing attackers. This is similar to giving up the baseline in basketball.
• Standing waiting for the pass--it is a flat out sin not to go to the ball when under pressure.
• Not open to the field--players whose shoulders and hips face the ball do not usually have a body position that allows for viewing of the field. If the position is open to the field, there are more options available and known to the attacker after receiving the ball.
• Receiving the ball with the wrong foot--players that reach for a ball on their left side, by stretching there right leg across there body cause themselves several problems. First, the support foot is immobile in order to support the other leg stretch. Second, the reception is with the outside of the foot or leg which is a much tougher area to control a ball. Last and most important, the player cannot immediately react to the touch without several adjustment steps. Essentially, the ball is stopped and the player stopped because the feet are not in position to more.
• Go forth and sin no more! Cheers

OVERLAPPING MIDFIELDS

Organisation of the game

use 20 x 20 pitch size

Use 4 to 8 players you may decide to distinguish them by colour of their bibs

Out of those seven 2 (let we call them 1 and 2) will be those playing centre forward position these will be laying off the ball to the remaining mid field players.

Theme is for the mid fields to pass and overlap

Starting point

mid field 3 passes to player 1 and makes a quick overlapping run around player 1 (a straight run), Player 1 lays off to player to who in turn passes to a running mid field 3. mid field 3 will knock the ball using inside of his foot to mid field 4 who will do the same from the other side of the pich.

This exercise can be done with 4 players but in order to make it more fun use more than 4 players who will be replacing each other position after each final knock on the ball.

Teach your players how to make Penetrating passes

Courtesy: US youth Soccer

Organization

5 v 2

Five offense players try to keep possession from two defensive players and look for the opportunity to “split” them.

Description

Using a circle shape or a grid shape play a game of keep away. The size of the playing space will depend upon the skill level of the players…lesser skill uses a larger space…greater skill use a smaller space.

The offensive players should be encouraged to try various types of passes on the ground and possibly in the air:
• Inside of foot – push pass
• Outside of foot – bent pass
• Heel pass
• Toe poke pass
• Chip pass
• Inside of foot bent pass
• Flicks

• Be sure the players have their hips open so they can make passes left, right of through the middle. • Be sure the attacking players are moving their heads to scan the playing area so they are aware of where the defending players are, passing lanes and teammate support.