Free Soccer Training Drills: A Guide To Switching The Ball

You might disagree, but hear me out on this. While practicing free soccer training drills, one of the best plans to attack the other team is, to keep exchanging the ball within the team members, and finding a loop hole in the defenders of the other team thus achieving the goal. It is the coach’s responsibility to train the kids on this skill and you can use the following soccer coaching drills for this.

Match winning strategy: keep the defenders busy by throwing the ball from one side to the other, and attack the goal in between. Swapping the ball between the team players also helps reducing the stress.

The quick switch or the blind pass: Train one or two of your mid-fielders to dribble to the right, using the right foot, and then swing the ball to the left, sending almost a blind pass.Speedy Switching or Blind Pass: A blind pass can be accomplished, rolling the ball using right foot, while throwing it to left; one or two mid-fielders must be knowing this technique. You should teach the same technique to the left-footed mid-fielders, with the variation that they would dribble to the left side while swinging the ball back to the right side using left foot.

The defender on the other side will not be expecting the pass and your team can catch the opposing team sleeping.

Soccer Drills

You should train the players to make switching the ball a habit; keeping all others to be ready for this type of pass. Though this one is difficult of all the soccer drills, however, all players would certainly participate thoroughly in the drill during the soccer practice.

This drill requires six small goals on either side of the pitch. In case the player makes a goal which are placed in the middle of the field, a score is made by the team. Setting points—say two points, for passing through the last goal, will encourage switching.

Throughout free soccer training drills, the goals should be made adequately wide to teach that there is not much use only to put a player between them to avoid a run or pass. Running from point A to B should be assigned to one player. When the players are between the goals, attackers won’t be able to attack and goal.

Usually, during the play, youngsters, tend to move away from their positions. They tend to move to the point, where the ball is being played. Therefore teach your mid-fielders to be aware of those areas and make a move, if they can transfer the play from one side to the other and make use of the defenders unawares.

During following sessions of football drills, try to teach them to cover the entire width of the ground. Teach them the skills and rehearse a few moves with them to let them know where the attacking threat might come from.

As I am sure that you are full of information, include these practices in your free soccer training drills, so your players are always ready and the opposition mid-fielders find it difficult to catch your defenders out. Enhance your knowledge on coaching tips by subscribing to our youth soccer coaching community that has a plethora of informative articles, newsletters, and videos.

Andre Botelho is the author of “The Expert Youth Soccer Coaching Guide” and he’s a recognized expert in the subject of youth soccer coaching. Learn  how to explode your players’ skills and make coaching sessions fun in less than 29 days! Download your free pdf guide at: Soccer Training.

2010 FIFA World Cup -Why In South Africa?

Friday, June 11, 2010 is sure to be an unforgettable date in the minds of all Africans and soccer fans worldwide as the day Africa comes to be the venue for the FIFA World Cup. It’s been 80 years that FIFA World Cup host countries have revolved around Europe and the Americas. How is the country to hold the Cup selected?According to the revised selection policy, as long as the country’s continental confederaton hasn’t hosted the Cup in the past two years, the country would become eligable, this would make any African country a strong candidate. South Africa had a narrow loss against Germany in the 2006 bidding with 12 votes to 11 as the final tally. For the 2010 World Cup however, all countries that bid were African the top three being South Africa, Morocco and Egypt. Morocco lost to South Africa by four events making this a momentous event. Technically, this is why South Africa is hosting this years World Cup but is the counntry able to hold such a big event? Personally, I’d say “definitely”, these are my reasons:

* They’ve got a great team- that simple fact makes them deserving to have the great privilege of hosting the cup.If you’d ask me, having a World Cup in a country whose team isn’t even above average would be a disgrace. Even if  you look back, the soccer teams of countries hosting the cup are usually first class like Brazil (1950), Argentina(1978) and Italy(1990). It would make sense to have South Africa join the list.

* Perfect stadiums- South Africa’s preparation for the 2010 FIFA World Cup included the construction of four new stadiums. Their designs include : a detractable glass roof, beautiful lighting, zebra like seats, and the South African flag. What more could you ask for?

* The perfect weather-  if there’s one thing South Africa is known for-aside from its wildlife, it would be the weather. The World Football Tournament will be held during South Africa’s winter season. South Africa’s winter temperature at midday is warmer than most countries daily summer temperature so no need to worry that your favorite players will get frozen. The average temperature will be around 20 degrees Celsius at 12pm noon.Lower temperatures are known to be better for athlete’s bodies.Good weather equals higher tempo.

* Africa- civilization as we know it has been thought to have begun in Africa and many African coutries hold soccer dear to their hearts. Could you think of a better venu for the world to unite? Also, during the Mandela era, football was a cause of unification and a force for the apartheid resistance. Holding the finals in Soweto, the center of South African soccer will make this even more than a sporting  one but more importantly a very historical one.

Despite any controversies in the past four years regarding safety, in my opinion,South Africa is the perfect place for the 2010  FIFA World Cup and  the whole world should be very proud that  this is the first time that a sporting event of this magnitude is being held in the continent.

Soccer Coaching Philosophy:Secrets Revealed

Here’s a really simple way to remember some of the key soccer coaching factors that are required in determining your team philosophy and run with it. Applying this philosophy to your youth team can be very easy, easier than you can think.

These are 6 elements; parents, coaches, excitement, selection, time, and success windows that are needed for a successful youth coaching philosophy.

Consistent Parental Guidance: During soccer training parental influence is very important for the mental and physical progress of your players, mainly on the match day. The pamphlet of “parental responsibilities” provided at the beginning of the term is not adequate. Regular meetings should be arranged with the parents to highlight the key points again and discuss issues.

Upcoming soccer coaches: Your philosophy should emphasize the importance of development of the coaches along with the players. Assess and see if you can turn one of your kid’s parents into a soccer coach? They would be most suitable and a great option for the future.

Soccer Coaching

Selection: One of the biggest reasons why players with great soccer skills drop out is non-selection. According to the research, players go in bad teams saying that they are fearful of not getting selected in a good team. Thus a logical system which provides the players equal game time should be used.

Time: Observe punctuality and tell the parents to be punctual as well. The start and finish times that are clearly defined make for an effective session.

Excitement: Is it necessary that every soccer coaching session should be fun? You must definitely try to make each session a delight for the kids but then, its not possible all the time. As such, adopt excitement as an alternate.

When training the kids, it is certain that the coach will have problems with ideas on how to make practice drills interesting. So, the biggest challenge in teaching soccer is to be creative enough and keep introducing new and innovative ideas so that the kid’s remain interested in the game.

In soccer drills, it is a good idea to keep increasing the level of difficulty every time. One way of doing this is to start with a game, identify a problem and then eliminate it by performing a related soccer drill.

Success windows: Make an effort to create a success window for the season as an important part of your training. This necessitates for you to determine a lower limit and an upper limit of time with a view to measure the level of success that needs to be achieved.

To take an example, time frame of minimum four and maximum eight weeks. This can be worked out for both the team and individual members.

Do good and adopt a soccer coaching philosophy like this become a part of the development phase of your kid’s training once the basics have been covered. To get the most out of your soccer coaching skills, join our youth soccer coaching community where you will find the best resources, tips, and tricks on youth soccer.

Andre Botelho is the author of “The Expert Youth Soccer Coaching Guide” and he’s a recognized expert in the subject of youth soccer coaching. Learn  how to explode your players’ skills and make coaching sessions fun in less than 29 days! Download your free pdf guide at: Soccer Coaching Drills.

Free Soccer Drills:A Guide To Dribbling

I don’t know a thing about you, but I’ll bet that there are many coaches out there struggling to find effective and free soccer drills for their players. Actually what they are looking for are drills that can be performed by the kids all alone without any supervision.

Using soccer drills that don’t need any equipment are a great way to kick start the training sessions. Apart from that , these soccer exercises are designed to suit the player’s age, learning potential, and the role he plays for the team.

The great drill to teach the players is to dribble a soccer ball and at the same time, be conscious of what is going on around them. This drill is used by many coaches and it is far better than asking your players to dribble through cones.

This drill may demand more from players but it assures the player’s conscious participation in soccer practice.

Soccer Drills

Let me tell you how to organize this drill.

Mark a square of about 20 yards by 20 yards. The size of this square will vary depending on the number of players, and their age.

One should position the players evenly alongside the square. Players, with their own ball, stand opposite to each other on the sides of the square.

As soon as the coach whistles, each player will dribble the ball to the opposite side and stop on the line opposite to them. Among the free soccer drills, this is simple yet effective in coaching the players to dribble the ball with their heads up and not crossing the other player’s path as the move across the square.

To add more fun into the drill, make the players dribble across the square and back again, compelling them to turn 180 degrees with the ball. Across the square, for every run, the players vary the number of times they dribble the ball. This drill is a progression of many such runs and a player is eliminated for every run and this is continued until only one player is left.

In addition, when the number of players are few, one can make the players run with the ball and not to dribble it.

You can have great fun with this drill and teach the kids many important aspects of dribbling with the ball. The best of way of making soccer drills interesting is to mix some tough and some light drills together in the training. And it is okay if some are not directly related to soccer and are only meant to have fun.

It is important in soccer coaching that kids shouldn’t do too much of anything.

When these free soccer drills are applied in your training programs, you make the kids to learn the essentials of the game quickly.

You’ll have to consider joining the youth soccer coaching community for it has got lots of articles, newsletters and videos.

About the author

Andre Botelho is the author of “The Expert Youth Soccer Coaching Guide” and he’s a recognized expert in the subject of youth soccer coaching. Learn how to explode your players’ skills and make coaching sessions fun in less than 29 days! Download your free pdf guide at: Free Soccer Drills.

How To Coach Soccer:8 Things You Must Know

Have you ever imagined how a handful of secrets on how to coach soccer can help you put together a great soccer team? If no, then go on and read through the simple tips pertaining to soccer strategies, training drills, health, diet, and nearly everything that is required to develop a great team.

This article shares some key points along with broad approaches for a coach, to create a winning team.

1. Plan soccer coaching drills carefully: Before starting the practice session, give the kids required instructions. However, ensure that these do not take a lot of time. For example: Limit the briefing to 10 minutes maximum if the training session is scheduled for 30 minutes.

2. Once the practice session starts, let the kids enjoy and you get out of the field. Take note of the mistakes being made and address them afterwards or during the breaks. When you go on disrupting players in between the matches, it’ll kill all the fun involved.

3. Introduce variety in your drills: One of the most practical tactics is to initiate variety in drills in the practice sessions so that the kids look forward to take part in the forthcoming sessions. You can make them perform different activities like jogging, biking, or weight or fitness training in addition to their usual drills.

Soccer Coaching

4. Divide players into small groups: Divide the players into small groups when you have to train all the players together and they are pretty large in number. Moreover, teaching soccer requires the coach to keep a vigil on each group’s progress and their activities.

It must be ensured that each player gets undivided attention and that the players also get opportunities to talk to each other.

5. Feedback is crucial but should be communicated carefully: When you are talking to the kids, make sure you have their age and mental ability in mind. What you understand about how to coach soccer is greatly influenced by your wisdom about the playing capabilities of the kids.

6. Communication is crucial: Share your joy and admiration about the achievements of the kids and pat them on their back when they finish things as desired. This will fill them up with confidence and motivate them to reach even higher.

7. Be a good listener too: At times, even the kids may surprise you with their ideas if you choose to listen to them. Motivate the kids to be frank. When you are friendly to them, the kids will enjoy learning soccer skills and playing soccer.

8. Once the kids surpass a level of difficulty, raise the bar. There is no harm in testing the capabilities of the young players and also present a few challenges.

These tricks have been generally accepted and have given fruitful results. It is probably the best way to project how to coach soccer concept since it not only helps you as a coach but also presents factors that relate to the success of a team.

There is a good amount of information in the form of articles, videos and newsletters posted on our youth soccer coaching community which keep you updated with the latest and the best in soccer, hence you should subscribe it.

Andre Botelho is the author of “The Expert Youth Soccer Coaching Guide” and he’s a recognized expert in the subject of youth soccer coaching. Learn  how to explode your players’ skills and make coaching sessions fun in less than 29 days! Download your free pdf guide at: Free Soccer Drills.