Coaching Soccer For Dummies

by Greg Bach

  Benders: If the player is able to spin the ball, she can curve it around the wall, which creates all sorts of additional scoring chances. This type of shot can be particularly difficult for goalies to contend with, because they’re screened from seeing the full shot. You can begin introducing kids to this type of kick after they have a little bit of experience playing the game.

  Indirect free kick

  Indirect free kicks are taken in much the same way as direct kicks, with the minor exception that another player has to touch the ball before you can score a goal. A good pass from the player handling the indirect free kick can create a good scoring opportunity for the team when it’s in the vicinity of the opposing team’s goal. Two basic plays you can run off an indirect free kick work like this:

  The player taking the kick sends the ball wide to a teammate and then takes off to get a return pass and catch the defenders off balance, because a lot of times, they converge on the player with the ball and neglect the other players. (See Figure 13-6a.)

  The player taking the kick sends the ball to a teammate positioned far enough past the wall that he can get an immediate shot on goal. (See Figure 13-6b.)

  Figure 13-6: A number of options for taking an indirect free kick.

  Initiating the attack with your goalie

  Although goaltenders are primarily thought of as defensive specialists, they can also play very important roles within your team’s offense.

  Goalie clearing kicks

  A properly executed clearing kick, also referred to as punting the ball, can provide a couple very important things:

  Defensive relief: If your team is under an enormous amount of pressure from the opposing team’s attack and playing much of the game in your end of the field, the clearing kick can give your team a reprieve from the assault.

  Extra scoring chances: A clearing kick that connects with a teammate quickly eliminates a portion of the field that the team has to negotiate, which can translate into extra scoring chances for the squad.

  Take a look at the steps to executing a successful clearing kick (see Figure 13-7):

  Figure 13-7: The goalie can help your offense by exe- cuting a successful clearing kick.

  1. Have the goalie focus on striking the center of the ball with the top of her shoelaces.

  2. She should point the toe of her kicking foot and lock her ankle.

  3. She should take a step forward with her nonkicking foot while dropping the ball on the kicking foot.

  Some children, when beginning to learn this skill, have a tendency to throw the ball at their foot instead of letting it drop out of their hands.

  Goalie throws

  Another key skill for a goalie’s arsenal is the throw. Punting is the most effective way to make the ball travel a long distance, but when a ball is booted that far, the other team has a chance to take possession.

  Whenever possible, your goalie should throw the ball to a teammate to help start an attack. The throw is much easier to control than the punt, and it’s much safer when you’re trying to maintain possession.

  The following steps teach your youngsters the art of throwing the ball to a teammate:

  1. A child begins by holding the ball with both hands.

  2. As the child brings the ball over his throwing shoulder, he should spread his fingers, which provides added control of the ball.

  Younger kids, with their smaller hands, encounter greater difficulty hanging onto the ball, which sometimes requires using both hands while bringing the ball over the throwing shoulder.

  3. The goalie steps forward and follows through toward his intended target (see Figure 13-8).

  Figure 13-8: A goalie’s throw is intercepted less often than a kick.

  Playing Defense

  Although corner kicks and direct kicks can provide some fantastic scoring opportunities when your team has possession of the ball, they can be problematic when your team finds itself on the other side and is faced with trying to stop them. Taking away even the slightest advantage the offensive unit has is key to performing well when confronted with defending in these situations. Making a big defensive stop can provide your team a boost of confidence and dramatically shift the momentum of the game in your favor.

  Defending throw-ins

  When defending a throw-in, one of the main points to keep in mind is that the opposing team is probably going to run a set play that it worked on in practice. It may even be one of the same plays that your team runs or something similar that you quickly recognize. Regardless, work with your team to keep the following points in mind on defending throw-ins:

  Maintain the advantage: Don’t put a defensive player on the youngster who’s handling the throw-in, because it gives away the slight advantage you have with more defensive players in the field than offensive players. The player making the throw-in can’t touch the ball until someone in the field of play does.

  Don’t get picked off: Many teams run screen plays where players crisscross back and forth (see the section on throw-ins in “Initiating Offense,” earlier in this chapter, for one such play). Your best defensive bet may be assigning players to be responsible for a certain area of the field so that a lot of the confusion of trying to stick to an individual player is eliminated.

  Keep an eye on the best player: When the game gets under way, you and your team are going to have a good idea of who are some of the best players on the opposing squad. Throw-ins represent wonderful opportunities for teams to get the ball to these players. Consequently, consider putting your best defensive player on the team’s most dangerous player, and have him shadow the player all over the field to help ensure that she doesn’t break free with the ball following the throw-in.

  Don’t worry about offsides: Your team must constantly be aware during throw-ins that an attacking player won’t be called for being offsides. (For more details on the tricky offside rule, check out Chapter 3.) That means that your players have no reason to ever allow a player from the opposing team to break free while receiving a throw-in.

  Don’t forget the player who threw the ball in: After this player throws the ball in, he must be accounted for. If not, he can race down the sideline and receive a return pass from the player he just threw the ball to. Keep an eye on this player, because he poses a risk after the ball is in play.

  Defending penalty kicks

  Winning the lottery. Never getting sick a day in your life. Stopping a penalty kick. All involve enormous odds stacked heavily against you. After all, a well-struck soccer ball can travel from the penalty mark to the goal in less than a second, which means the goalie is basically left guessing which direction the shot is headed. Often, the goalie’s best option is to simply guess which side the player is kicking to and dive in that direction at the moment the player makes impact.

  As your goalie becomes more skilled and masters the basic techniques of playing in front of the net, you can begin working with her on the difficult aspect of contending with a penalty shot. If the player taking the penalty shot and the goalie are both equally talented in their respective positions, the player kicking the ball has a distinct advantage. So any little thing the goalie can do to help minimize that advantage is key in her efforts to make stops on penalty shots. The goalie should try to:

  Watch the other team during warm-ups: A lot of teams have their designated shooter practice during warm-ups. Try to pick up any tendencies in terms of the type of shot and placement that you can.

  Pay attention prior to the shot: Teach the goaltender to pay close attention to the player before the shot. Maybe he can pick up something in the way the youngster takes a warm-up swing with his leg before the shot that gives away what type of shot he’s taking.

  Take a cue from the kicker: Have your goalie get used to checking out the direction the kicker’s plant foot is pointing and even the posture of the kicker’s body. Try to read her as she approaches the ball. Is the player already looking at a certain part of the net and unknowingly giving away where sh
e intends to kick the ball? Is she approaching the ball at a certain angle to get a better shot at one side of the net? Although a goalie certainly won’t be able to pick up all that information in the short amount of time he has to work with, he may pick up on one tidbit of information that he can use to his advantage.

  Use game knowledge: If the penalty kick takes place in the second half, your goalie may already have a feel for the player taking the kick. Perhaps she has already had to make some plays on this youngster’s shots, so she may know that the player has a tendency to aim all his shots to the left or right. Is he a finesse or power player? Have all his shots been either low to the ground or in the air? These factors can help the goalie make a big stop for the team.

  Defending corner kicks

  Teams delivering corner kicks are in a great position to create scoring opportunities. Experienced soccer teams score the bulk of their goals off corner kicks from headers. Therefore, guarding the front of the goal line with three defensive players is important. With this setup, the defenders have a good chance to gain possession and quickly clear the ball or put together an attack of its own if the ball enters their penalty area.

  Position one defender directly in the goal area near or next to the goal post while making sure that he doesn’t obstruct the goalie’s view. Position the second defender at the goal post at the far end. If the goalie is forced to leave the box, the defenders can collapse to the middle of the goal area to protect both halves (check out Figure 13-4 earlier in the chapter). The third defender marks the player taking the corner kick so that he isn’t able to roam free once he puts the ball into play.

  Midfielders can also be utilized to play the posts, which allows defenders more freedom to move about and converge on the ball when play unfolds.

  The wall — and other techniques for defending against free kicks

  Free kicks can present real problems for defenders, especially at the more advanced levels of soccer, where players have the ability to kick hard, accurate shots from long distances. This type of player poses a big threat, and if your team isn’t prepared, these kids quickly exploit your defensive weaknesses and put goals on the scoreboard. Assembling a wall and positioning it properly are vital for establishing that first line of defense against a free kick.

  The wall is your team’s best weapon against free kicks that take place at your end of the field. The wall is exactly what it sounds like — a wall of stationary players lined up to serve as an obstacle to the opposing player taking the free kick. When the attacking team is in range to get a good shot on goal, get a wall set up to help block the shot or disrupt the play the offensive team is attempting to run.

  In a full-scale soccer game of 11-on-11, the wall is usually comprised of 3, 4, or 5 players who are stationed 10 yards away from the ball. In smaller-scale games of soccer involving kids at the beginning levels, such as 6-on-6, the wall can be as small as 1 or 2 players. As we discuss in Chapter 2, your league’s rules on how far away the wall must be from the ball can vary greatly from the official rules of soccer. In smaller-scale games with younger kids, the distance can be as little as 5 yards.

  One of the main purposes of the wall is to cover the near-post half of the goal (see Figure 13-9), while the goalie’s primary responsibility is on the other half of the net. (The near post is the post closer to the shooter.) On direct and indirect free kicks, the players comprising the wall must remain still until the ball is kicked. Here are a few other tips to keep in mind when it comes to the wall:

  Figure 13-9: When players form the wall, they help the goalie defend against a shot.

  Be quick: The players need to get lined up quickly so that the offense isn’t able to get an advantage. With younger teams, you may want to designate ahead of time a player or two who will be in the wall so that you always have a couple players rushing to get set up, and then, depending on their positions on the field, other teammates can join in quickly.

  Choose the number of players: With more experienced teams, you can rely on the goalie to choose the number of players for the wall. With less experienced teams, you need to take a more vocal role in helping select the number of players for the wall. The goalie is also responsible for instructing the wall to move in whatever direction is most effective, with the end player lined up with the post.

  Don’t move: Inexperienced players who aren’t accustomed to standing still while a ball is kicked toward them have a tendency to turn their backs on it. This tendency is a bad habit for players to get into for a couple of reasons. One, turning sideways creates unwanted gaps for the ball to slip through, and two, the players are at a disadvantage because they aren’t able to see where the ball is and react quickly.

  Height matters: The tallest player in the wall should be lined up with the near post. The remaining players comprising the wall should stand shoulder to shoulder — from tallest to shortest — with no gaps between them.

  When a direct or indirect kick takes place far from your own goal, you have no special defensive tactics to rely on. Basically, you want your defenders to move quickly and maintain their proper positioning between the ball and the goal. On an indirect kick, the overwhelming majority of the time, the attacking player delivers a short pass to a teammate to the left or right of the wall. Because this scenario is most often used, defensive players should already be focused on marking their opponent so that they don’t allow the attacking team any advantage going down the field.

  Chapter 14

  Taking Practice Drills to the Next Level

  In This Chapter

  Going on the attack

  Practicing defensive skills

  Working the drills into your practice

  You’ve reached that point in the season where your team is starting to get a fairly good grasp of the basics of passing and receiving. Your goalie has become pretty proficient at making the routine saves. When your team is pressured deep in your end of the field, your players enjoy their share of success in halting the attack. You’ve even had a couple players get off a header in a game. Your team is learning and making progress, and that should bring a smile to your face. To ensure that the learning and skill development don’t come to a grinding halt, you need to kick your practice drills up a notch.

  So now what? You have to match your team’s increasing skill level with drills that continue to challenge, motivate, and excite the players. A successful drill you used during the first week of practice doesn’t carry the same type of benefits for a team that’s been together for quite awhile. Dig into some fun new drills in this chapter to reenergize your players’ enthusiasm and continue pushing them down that path of learning and skill development.

  And for those players who have been lacing up their spikes for several years now, you can use these drills to enhance their skills and turn them into more proficient players in all areas of the game.

  Offensive Drills

  Young soccer players love scoring goals, but you need a lot of good offensive techniques to get to that end result of goal-scoring. The following sections explore drills for attacking, passing, ball handling, heading, and — yes — scoring. For the basics of coaching offense, see Chapter 11. For more advanced offensive strategies, see Chapter 15.

  When conducting drills, you want every child actively involved. Standing around and waiting in line drains the fun out of their participation, and the amount of learning taking place is drastically reduced.

  Attacking

  The ability to create quality scoring chances, particularly when your team has the advantage of outnumbering the defense, is the mark of a well-coached team. Although your team isn’t always going to put up a goal in these situations, generating good scoring opportunities pays dividends over the duration of the season.

  2-on-1

  This drill helps youngsters learn to exploit a 2-on-1 advantage to the fullest and generate a quality scoring opportunity.

  What you need: Area of field with goal. 4 players. 1 ball.

 
How it works: Position an attacking player on each side of the goalie, who begins the drill holding a ball. (See Figure 14-1.) Also position a defensive player about 10 yards in front of the goalie. The two attacking players move away from the net, and the goalie delivers a pass to one of them. Then the attacking pair turns around and works to beat the lone defender and get a good shot on net.

  Coaching pointers: Observe the goalie to ensure that he uses proper form while delivering the outlet pass, and monitor the placement of the pass. Also, monitor the offensive pair to see whether either player takes a shot too early in the drill or makes quality passes to fully capitalize on the pair’s man advantage. The defender should try to force the action to one side to limit the opportunities of the offense.

  Figure 14-1: The 2-on-1 starts with the goalie holding the ball.

  3-on-2

  This drill teaches youngsters to take advantage when they have an extra player on the attack. This setup also allows players to work on their throw-ins, as well as their passing, receiving, and shooting skills. By being outnumbered, the defensive players have to be quick on their feet in reading the play.

  What you need: Area of field with goal. 6 players. 1 ball.

  How it works: Set up an offensive player on the sideline to throw the ball in. (See Figure 14-2.) Position two more attacking players in the area you have for the drill, along with two defensive players and a goalie. When the player throws the ball in, she should look to create space to stretch the two defenders out. The player who receives the ball can either press forward and take a shot on net or pass to one of his teammates flanking him, depending on how the defenders handle the play.