Soccer Field Diagram

I’m not sure if you know this but young players have real trouble in kicking the ball by using a straight leg? In coaching soccer drills, it’d not just the players but also the coaches who have a problem here. The player is required to maintain absolute balance and the leg with which ball is to be kicked at is bent at the knee. Both posture and strength to kick the ball comes out from below the knee.

This is the preliminary position in soccer practice for almost all kinds of kicks. The speeding up of the foot from below the knee generates a great impact on the ball. This gives players the power to execute a variety of kicks. However, what type of a kick would it be is determined by the precise contact of the foot on the ball.

For example; it could be chipped very high, driven low, swerved left, or swung right.

There are three basic passes in soccer namely, a side foot pass, the outside of the foot pass, and the instep drive. We’ll now chat about them further.

Soccer Coaching

The side foot pass: This is the easiest and the most widely used pass in teaching soccer. Normally, it is used to make short distance passes. While this pass can be easily predicted and is a little slow, it is extremely simple to learn and easy to carry out. The ball touches the inside of the foot and the ankle with the foot turned outwards.

In coaching soccer drills, players should know that their body need not be tense during the movement with the ball. The most essential rule pertaining to various kicking action is this. The ankle and the foot need to be stiffened only at the time when the players is about to get in contact with the ball.

The moment players feel confident about carrying out this task well; their action should seem relaxed, simple, as well as smooth.

Outside of the foot pass: This is a little difficult to learn but is extremely important to master because it is accurate, quick, and cannot be predicted. The ball makes a contact between the laces and the outside edge of the foot, when the foot is extended and turned inward. With the help of the foot, the pass is modified into a quick flick for short distances.

In the course of these coaching drills, players should keep their stance relaxed.

The Instep Drive: Here, the two versions; lofted versions and the low driven version are utilized to pass the ball to longer distances. After the players have learnt it, variations can be brought in to make a “chip pass” or an “in swinging pass”. As the approach of the instep drive is slightly angled and the non kicking foot is placed about 12 inches to the side of and behind the ball.

The contact with the ball is made between the laces and the inside of the foot and it should be stiff and extended.

So, go forward and make the kids try different things with the ball by teaching them the basic kicking techniques as well its variations.

You can also get your hand on loads of relevant information pertaining to coaching soccer drills in form of newsletters, articles, and videos by subscribing to our youth soccer coaching community.

Andre Botelho is a recognized authority in youth soccer coaching and has already helped thousands of youth coaches to dramatically improve their coaching skills. Learn  how to explode your players’ skills and make training fun by downloading your free ebook at: Soccer Training Drills.

Even though I’m not very sure about how you work, I’d still like to discuss some simple yet effective teaching techniques in coaching soccer drills before you start your practice sessions. Work out a common objective for the team as well as yourself as a coach, for instance; during soccer practice the players must enjoy the game while they are a part of it.

Herein, you must remain careful otherwise you’ll not be able to follow the fun part. Consequently, identify such objectives that are particularly important for you as a coach and also equally important for the team. Some examples are; focus on player’s individual soccer skills, promote the importance of their physical fitness, and help them grow into mature, professional, and sporting soccer players.

It is your duty to set reasonably high standards for players in relation to sportsmanship. Encourage attitudes like fair play, team spirit, and sportsmanship. However, in teaching soccer, you can have numerous other objectives that you can add to those mentioned above.

Winning is another important concept that I’d like to emphasize in coaching youth soccer. When you coach your kids, you must instill an open concept of winning in their minds. Let them know that to be tagged as winners, they must focus on playing their best game and not worry about the results.

Soccer Coaching

It has the effect of encouraging the players to give it their best shot and play the game without unnecessary pressure to win anyways.

It’s important that your instructions during coaching soccer drills are to the point and exact for players to fetch expected results. It’s imperative that your kids are aware of the dos and don’ts that are critical to the game of soccer before you go any further with their training. The dissimilarity between coaching and teaching lies in the fact that coaching is concerned with a group of players who are already familiar with the game to a certain extent.

In the process of coaching drills, it is nice to first impart 5 to 6 demonstrations about a drill to the kids and then let them practice it themselves. It is because kids have a tendency to learn quickly by watching than by listening. If you endeavor to explain in instructions, they will not understand it. Relatively, they imitate perfectly.

So, as a general rule, demonstrate the skills yourself whenever possible.

Last but by no means the least; keep your players active with several purposeful activities. This becomes even more important when the weather is windy, wet, or cold. You must understand that kids are just thrilled at the prospect of playing in the rain. So, rather than just telling them to go home, it is more beneficial to find ways so that they can still enjoy soccer in some form.

Just keep in mind that the kids should be wearing additional protective gear in such weather.

Move forward now and start using these tips to your training sessions. The results will make you happy.

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Andre Botelho is a recognized expert in youth soccer coaching. He influences well over 35,000 youth coaches each year with his unique coaching philosophy, and makes it really easy to explode your players’ skills and make training more fun in record time. To download your free youth soccer coaching guide visit: Coaching soccer drills.

You’ll more that agree with me that when it comes to coaching soccer drills, the toughest part is where the most suitable mode of organizing the player’s conditioning schedules is to be decided upon. That’s probably because the similarity between coaching and educating the players has been getting some recognition in past few years.

Sadly, in teaching soccer, a majority of the coaches still don’t realize that it’s pertinent to devise the coaching plans as per the needs of the players. The players must be taught about the game as a person along with their professional conditioning and training. There have been a number of situations where this educational facet of soccer has not been considered at all.

Nevertheless, while deciding on the coaching drills that kids are to perform; one rule should be kept in mind. A young player becomes an elite player of great renown only when he grows as an individual first and then as a soccer player. A coach should therefore act according to the above principle.

The main reason why an individual decides to become a coach is fairly simple to make out.
Once his playing days are over, he desires to remain involved in the world of soccer. This results in many successful soccer players settling down as coaches. But they don’t realize the seriousness of taking up this role.

Soccer Coaching

Some of them take this as an opportunity to get into the field of coaching and training adult players. Many of them consider this as their only chance to get one with the sport and contribute to the game by sharing their experience and techniques and helping the kids grow. Theses reasons are both suitable as well as acceptable. It’s not just these responsibilities that follow your choice but also certain ethical duties that must be looked at while making a choice.

Communication is main aspect in coaching soccer drills, but unfortunately it’s very complicated for almost everyone to acknowledge. It is not enough to have a great career history spanning many years of top rated success and achievements to qualify as a professional coach.

There are a few standards that a youth soccer coach is expected to not only set but also meet. Being a competent and skillful coach requires helping young players to love soccer and consider it as a positive and an exciting experience in their lives. During the soccer practice, a coach should ensure that the players can openly convey their feelings through the game.

In a team, there are players with varied talents, stamina, and caliber. The important thing is not that each one of them should have skills and potential of a champion. But what’s really important is that every player must reach his own competence in the due course.

The fact that every successful, skilled, and competent player does not necessarily make a talented youth coach must be understood. A special ability to work with kids is of paramount importance; an inborn gift to make contact with people and nurturing relationships.

Some food for thought; you should seriously consider what truly motivates you as it is a major requirement in this context.

Register to our youth soccer coaching community that has loads of knowledge on coaching soccer drills available in form of newsletters, articles, and videos relevant to coaching young players.

Andre Botelho is known online as “The Expert Youth Soccer Coach” and his free ebooks and reports have been downloaded more than 100,000 times. Learn how to skyrocket your players’ skills and make practice sessions fun in record time. Download your free ebook at: Soccer Drills.

You may know this already that in coaching soccer drills, every other skill leads to one final aim, a shot at the goal. It requires both skill and character to produce quality shooting. But there is something more that is equally important and that is a persuasive attitude.

All the players must be involved in this but more importantly; it is up to the forward players to shoot the ball. When teaching soccer, give a lot of emphasis on shooting.

There a number of things that may come out of shooting. Shots can be redirected into the goal. The goalkeeper might drop the ball exactly at the feet of your forward player. Unruly shots can turn into brilliant passes. Ground shots can get a timely rebound. You may even hit a goal through a straight shot.

At the time of soccer practice, the attacking players always try to make the most of every goal-scoring opportunity. They are made to think in a way that they always have goal scoring on their mind. In England, these attacking players are known by the term sniffers. This is due to the fact that they are always on the lookout for scoring chances.

Soccer Coaching

To them, every opportunity is the last one they will get and hence shoot ferociously. They are always present when the opportunity is right. They have the skills to even convert negative situations into positive ones. Therefore, in coaching soccer drills you must ask the players to hit the ball at every opportunity.

As a general rule, any kick that causes the ball to go towards the goal is considered as a shot. But driving the ball through the middle using the laces of the foot is by far the most effective technique for shooting. The player’s head should be over the ball, his toe extended, and his upper body should remain steady.

In coaching drills, your players should learn to shoot the ball low and wide of the goalie. At this point, low ground shots are favored over high shots. For the reason that goalies have to stretch their hands a greater distance to stop low ground shots, it is a little tricky for them.

Young players tend to score more when they practice inside regulation sized goals by kicking the ball above the head of the goalkeeper. This must be discouraged otherwise players form the habit of shooting very high goals. This practice can be put to stop in coaching soccer drills by not allowing players to adult sized goals.

So get going and train your team members to see and confirm the goalkeeper’s position before they shoot the ball into the goalpost.

To know more about tips on coaching young players, subscribe to our youth soccer coaching community that offers effective and practical knowledge to help you excel in your career as a soccer coach.

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: Youth Soccer Drills.