THE BUZZ ABOUT FORMATION

As a coach of youth football coaching drills, it is important to understand formations and to select one that is suitable for you and your players. I have tried several formations in my time from the 5-3-2, 3-4-3, etc. and quite frankly when dealing with players under the age of 13, it is far better to stick to the conventional 4-4-2 formation.

If you have good strikers and a strong midfield, then you will be in a far better position to attack using your midfielders to set up your strikers to score goals. Always ensure that your defenders do not stand in a straight line behind the midfielders, as what tends to happen is that a large open gap is set up between the two which allows the opposing side to exploit this space to counter attack. Make sure that two defenders are directly behind the midfielders and two defenders are behind them closer to the outside goal box.

With youth football coaching drills, I am a great believer in using my outside midfielders as wings to launch attacks up either side of the field in order to set up the strikers to score. In most junior football matches, the game seems to be played in the center of the field and little attention is paid to the sides of the field. Often you will see a channel developing on one side of the field which in turn will allow your wing to dribble the ball right up to the outside goal box and set up a goal.

It is also a good strategy to use your strongest and fastest player as a defender who in turn acts as a sweeper. Meaning that this player must be able to launch counter attacks from within your half and once again link up with either wing to set up scoring opportunities, whilst at the same time this player must be able to run back and defend should the need arise.

As the coach it is your job to act as the General on the side line and to talk, shout, warn and direct your players whilst the game is on. Most junior soccer players are NOT going to be looking at what’s going on around them and will be focused on wherever the ball is. You need to direct your players and you need to become their eyes when they miss something or when they are moving out of position.

Cheers for now.

Mike

THE ULTIMATE TRAP

Trapping a soccer ball is one of the most important youth football coaching drills you can teach your players. Not only does this drill control the pace and flow of the game, but it is a key component of other skills such as dribbling, passing and shooting. If we define TRAPPING, it is stopping the ball by cushioning it so that it can be controlled.

In youth football coaching drills there are three methods of trapping the ball:

Trapping with the foot:

1)      Get in line with the ball.

2)      Lift the foot that will be trapping the ball off the ground, ensuring it is perpendicular to the path of the ball.

3)      Lock the ankle of the trapping foot and keep the toe up. Keep the foot soft to ensure that you do not kick the ball.

4)      Make sure that your arms are not in the way. Keep them to the sides.

5)      As the ball is about to make contact with the trapping foot, bring the foot backwards slightly on contact.

Trapping with the chest:

1)      Watch the ball as it comes down and position the body underneath it.

2)      Arch the back to allow the ball to land as softly as is possible.

3)      Keep your arms out to the side away from the ball.

4)      Steer the ball downwards to the ground in order to control its’ next direction.

Trapping with the thighs:

1)      Ensure that your thigh that you are going to trap the ball with is parallel to the ground.

2)      Raise your elbows in a lateral direction to the sides in order to maintain balance.

3)      Remember that you are merely catching the ball with the inside part of the thigh. You are not using the knee to knock the ball in the air.

REMEMBER – The main objective of trapping is to deaden the ball in order to control its’ flow and direction.

To practice trapping you need a wall where your players can kick a ball at the wall and therefore control the rebound. This will allow them to grasp the technique quickly and in turn implement it on match days.

Cheers for now.

Mike

HEADS UP EVERYONE

When doing youth football coaching drills, I am not a stickler on headers. Youngsters 12 years old and younger very seldom jump into the air to header the ball and if they do their level of accuracy is poor. However every player in your squad must be able to header a soccer ball from a flat standing position and must be able to force the ball forwards and not backwards.

The correct technique:

1)      Make sure that you feet are at least shoulder width apart, lean back to generate some power.

2)      Bring your upper body forward to meet the ball. You can raise both arms in a lateral position to the sides of the body for balance.

3)      Keep your eyes on the ball and hit it squarely with your forehead between the hairline and the brow.

4)      Aim the ball where you want it to go by pointing your forehead in that direction.

5)      If you’re going to jump, then jump straight up in the air. Draw your neck back and propel the body forward as you strike the ball. Use your arms to thrust yourself forward as you make contact with the ball.

With your youth football coaching drills, you will find that your taller players are far better at executing headers than your smaller players. So in set pieces such as corners, use your strongest player to execute the movement.

Cheers for now.

Mike

MASSIVE ATTACK

Following on from my last post, a very important and effective youth football coaching drill is to attack the goal directly by running at it. This works as follows:

1)      Using one goal with your keeper in the goal; set up two teams of even numbers on the half way line with a distance of 15 meters apart.

2)      Then mark a line with two cones 30 meters apart in width and 5 meters outside the goal box.

3)      A player from team “A” then dribbles the ball towards the goal and shoots directly at the goal from the marked area just outside the goal box. The player from team “B” then does the drill and so on. Each player must have at least 4 shots at goal.

4)      It is important to teach your players to be able to shoot while they are running. Most junior players develop the habit of stopping first then moving back and then running and taking the shot at goal. This habit transcends itself on match days and prevents scoring opportunities.

5)      With this youth football coaching drill your players must be comfortable at attacking the goal while running at the target. By getting them to take the shot from outside the goal box, this teaches them to take shots out wide which will lead to better scoring opportunities.

6)      You as coach will also quickly identify those players who can not kick properly and in turn you can remedy this with more individual involvement and practice.

This drill should be done at least once a week and you will definitely see results on match days.

Cheers for now.

Mike

THE ELEMENT OF PERCEPTION

In 2011 I belonged to a club that favored its’ senior teams and had no interest in their juniors. The juniors were a means to an end, as the only way that the senior squads could belong to a local football association and play in a league, was by having a minimum of three junior teams covering u9, u11 and u13 respectively. I coached the u11 squad.

The club’s facilities were more than average with a club house, change rooms, equipment and three well maintained fields. The goal posts were portable and required some effort to set up. The club’s committee refused to allow the junior teams to use the proper sized goals on practice days and we all were given small steel goals to use (with a height of 1.5 meters and a width of 3 meters.

We had a terrible season as we lost the majority of games and conceded more goals than we scored.  I took the time to investigate why we were struggling, by visiting other clubs in our league and watching their practice sessions. I also observed my players in action and made notes; got a friend of mine to video record a few games that my team played in and spent time putting the pieces of the puzzle together.

My team was struggling because we were practicing with small sized goals, whereas our opponents from other clubs were using large goals. They were strong on set pieces i.e. corners and were able to take aerial shots at goal from way beyond the goal area. My players on the other hand needed to get right up to the large goals to score, virtually running over the opposing goal keeper in the process. On match days my goalie looked like a fish out of water inside a large goal as it is far easier to defend a small area than a large one.

Training with small goals had created a one dimensional approach to scoring. My players could not see the big picture at all. Shooting at a small target at most times with low shots in order to score had created tunnel vision which held us back. Our set pieces like corners were poorly executed and virtually impossible to do in front of small goals, as the players were as tall and some even taller than the goals we were using.

REMEMBER: When dealing with young minds you need to look at how they see things and perceive things to be. If you’re struggling to achieve positive results then you need to take a step back and analyze the problem. More often than not the solution is staring you in the face.

Cheers for now.

Mike

P.S. Next time youth football coaching drills, we will cover a drill that works well in improving your players’ shots at goal.  

 

KICKING THE HABIT

In youth football coaching drills, it is vitally important that every member of your team can kick a soccer ball. Most kids and even 16 year old players develop the habit of toe punching the ball, as they find that they lack the power if they try another kicking technique. Soccer is all about kicking and unless your players can kick properly, you are going to struggle to win matches and score goals. Many coaches tend to rely on those players in their team who can kick a ball and ignore the players who can’t.

Take the time to teach all of your players how to kick a soccer ball. Repeat this youth football coaching drill until it becomes instinctive to each of your youngsters. Even if it takes months to get it right, believe me it will be worth your while.

Yesterdays Youtube video gave you a visual understanding of how to kick. Listed below is the basic method of how to kick a ball properly. 

1)      The right position of your kicking leg: The higher you bring your kicking leg back behind you the more powerful kick you will get.

2)      Lock the ankle of the kicking leg: Keep the ankle of your kicking foot locked.

3)      The position of the knee: The knee of the supporting leg must be slightly bent. This will make it easier to kick the ball with the instep part of the foot. Remember that the more you bend the knee the easier it will be to kick the ball with the instep.

4)      Where does the supporting leg stand? The foot of the supporting leg should be at least a foot from the ball. This will allow the kicker to strike the ball from a 45 degree angle which will increase the power of the kick. Remember that the direction of the supporting foot determines the direction that the ball will travel.

5)      The body position: By leaning the body forward the shot will stay low to the ground. If you lean your body back the ball will become airborne.

An easy but effective youth football coaching drill regarding kicking the ball is to line your players in a straight line, each with their own soccer ball facing a target (3 or 4 cones) at least 30 - 40 meters in front of them. Each player takes a turn at shooting at the target, with the objective of hitting the target. Once the player has taken the shot they line up on the other side of the target ready to take another shot. Reward those players that hit the target. An incentive always creates a buzz and makes the drill fun to do.

Cheers for now.

Mike

P.S. I will continue with shooting in my next post.

HOW TO KICK THE BALL