Passing and Receiving Support Circle

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The following drill comes from Smedley’s Soccer Site.

Procedure:

Support Circle.png

Eight players are stationed on the outside of the circle, and two players start on the inside. One of the inside players is designated as the target man (T) and the other is designated as the support player (S). The drill begins with a pass in to the target man from one of the outside players. The target plays the ball back to the support player, and the support player passes to any of the players on the outside. From there, the ball is played right back in to the target man to begin the next combination. Play continues for 30 seconds before the two inside players switch out.

Coaching Points:

  1. Speed of play – Use one touch when you can and two touches when you should.

  2. Movement – The target man needs to run away from the player receiving on the outside.

  3. Anticipation - Read the play as opposed to reacting to the play. Start your runs early.

Progression: Limit the target and the support player to one touch.

Get more like this at Smedley’s Soccer Site.

Strategy of Counter Attacking

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Strategy of Counter Attacking

One of the considerations in developing a counter attack strategy is what to do with the forwards once the ball goes past them. This is important and needs careful reflection. I saw the Danish team in Euro 1988 playing with one forward high and the other in a low “mirror” position when the Danes were defending. They, therefore, had a short pass available when the intercepting player was under pressure and a long pass to a high CF when pressure was broken. As you will see in the diagram the forwards for the red team have shifted to “mirror” the position of the ball in case it is won. This is the kind of strategic thinking coaches must consider when putting together a counter attacking strategy.

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Peripheral Vision Coaching Session

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Peripheral Vision Coaching Session

The following activity can be used to improve the overall game awareness of individuals within a team concept. This session is an indicator of how quickly players recognize the “correct run off the ball” by a teammate and consequently they make the “correct pass”.

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Warm Up: Angled Support and Sideways On Positioning

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Warm Up: Angled Support and Sideways On Positioning

Soccer is a sideways on sport -- players will have much more success when they are able to receive the ball at an angle. Being sideways on allows players, in advance of the ball, to be able to see peripherally advancing defenders.

This warm up is excellent for beginning to develop this sideways on aspect of receiving and passing the ball.

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Awareness Changeover Session

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Awareness Changeover Session

In this session, we are working on quality first touch of the outside players and the decision making of inside players in terms of when and where to pass and technique (quality) of pass. It’s a good session because everyone is working but they get short intermittent rests, so it’s maintaining quality.

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U8 Soccer Drills

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U8 Soccer Drills

While U8 soccer drills should be fun, and engage young players through interesting activities, this is the time to move toward the technical aspects of the game as well, so that they start learning essential technical skills. These drills will help increase their positional and dribbling skills and help create an awareness of their surroundings.

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7 Triangle Diamond + Dribbling Training

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7 Triangle Diamond + Dribbling Training

Here's another great exercise for your Training Triangles that can be done with your players during the first 15-20 minutes of practice to work on multiple technical aspects of their game including passing, movement off the ball, and dribbling technique.   

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Playing in 5 Corridors using the 1-3-3-1-1

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Playing in 5 Corridors using the 1-3-3-1-1

The beauty of the corridor and zones idea is it can be used for ANY system of play you want to develop so one or two systems shown here can show you how to use it effectively. Using Corridors is a great way to work out individual and collective field positioning as a team both offensively and defensively and it also gives players real a “focal point” to work off. 

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