- Bow-Tie Drill - Teaches footwork for receiving and passing.
Set up the players in couples.
Put out 4 cones in a straight line with a normal passing distance
between the middle two, and place the other two on either side of the
others about 10 feet away. The players stand on the two inside cones and
pass the ball to each other. In receiving a pass, the player uses the
outside of one foot to direct the ball behind them and they dribble the
ball around the outside cone and back to the inside cone, where they
pass the ball.
- Horse in
the Middle Drill - Teaches players to read the defender when making
a pass. Put together groups of three. Set-up a rectangle with cones,
10-20 feet long and 5-10 feet wide, depending on age group. Position two
players at each end of the rectangle giving each one a ball. Position a
player in the middle and try to have the two end players pass the ball
back and forth to each other without the defender getting the ball.
- Three-Play Drill -
Teaches passing on the move. Line-up players in
groups of three. Set-up a rectangle 10-20 feet long and 5-10 feet wide.
Place a player with a ball at each end of the rectangle. Station on
player in the middle. Begin by have player on end A pass the ball to the
player in the center. The player in the center must return the ball
immediately and then turn to receive a pass from the player on end B.
Continue until the group has completed 5-10 passes to each side. You can
set-up a competition where the group to that completes five passes from
each end to the middle wins.
First
Touch Drill - One soccer ball for every
two players and four cones to develop accuracy from a moving passer to a
moving target without defensive pressure. Do the following:
- Scatter players in pairs in a 20 by 20 yd. grid
- Each set of partners has a ball.
- On signal, players begin to move through the grid.
- Players with the balls pass to their partner, who
must pass back on the first touch.
- Partners continue moving using only one-touch
passing.
- Sidewinder Drill - To determine how well
players are able to change directions and speeds.
Place two
cones ten feet apart. On coaches signal, players move laterally to touch
one marker and then move in the opposite direction to touch the other
marker. To make it competitive count the number of times each player
touches both cones.
- Herkey-Jerkey Drill -
Demonstrate how changing speed
can be used to create space. Set up a 10 x 10 grid with cones. Place 3
or 4 players in a single file line. Have the first player start and tell
each follower to stay as close to the person in front of them as they
can. Have the lead player jog at a constant speed the first time around
the grid. The second time around tell the front runner to change speeds
fast, slow, fast. After they finish talk to the group about how much
harder it was to stay close to the person in front of them when the
speed was changing.
- Shooting
Gallery Drill -
Develop instep shooting
technique, practice attacking and defending with small groups. Two teams
of four players. Evenly distribute 12 cones in a 10 x 10 circle. Goals
are scored by knocking down cones, players are not allowed into the
circle but must shoot from anywhere outside of the circle. Start off
with two balls (one for each team), Each team can score points by
knocking down a cone. Balls that stop in the circle are dead and cannot
be retrieved. If a ball goes completely through the circle it can be
played by the team retrieving. The player that doesn’t have a ball can
either defend or try to get open for a chance to shoot at a cone.
- Red
Light, Green Light Drill -
Develop
fundamental foot skills for dribbling, helps teach young children to
keep the ball close and under control.
Just like the game we played in
our youth, the coach or one of the players is "IT". He or she stands at
one end of the field with his or her back to the others and calls out
red light, green light one two three and then turns around. The players
meanwhile have been dribbling toward him or her and must stop, with
their foot on top of the ball, when the player turns around anyone
moving must go back to the beginning and try again. If a player reaches
the person who is "IT" they are the winner.
- Position
Drill - Teach
possession and passing skills. Moving without the ball, looking for open
areas, etc.
Set-up a small field (30 x 30)
with cones. Play 7 versus 4, where the team of seven tries to keep
possession of the ball under pressure of the team of 4. The team of
seven can score by passing the ball ten times to each other. The team of
4 can score by dribbling the ball outside of the cones.
- Cone
Race Drill - Teach players to kick hard and follow all the way to the goal.
All players
have a ball and start in a line at one end of the field. At the other
end of the field (30 or 40 yards away) set up 10 cones in a small
circle. At the whistle have all players kick their ball as hard as they
can and run after it. The players need to keep kick the ball and running
until they get to the other end of the field. Once they get to the cones
they need to kick the balls through the cones until all cones are
knocked over. Once all of the cones are knocked over they need to race
back to the other end. (Variation - set up two or three defenders
between the player and the cones.)
- Gotcha
Drill - Good for conditioning, dribbling, passing, and building
aggressiveness. Each player will need a ball. Player "1" is "It" and is
the only player to start with a ball. All the other players are around
the outside of the gridded space. Player "1" dribbles and tries to hit
the other players below the waist with the ball. When hit, that player
gets a ball and joins player "1". The game is over when all of the
players have been caught. The last player caught starts with the ball
for the next game. If the task is to difficult for one player at the
beginning of the game, start with two players. Encourage deceptive
passing of the ball; look one-way and pass the other, use the outside of
the foot. Players not caught should run, jump, and use zigzag movements.
- Three on
One Finishing Drill - Help develop
finishing techniques and instinct when in position to score a goal.
Teaches the player to take a shot as quickly as possible. In
the penalty box, three forwards play against one defender and one
goalie. The ball is played in from outside the box (mix up the services
from each side of the box and from behind) to one of the forwards. The
forwards are limited to two touch passing and one touch shooting and
they are limited to three or less passes. Emphasize getting a shot off
quickly and having the forwards that don't shot attack the goal.
-
Give & Go Drill -
Work on passing, moving without
the ball and combination play. Set up three cones.
Place four players behind cone A. Set cone B up about 10-15 yards down
field, and line up two players at cone B. Set cone C up about 20-25
yards down field, and line up 2 players at cone C. The first player in
line at cone A passes the ball to the first player in line at cone B and
continues up the field, the player at cone B receives the ball, turns
and returns the ball to the player from cone A. This player controls the
pass and then makes a long pass to the player at cone C. The player at
cone C then dribbles with the ball to Cone A. The player from cone A
goes to the end of the line at cone B, the player from cone B goes to
the end of the line at cone C and the player from cone C stays in line
at cone A.
-
Receive & Turn Drill -
Work on passing, moving without
the ball and combination play. Set up three cones.
Place four players behind cone A. Set cone B up about 10-15 yards down
field, and line up two players at cone B. Set cone C up about 20-25
yards down field, and line up 2 players at cone C. The first player in
line at cone A passes the ball to the first player in line at cone B.
The player from cone B who received the ball turns with the ball and
passes to the player at cone C. The player at cone C then dribbles with
the ball to Cone A. The player from cone A goes to the end of the line
at cone B, the player from cone B goes to the end of the line at cone C
and the player from cone C stays in line at cone A.
- Pressure
Drill - Teaches
defenders to close on the ball quickly and keep pressure on the ball.
Divide players into groups of three. Player 1 is standing by the coach
who rolls the ball or tosses the ball to Player 2. Player 2 must control
the ball and make a pass to Player 3. After the coach gets the ball to
Player 2, Player 1 immediately tries to close on Player 2 to prevent
Player 2 from controlling the ball and making the pass to Player 3.
- Head Over Drill - Help
improve heading skills with subtle defensive pressure. Position three
players in a line. With Player 1 and 3 approximately 10 yards apart, and
player 2 positioned in the middle of them. Player 1 tosses the ball over
player 2 to player 3, who will return the ball by heading it. Repeat
several times and them change roles.
- Wall Shot Drill - Develop the ability to create
space for shooting. Line-up two offensive players (players 1 and 2)
about 10 feet in front and on each side of the goal. Place a defender
(player A) in the center of the two offensive players. Place a fourth
player (player B) 20 feet from the goal. Player B must pass to player 1
or 2 and then move to an open space for a return pass. Once player B
receives the return pass he should take a shot on goal.
- Three on One Shooting Drill -Help
players learn to see the field and the open teammate. Position players
about 30 yards from the goal. Player A lines up on defense and try's to
steal the ball and protect the goal. Players 1, 2, and 3 are on offense
and try to spread the field and make a series of passes until someone
has an open shot. The person with the open shot takes the shot and the
other two attack the goal for a possible put-back.
- Star Drill - Develop passing and receiving
skills with subtle defensive pressure. Position five players to form a
five point star. Place one defender in the middle of the star. Challenge
your players to make as many consecutive passes as possible without
losing the ball or allowing the defender to touch the ball. Players are
not allowed to pass the ball to the player next to them. Explain to your
players that this is because they need to have spacing in a game when
making a pass or they will not clear the defense.
- Challenge Drill - Develop
dribbling skill with speed and work on the defender getting back in
front of the ball on a breakaway. Set up a Player A, 20-30 yards in
front of the goal. Place Player B,
five yards behind Player A. The coach stands even with Player A and
passes the ball towards the goal. Player A must collect the ball, sprint
towards the goal, and shoot before Player B can catch him. This drill
can be done with or without a goalkeeper.
- Pass-Dribble-Pass Drill -
Develop passing accuracy and receiving skills from a
moving passer to a moving target. Position two players in a 15 X 15 yard
area. Player A will pass to Player B who will dribble into open space
and then turn and pass back to Player A, who has moved to a new space.
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