Under 8 Drill - "Protect the Ice Cream"

Objective - Accurate Passing or Finishing

Setup - Use flat cone and make a 3 yard by 3 yard grid. Put another flat cone in the middle of the grid and place a ball on top of the flat cone.

The Game - 3 attacking players against one defender. The 3 attacking players pass the ball to each other and score by knocking the soccer ball off the cone in the middle. No players are allowed in the grid. Does the ball need to always be passed through the grid?

Variations- Depending on the skill level, must complete a set number of passing before a shot. Make grid smaller to defender can defend easier which will force quicker and smarter passing.

Passing To The Net

Sometimes youth players get a bit too over eager in trying to score. They think if they hit the ball with a ton of force, it is going to automatically go in. The problem is that youth players may have all of the power in the world, but that means nothing with accuracy. Normally, they hit the ball a ton and it goes 5 yards over the crossbar.

Players need to realize that simply "Passing To The Net" works better than hitting it a ton. Yeah, it won't be one of those "Oh My!!" goals, but it still counts the same. Below is a video with Mia Hamm explaining the technique.

The Outside of the Foot Pass/Shoot - Ricardo Quaresma

The "Trivela" kick is a sneaky kick because it comes off of the outside part of the foot. Ricardo Quaresma, currently a player on FC Porto in Portugal, is a master of it and thus a very dangerous player. Quaresma ability to use the outside part of the foot can deceive a defender, because he can make a pass to the side in the blink of an eye. Using the outside part of the foot during a shoot can put a wicked spin on the ball confusing a goalkeeper, who may think at first the ball is going one way, but then bends back and goes into the goal.

Under 8 Drill - "Junkyard" With Video

Getting younger players to properly shoot the soccer ball and get the wanted distance is sometimes a hard thing to coach. Some coaches think that all shooting/finishing must involve the player taking aim at the goal. Shooting and finishing does involve the goal, but want about the long pass down the field or a diagonal long pass to change the angle of attack? Also, is it any fun to shoot at the goal and then having to dig the ball out of the back of the net?

Junkyard is a great activity to get the players really hitting the ball. It makes them to focus on distance and accuracy. Also, the players are automatically in position to keep the balls moving and eliminating down time.

Backyard Activities - "Trashcan Kicking and Marbles"

Backyard Activities are drills that a player can do at home with a sibling, a friend, Mom, or Dad.

Activity - "TRASHCAN KICKING AND MARBLES"

Trash Can Kicking: Lay a clean, plastic trash can on its side in the back yard. Place a ball 2-3 yards away from the opening of the trash can. Practice kicking stationary balls into the trash can. This can save you from chasing your soccer ball. You can also kick the ball into the side netting of a big soccer goal. The ball will bounce back at you.

Work on the technique of kicking (shooting and passing):

• Approach the ball from a slight angle.
• Practice approaches at different speeds (the faster the more power)
• Vary the size of your last step (power step) into the kick (the larger the more power)
• Use the outside of your foot, inside of your foot and the laces (instep)
• Lock your foot when kicking the ball
• Always keep your eyes on the ball when striking it
• Strike the ball on different parts of the ball:
  - lower half will send the ball up
  - midline (equator) will send the ball level to the ground
  - upper half will drive the ball down
  

Marbles: Put a ball (or cone or soda can) in the middle of the yard. Kick your ball and try to hit the stationary ball. Vary the distance. Have fun competing with your friend or your mom or dad.

Backyard Activities - "Kicking (Wall) Tennis and Squash"

Backyard Activities are drills that a player can do at home with a sibling, a friend, Mom, or Dad.

Activity - "KICKING (WALL) TENNIS AND SQUASH"

If you have access to a wall that you can kick your soccer ball against and your parents permission, consider the following soccer activities:


Tennis: Volley your ball against the wall with one or two bounces in between each volley. Eventually, keep the ball going with only one bounce in between volleys. Vary your distance from the wall as you play. See how many times you can keep the ball going as you move closer to and farther from the wall. Use different surfaces of your foot and develop a rhythm.

Set up a rectangular court out from the wall and play soccer tennis against the wall with a friend. Set up your own rules with regards to services and bounces, etc.

Squash: This game is played with more than one player. You can set up a rectangular court or play in an open area.

After a kicking order has been determined, the player #1 kicks the ball off the wall. The player #2 must get to the ball before it stops and immediately kick (1-touch) the ball against the wall. If there are more than 2 players, the game proceeds accordingly until all the players have kicked the ball against the wall, at which time the first player is up again. You get a point if the player that follows you allows the ball to stop before she kicks it or if she misses the wall on her kick. Play begins with the next player in the order striking the ball against the wall.

This is a great game for scheming (strategy)…putting the right pace on the ball so that it barely moves after hitting the wall or rebounds off the wall with great speed. Passing angles become a strategic threat in this game as well.

Backyard Activities - "Kicking (Wall) Straight and Angled"

Backyard Activities are drills that a player can do at home with a sibling, a friend, Mom, or Dad.

Activity - "KICKING (WALL) STRAIGHT AND ANGLED"

If you have access to a wall that you can kick your soccer ball against and your parents permission, consider the following soccer activities:

Straight On: Kick your ball directly against the wall at different speeds (pace or weight) and from different distances. Use different surfaces of the foot. Try to keep the ball on the ground. Receive the rebound with different surfaces of the foot, always trying to keep the first touch within playing distance (about 1 or 2 steps from you). Receive the rebound with a controlling touch or two and then kick it against the wall again. Keep the ball moving and keep your feet moving at all times.

• Kicking surfaces: inside of the foot, outside of the foot, instep (laces), heel
• Receiving surfaces: inside of foot, outside of foot, sole of foot

Angles: Position yourself about 10 yards away and at one end of the wall. Kick your ball on the ground toward the middle of the wall (about 45 degrees). Immediately after kicking the ball, run to receive it as it rebounds from the wall to the opposite end. Perform a change of direction move and repeat the activity in the opposite direction. Experiment with the pace and the angles of your kicks, as well as your receiving surfaces and number of controlling touches. Always try to keep the all moving.

Change of Direction Moves: Pull back with sole of one foot and push behind other foot; chop with inside or outside of foot.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic on Dribbling, Attacking, and Beating Your Man

Zlatan Ibrahimovic is one of the best soccer players in the world. The Swedish national is known for his incredible footwork and his ability to beat any opposing player. Count how many players he beats, just by himself, in the video below.

If you want to hear his thoughts on the subject. Click here to go to the UEFA Training Grounds to listen to his take on beating your opponent.

Three Tips For Teaching Players to Finish

From Adrian Parrish, Director of Coach and Player Development, Kentucky Youth Soccer Association -

Have you ever been in a situation where you control the whole game, out-shoot your opponents and end up losing by one goal? Opportunities to score may have been handed to your team for easy goals when the keeper spilled the ball but your team failed to capitalize on this because they never followed up their shots. As coach�s we conduct shooting session's focusing on the technique, but how often do we focus on the tactical and psychological part of finishing Many times our players believe the harder they hit the ball the better the chance they have of scoring, when a majority of goals could be scored by simply slotting the ball in and finishing with finesse.

No matter how good a shooter you are you have to practice finishing not just shooting. There will be games when the opponent's keeper is just too good or lucky for you to rely only on your shooting skills.

Below are some good practice tips that can be used with most shooting activities/games to improve a player�s ability to finish

Tip #1: Taking the Opportunity

A striker�s confidence will be high when they are scoring goals, but it will be very low when they are missing the opportunities, this may result in them even refusing to take shots. If they are creating chances we need to keep encouraging this, from there the minimal request I have for them is to make the goalkeeper work, the maximum I can demand of a player is to score. When conducting finishing and attacking practice sessions, during the warm-up have the players play into the keeper, this will help them hit the target, warm-up both sets of players and they will be reaching your minimal request. As in every other practice session we then add pressure and make the activity a little more complex, so as well as adding defenders, raise your demands to request that the players score.

Tip #2: Terminology

When I observe coach's conducting shooting sessions I will often hear them instruct their players to shoot. As long as the player gets the shot off, no matter of the end result, the coach will often be satisfied. If the shot misses the target, a coach will tell the player that they are unlucky. This could make the player believe that the coach is satisfied with any kind of shot. Instead of shouting shoot, encourage the players to finish.

Tip #3: Following up the Rebound

Lazy attackers have a bad tendency of watching their shots when they 'know' that the shot is going in. They then miss the opportunity to score when the ball hits the posts or bar or is batted down by the keeper, and either one of the strikers fail to follow in.Adding special requirements to a practice can help solve this problem. On any shot that an attacker takes, that attacker has three seconds after shooting to enter the goal and touch the net or the goal is disallowed. This ingrains the habit of going to the goal every time they shoot.

Great shots, no matter how pretty, only count once the ball enters the goal. There are no style points in soccer. Ruud Van Nistelrooy of Manchester United and Holland may be one of the world's best strikers but he scores majority of those goals with toe poke or tap in from inside the six yard box and those goals count the same number as that beautiful 30 yard scorcher that hits the top corner of the net.