Dribbling With Chris Klein

Dribbling lesson from one of Major League Soccer's most dangerous players - Chris Klein.

Five Goalkeeping Tips For Goalkeepers

When playing goalkeeper keep mind these 5 goalkeeping tips. If you follow them you will be a better goalkeeper and hopefully bring your game to a new level. These tips are posted with permission of Sam Snow and US Youth Soccer. Here are the 5 Goalkeeping tips for soccer.

Goalkeeping Tip #1- Go for everything!
You may not be able to stop every shot that comes your way, but if you make the attempt, you will find that you are stopping shots you never before thought possible. You will also have the personal satisfaction that at least you made the attempt and your teammates will be more forgiving even if you miss.

Goalkeeping Tip #2- After a save – get up quickly!
If you have gone to the ground to make a save get back on your feet as fast as possible. Look for a fast break distribution or to direct your teammates into position to receive a build-up distribution. This aspect is particularly important if you are injured. You cannot show weakness, you may tend to your injury after you have started the counterattack. This will particularly intimidate your opponents and raise the confidence in your teammates.

Goalkeeping Tip #3- Do not be half-hearted --- 100% effort!
Every time you make a play it must be with all of your ability. If you go half way you will miss saves and injure yourself.

Goalkeeping Tip #4- Communicate loudly!
You must constantly give instructions when on defense. When your team is on the attack, come to the top of your penalty area or beyond and talk to your teammates and offer support to the defenders. Be mentally involved in the entire match, no matter where the ball is.

Goalkeeping Tip #5- No excuses! No whining! Just get on with the match.
If a goal is scored against you, a corner kick is given up or the shot is a near miss, DO NOT yell at your teammates even if it’s their fault. DO NOT hang your head; kick the ground or the post if it was your fault. During the match is no time to point fingers or make excuses. The play is over, its ancient history, get on with playing the remainder of the match. Focus on what lies ahead!

Three Man Ball Control Drills

This drill is recommended for Under 10 and up. It works on passing (low and high) and heading.

The Importance of the Warm Up

From John Curtis, Associate Director of Coaching Wisconsin Youth Soccer -

To often warm-ups are used as time filler or time for coaches to quickly prepare there training sessions. So the players are sent off for a jog around the field or in many cases around the three baseball diamonds and then we give them time to stretch. We are then disappointed that the players are not ready to play. This would be a good warm-up for someone running cross-country or track because we just prepared are players to run at one speed in a straight line which doesn’t happen very often if at all during a soccer game.

In general, the warm-up should consist of a mid to moderate intensity activity that introduces a soccer technique, or basic decisions related to the tactical objective of the practice, and allow players to get a lot of repetitions while preparing the body and focusing the mind for more rigorous activity.

The ball is the key element here although the playing space may also be important, perhaps defined by a grid and the size adjusted in order to provide more or less pressure without opposition. Toward the end of the activity players can be encouraged to move at game pace to increase the demand on their performance and further prepare them for the next phase of practice. Static stretching of the large muscle groups should be done at the end or interspersed throughout the warm-up.

For example, if you’re going to focus on dribbling – specifically, turning away from trouble to maintain individual possession:

Each player has a ball and the activity challenges players to move in and out of traffic with the ball under control, to turn or change direction with the ball to avoid collisions, and to recognize and move into open space.

The coach observes the behavior of the players in this environment and makes coaching points to the group or to individuals as they work. The skill is isolated in a very simple form but players are moving, controlling the ball, and recognizing situations that are realistic to the game.

In closing, a warm-up is that transition activity from our non-soccer activities during the day to being in the right mindset and focused for soccer training. Here are a few variations of the activity above:

Have the players “tag as many of their teammates as possible without getting tagged themselves”. Right away you have added the element of competition, awareness of their surroundings, and getting their head up. Play for 30 seconds; whoever gets tagged the least wins, or can they improve their score.

Another competitive game you could add to the end of the activity above would be “Knockout”. The objective is simply to keep your ball and kick everyone else’s ball out of the defined area or grid:

When a player’s ball gets kicked out of the grid, they have two ways to get back into the game. If they can get to it before it stops moving they get a free pass back into the game. If the ball does stop moving before they get to it they must perform a skill, i.e. three ball juggles, to get back into the game.

This way, players are asked to perform a technique or skill through a competitive game.

Under 8 Drill - "Marbles" with Video

The game of "Marbles" is probably the most common passing drill in use in youth soccer. Why? Because it works. It is introduced in the Under-8 realm, but can be used for any age group on up. Coaches need to focus on the proper technique of the push pass - aiming with the non-kicking foot and proper use of the inside part of the kicking foot. If players are using their toes on their passes will quickly see that they are not very accurate. Older players that may be playing what I call "Advance Marbles", balls that are 25+ yards away, may work with their laces to get some distance.

Under 6 Drill - "Ball Retrieval" with Video

Ball Retrieval is an excellent warm up game. It allows for coaches to tap into the natural imagination of the typical Under-6 player. The video shows a coach just requesting that the player go get the ball and bring it back to him. Coaches can vary the drill with having the player bringing it back with their "favorite foot" or their "non-favorite foot". I have made players bring it back kicking it in the "crab" position or using their heads without picking it up. You are only limited by your own imagination.