Lend me your ears even though you may differ with me on this. It’s important in soccer drills that players are able to have a sense of the game and as such teach them the very basics of soccer. This soccer training should precede the training the kids on more complex components of soccer or the correct method of playing on field.
As a coach, it becomes your responsibility to ensure that players begin with hitting the right chord. Therefore, train the players on all indispensable soccer skills which provide for a strong foundation. Following are a few basic skills that each budding player must be skilled at.
Teaching the dribbling and shooting techniques to the players: Dribbling and shooting cover the two basic techniques in the game of soccer. In order to be successful in the game, these skills play a defining role. But, for teaching these soccer exercises, you should see that all preparations are made in advance.
Starting from one end of the field put more than a few players over the field and line up all players in a straight line.
Next tell the players to start. They would cover the field, and get the ball with their foot, and would then make an effort to put the ball in the goal through dribbling it toward the opposite end of the field. These two soccer drills will be easily mastered by the players if they practice it regularly.
Passing the ball and following directions: These two soccer skills have the potential to inculcate team spirit in the players. In any case, soccer being a team sport should be uniformly spread among all team mates. They can never learn to play as a team if they do not possess good passing skills, and do not know how to follow simple directions.
In order to teach them first rate passing skills and help them follow directions, there is an easy exercise. In the beginning, make the entire team line up in a single row at one side of the field. At a distance of about 5-10 feet, any one player in the team should stand in front of that line.
When you give them a green signal, the first one in the row will try to get the ball from other players present on the field. The moment you tell them to stop, the player with the ball should then pass it to the first one in row. With the help of this soccer practice, players will learn to listen and also follow your directions.
Handling the Ball: As a coach, you must train the players on the skill of dealing with the ball with the help of other body parts, excluding their feet. Because of this the players will be more spontaneous in their play while on field. The players can improve on this by practicing the use of heads and knees to throw the ball and stopping the using the back.
Soccer drills like these help in developing players that become match winners and make their way to learning more difficult components of the game. You can get a ready access to tons of such information relevant to the game of soccer by registering yourself with our youth soccer coaching community. So join now!
Andre Botelho is a recognized expert in youth soccer coaching. He influences well over 35,000 youth coaches each year with his unique coaching philosophy, and makes it really easy to explode your players’ skills and make training more fun in record time. To download your free youth soccer coaching guide visit: Soccer drills.