You might disagree, but hear me out on this. In practicing free soccer training drills, the best teams keeps on switching the ball, looking for space and exploring the opposition’s defense for a fault. It is the coach’s responsibility to train the kids on this skill and you can use the following soccer coaching drills for this.
Match winning tactic: keep the ball swinging between attackers from right to left; engaging the defenders in between. Look a good opportunity and attack the goal. Swapping the ball between the team players also helps reducing the stress.
The Fast switch or the Blind Pass: Teach one or two mid-fielders to throw the blind pass by moving the ball using right foot, and hitting it to the left.Rapid Switching or the Blind Pass: Develop a skill in one or two mid-fielders to move the ball with right foot while kicking it to the left, showing almost a blind pass. You should teach the same technique to the left-footed mid-fielders, with the variation that they would dribble to the left side while swinging the ball back to the right side using left foot.
The defender on the other side won’t suspect the pass and you can achieve the target.
You should train the players to make switching the ball a habit; keeping all others to be ready for this type of pass. Of all the soccer drills, your kids may find this drill rather difficult but it is it’s competitive nature that guarantees player’s total participation in soccer practice.
To complete this drill, six small goals are to be setup on both the sides of the ground. In case the player makes a goal which are placed in the middle of the field, a score is made by the team. Passing through the last goals will yield two points and will encourage switching.
During free soccer training drills, the goals should be made sufficiently wide to show that there is not much use just positioning a player between them to prevent a run or pass. One player should be assigned to run through the point A to B. Staying between the goal would prevent attackers to score a goal.
Young defenders usually move away from their designated positions. They normally gather around the ball. Hence the defenders can be caught by surprise if the mid fielders learn to identify the opportunity areas and move the play on the other side of the field.
In the next session of football drills, dedicate some time to show them how they can cover the entire width of the field. Practicing this skills multiple time will yield a good understanding of the threat area.
As now you have the complete information, remember to include these trainings to your free soccer training drills, so your players are always ready and the opposition mid-fielders find it difficult to catch your defenders out. Subscribe to our community that has a plethora of informative articles, newsletters, and videos to acquire more knowledge on coaching techniques.
Andre Botelho is the author of “The Expert Youth Soccer Coaching Guide” and he’s a recognized expert in the subject of youth soccer coaching. Learn how to explode your players’ skills and make coaching sessions fun in less than 29 days! Download your free pdf guide at: Soccer Training.
Tags: coaching drills, football drills, Free soccer training drills, soccer drills