Soccer Coaching Drills

What if I told you that stretching as a part of soccer training tips is highly recommended by professional soccer coaches and is widely practiced by players in almost every sport? As a sport, soccer is growing and developing incessantly in its superiority.

In kid’s training for soccer, there are two types of stretching, dynamic and static stretching that are integrated.

In static stretching, players stretch their muscles to a certain point of resistance and then hold for some period of time. Dynamic stretching involves rhythmic bouncing, rebounding and recurring motions. It is generally considered as more dangerous and less effective than static stretching.

There are some advantages of practicing stretching discussed in this article that improve a player’s ability to become an exceptional player.

Soccer Training

Stretching reduces injuries: Constant stretching by players during the day and continuing it over a period of time helps the growth of their muscles, thus diminishing the risk of injury. Stretching also provides a way of increasing the muscle size and strength.

Stretching affects flexibility: Stretching prevents loss of flexibility. Nevertheless, stretching works best when performed for a greater length of time than for shorter periods of time.

Stretching a few minutes prior to any event is likely to increase flexibility. One of the most important soccer training tips is to focus on enhancing the player’s range of motion by spreading out the stretching program over a period of months together.

Stretching perks up performance: When stretching program is designed specifically to suit soccer needs of the players, their performance improves.

Stretching can be great fun for the kids: If you include a lot of different types of soccer drills in your practice sessions, it can be a lot of fun. Keep varying the warm-up activities you do before stretching. Try games like the tag game, ball tag, and keep away.

Focus mentally on stretching exercises, feel and recognize each stretch, whilst checking for body soreness.

One 15-30-second stretch for each muscle group is sufficient for most players, but some kids require longer stretches and more repetitions as well.

This is because when the temperature of muscles is higher than normal, tightness decreases and extensibility increases. Players who want to maintain or increase their flexibility can partly achieve this goal by stretching. When their body temperature is higher as against normal, it makes it safer and more productive to stretch.

That’s why some experienced coaches recommend stretching after a workout also. Stretching for five minutes after practicing soccer skills prevents muscles from tightening too fast.

Generally, players who exercise an active warm-up prior to stretching get a better range of motion than those who only stretch. So if injury prevention is your aim, stop stretching before exercise and increase the warm up time.

When feeling stiff or inflexible, the most important soccer training tips is to allow kids to warm up sufficiently, as doing stretches would not help them become flexible, and will become boring and futile. You can subscribe to our youth soccer coaching community and get your way to innumerable articles, videos, and periodic newsletters.

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: Youth Soccer Drills.

Let me ask you a simple question. Almost all soccer coaches tend to ignore the soccer training tips while designing training programs for kids with the intent of just making up the numbers and going through the motions. Do you fall in the same category?

Set some definite goals for your team before you plan your next training session. Establish what you wish to achieve from the training program and take the necessary steps to achieve your target.

Introduce new, fun, and innovative soccer drills in your training sessions to add variety. It will break the boring routine of performing the same drills every single day. You’ll notice a positive change in your kid’s performance once they begin to enjoy their training sessions.

Make your players understand the value of respecting and listening to you, their coach, no matter what their age or level at which they play. Mutual appreciation creates a friendly environment for both players and the coach.

Soccer Training

Soccer players get an edge over others when they are highly flexible. It has been divided into 3 categories.

Dynamic flexibility: This is known as the capacity of a player to perform quick movements within the full range motion in the joint, for instance; twisting from side to side.

Static active flexibility: The ability to stretch a tough muscle by using the tension within that muscle is termed as static active flexibility. One example is to hold one leg in front of you and keep it as high as you can. The hamstrings are stretched while the quadriceps and hip flexors hold your leg up.

Static passive: Ability to use your body weight or some outside force to hold a stretch is termed as static passive flexibility. For example; you can hold your leg out in front of you and then rest it on a chair.

Now let’s go to the next in line of soccer training tips. It requires you to check that kids are wearing an appropriate gear, depending on the weather conditions.

Training for soccer needs to be supported with a fitness program that will help the areas where your team needs most help. When designing this training program, keep the following factors in mind.

Player’s age: Decrease in the flexibility of soft tissue with aging is directly related to the reduced range of movement as one grows older, irrespective of the gender. However, decrease in flexibility can be significantly slowed down if we keep active.

Gender: Girls exhibit a greater range of movement, independent of their age.

Motion: It is natural for kids with an active lifestyle to showcase better soccer skills and a greater range of movement that the ones not so active on field.

Injury: Injuries also get in the way the range of motion in a joint.

Pain: With an increase in pain, flexibility decreases resulting in muscle spasms. On the other hand, strength training does not affect flexibility if you are doing the exercises correctly and in full range of motion.

Genetics: A player’s genetics also decide the amount of flexibility that his or her body has.

So, there should be no reason why you should not include soccer training tips into your training program for better productivity. You can perk up your coaching skills by joining our youth soccer coaching community that has a lot of articles, newsletters, and pertinent videos.

Andre Botelho is a recognized authority in youth soccer coaching and has already helped thousands of youth coaches to dramatically improve their coaching skills. Learn  how to explode your players’ skills and make training fun by downloading your free ebook at: Soccer Drills For Kids.

I don’t know a thing about you, but I’ll bet that you must acquaint yourself with the essential soccer training tips, especially when you are participating in the game as a coach. It therefore becomes easy for you to include these tips in your soccer drills training session that take place 4 to 5 times a week as per your game’s standard.

When you train your players on these tips and techniques, you can allow them to improve upon their performance. They are in the following paragraphs;

Teach players to keep the ball moving with one or two touches: This is also known as inter-passing in a team setting. They should play the ball with speed and make crisp solid passes, whether it is a 3-meter or 20 meter pass.

Play the ball and keep progressing: Playing and moving controls the basic idea behind making runs. But the important thing here is to make sure that these runs open up goal scoring opportunities and make spaces for the other team members.

Soccer Training

The basis of all soccer skills is the ability to pass accurately in order to create opportunities. The key here is setting up your defender. Teach your players to close in the defender towards them, as if he or she is going to be able to catch the ball, then give it and go, advance into the open space to receive or return the pass.

When dribbling, guide players to change their pace after making a move to beat the opponent. They should try to keep the ball moving as fast as they can and quickly attack the opponent. As soon as they get an opportunity to break, they should strike back with some accurate passes.

Coach your players to keep the ball close to their feet when maneuvering the ball: One of the important soccer training tips requires kids to keep their head up and remain watchful of others movements in the field. While dribbling, they should try and touch the ball with every step. This perks up the player’s ability to get the ball from the defenders and ensures total control over the ball.

Get the cross in: In the first part of the game, carefully observe the goalkeeper while you take shots on the goal. If you know that you are going to make runs into the open space, let your team-mates know this. This type of communication is critical for the development of great players.

When training for soccer, teach players to aim for the area between the 6 and 18 yard boxes. This will make the goalkeeper come out in an attempt to collect the ball. This will make the goal open and defenseless.

Keep a watch on the ball: Watch the movement of all players on the field, all the time. Train players in a way that they stick to the team’s strategy and tactics for the day.

So now, start making use of these soccer training tips in your regular training sessions so that they come instinctively to the players when on field. You can get more such tips and tactics by subscribing to our youth soccer coaching community that has several relevant articles, videos, and periodic newsletters.

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 training tips.

If you’re like me you probably know that soccer training tips for goalkeeper are of immense value since a goalie is the only player on the field who is allowed to touch the ball by both hands and arms.

And so, soccer skills that a goalie possesses give him an edge over other remaining players. But this makes a soccer coach’s job quite challenging when it comes to coaching goalkeepers.

Goalkeepers in soccer are more often than not, the first line of offence and the last line of defense, based on the playing skill. They will not hesitate in putting their bodies in harms way to stop or block a shot into the goal. They are ready to dive in any direction to catch hold of the ball.

Goalkeeper’s training for soccer on different skills and techniques can be one tough job depending upon their role requirements and level of play. It simultaneously calls for you to consider his mental state while training him on different skills and techniques.

Soccer Training

Only one player in the team can be compared to a goalkeeper and that is the goal hungry striker. In fact, some of the best goalies have also been great strikers at one point or the other. You’ll often see a goalie and the forwards in a direct battle at different levels of competition.

When it comes to soccer training tips, staying balanced and knowing the center of gravity of the body is of the essence to the goalkeeper. This will have a positive effect on the game setting by way of improving a goalkeeper’s activity and the speediness of other players.

Even though most of the goalkeepers are tall, have long arms, and big hands, but even if it isn’t so, they can compensate for it with good vertical and lateral mobility.

Goalkeepers need unvarying motivation even though they have a good sense of self-worth and the coaches should never forget this. Soccer Goalkeepers need to do their regular warm ups with the team, but then separate from the team and perform the specific soccer drills that will prepare them for the game.

Goalkeepers are the leaders of the team as both their role and their personality is quite dominating. When goalkeepers are supported by their teammates and are put in a demonstrative capacity, they are able to achieve the desired results.

The ball can only be handled by the goalie in the 18 yard box. Anyone other that a goalie who fatefully gets to touch the ball with an arm, ends up winning the opponent a free kick. In the case of the goalie’s team mate, it is a penalty shoot from “the spot”.

Your next step? To take what you’ve just learned and apply the above soccer training tips as goalkeepers are definitely leaders in the 18 yard box, and should get due respect from their team. Join our youth soccer coaching community that has loads of relevant articles, videos, and newsletters to update your knowledge on the subject.

Andre Botelho is known online as “The Expert Youth Soccer Coach” and his free ebooks and reports have been downloaded more than 100,000 times. Learn how to skyrocket your players’ skills and make practice sessions fun in record time. Download your free ebook at: Soccer Drills.