Dave Clarke is head coach and editor of Soccer Coach Weekly, providing thousands of subscribers worldwide with drills, insight and advice covering all aspects of coaching.
Possession is so important it is worth spending as much time as you can on getting players reacting to having the ball and making decisions to keep it. They must be switched on and you must get them to look for supporting runs and make the runs themselves. MORE
in Podcasts
In this podcast Dave Clarke talks to Billy Gazonas about his book that chronicles his time in college soccer with tales from Bruce Springsteen to Franz Beckenbauer and includes some valuable advice for coaches on teaching technique to players and using tactics to win games. Most of all Billy highlights what players can do to improve their game working alone and the dedication it takes to become a champion. MORE
in Shooting, Soccer drills and skills
This session will put a stop to wasted chances up front. It allows your players to experiment with their technique and get used to hitting the target with a snap shot or when finishing off a move. MORE
in Other
In these days of attack and counter attack there is a huge role for the last defender to sweep up when the team lose the ball and keep the attackers away from goal. The role can be to hold up play or to remove the danger by clearing the ball, but also in a forward looking team this player makes passes from deep like a playmaker. MORE
in Blog, Team Management
Your team is leading late in a tight game and one of your strikers has scored twice. He appears tired and your subs are keen to come on, but should you deny him his chance of a hat-trick by making a change? MORE
To make a success of counterattacking, players must be able to recognise the moment of transition between defence and attack quicker that the opposition. They should then move quickly to take advantage of it. MORE
Keeping possession of the ball is key to winning games – if you have it your opponents haven't got it. There are tactical musts that go hand in hand with a possession game. Being aware of where the ball is and where your teammates are is essential so get your players to have a picture in their head of what they’re going to do with the ball before it comes to them. MORE
Shooting chances may only be there for a split second and young players miss the opportunity while moving the ball from one foot to the other or by passing when a shot would be the best option. MORE
Over the next few weeks I plan to work on box-to-box passing moves – counter-attacking play that involves passing and receiving between the lines, well-timed movements and crossover runs, and the exploitation of space behind the opposition’s back line. MORE
Crowded penalty areas can allow attackers to disguise their shooting by shielding themselves from the keeper behind defenders. Can your attackers beat the blocking defenders and not hit their own players? MORE
in Blog, Psychology
Your players are constantly trying to better each other with harder shots, tricks and flicks, and by staying behind longer after training. Should you encourage this kind of one-upmanship and competitiveness? MORE
in Shooting, Soccer dribbling drills
This game helps to get your players dribbling past defenders and shooting at goal. It will help your players win 1v1s and get them finishing off good moves. MORE
One of the things I have done a lot of work on this season is getting my team to play right to the very end of matches. Not only that, whether we are losing or not in the last 10 minutes as a collective we up our game and try to score a goal. It helps us end on a positive note. MORE
in Attacking, Ball Control and Footwork
Help your attackers to develop their dribbling skills and encourage them to fool defenders by disguising the direction they are going to take to shoot at goal. MORE
in Defending, Soccer tackling drills
This session replicates situations where midfielders can find themselves outnumbered and a timely tackle is needed to stop the move in its tracks. MORE
Simple answer is “Yes”, particularly if your players regularly struggle to hang on to the attackers they are marking, or if they fail to organise themselves each time they face a corner or free kick. Given a set position, your players will grasp what they have to do and respond well to their part of the defensive responsibility. MORE
in Blog, Team Management
Referees will always miss things in matches but how many of us actually instruct our players to correct a wrong decision? Or would we actually prefer them to keep quiet and play to the whistle, even if the decision is incorrect? MORE
in Email newsletters, Shooting
These are five of my go to sessions when I want to coach shooting or to give my players a good workout using both feet to put the ball in the net... it's also the thing they love to do at training better than anything. MORE
Play this like a Rondo where if you split the defenders and hit the cone keeping possession of the ball. The pressing team must try to win the ball and prevent the possession team hitting the cone. MORE
Use this session if you want to see exciting attacking wingbacks who can either cross a ball or cut inside and shoot. Players can make use of 2v1 situations to attack or fool the defenders with a skill. Crosses into the box are also an option in this game. MORE
Do your players know the offside rule? From Under 11s at 9v9 the offside rule comes into play. This can be used to your advantage in defence but against you in attack, so players need to be on top of it and understand it. Find out how... MORE
in Blog, Tips and advice
THIS WEEK’S DEBATE: I encourage players to try other sports but one of my lads is now playing county rugby and his commitments interfere with soccer training. Is it fair he should miss our matches because he hasn't trained? MORE
in Ball Control and Footwork, Email newsletters
Chipping the ball is a difficult skill but one that reaps benefits if players can do it. I like to get my players to chip the ball at practice into the hands of their goalkeeper or teammates so they know how to chip over congested areas of the pitch or chip an advancing goalkeeper to score a goal. MORE
in Attacking, Email newsletters
An attacking midfielder sets up so many goalscoring chances that it cannot be ignored in your coaching sessions. Once the midfielder wins the ball there are a number of important things to do that go through a players mind in a split second. Can I secure the ball? Can I pass into the striker? Can I play the ball wide and find space? ..... So how do you coach it? MORE
