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.
Accuracy is more important than power. If your players are not getting shots on target, they will not score. Great fun for the players trying to knock the balls off cones – you may need a helper to gather balls with this one!
This session gives players the confidence to shoot from outside the penalty area when the opportunity arises. Often young players will want to get closer to goal before they take a shot but that gives defenders time to get across and cover.
Sometimes players get a quick opportunity to score a goal when the ball is passed to them and a one touch shot can be the ideal way to catch a keeper off guard.
Even at the top level, strikers can often be seen wasting presentable chances because they lack the confidence to shoot with their weaker foot. If practised enough times your players will start to have more confidence on their weaker foot.
This drill will teach your players to attack the ball when trying to connect with a cross into the area. Often a shot from the cross will come back off the keeper or a defender and players must be ready to score from the rebound.
in Coaching Classroom, Email newsletters
It is a very difficult time to be coaching our players around the world. So to help you I have created the Coaching Classroom where you can download lessons to give to your players online. Here I have focused on Compactness and Penetration MORE
in Ball Control and Footwork, Email newsletters
I was out walking on the local golf course where I live this week and in the distance I saw a child running from what seemed miles away at top speed. As the child got closer I realised that it was someone dribbling a ball. Of course on the fairways it was like being at Wembley on a well cared for football pitch! It was great to see a child enjoying dribbling a ball, chipping over the bunkers and swerving around the patches of heather that catch out an unwary golfer. MORE
in Email newsletters, Tips and advice
At the United Soccer Coaches Digital Convention yesterday I was in the presentation by Dan Abrahams on performance of your team with well being in mind. He explored three environmental approaches and combines them to help you establish a healthy and safe coaching environment for players of all ages and levels. MORE
in Email newsletters, Psychology
I'm usually high up in the sky on my way to the United Soccer Coaches convention in America at this time of the year – last year I was at the convention in Baltimore and there was loads of coaching education on offer. Yet it is still exciting to be entering the United Soccer Coaches Digital Convention 2021 on my computer in the home office. MORE
Shooting from wide angles is all about accuracy, confidence and skill. Young players are often scared to try shooting from outside the box, but this session will give them the confidence to try outrageous shots. MORE
in Ball Control and Footwork, Email newsletters
Turning with the ball has always been a skill that draws names from the great players through the ages – think of the Cruff turn or Zidane spin turn. It used to make me wonder how players like Lionel Messi, Andrés Iniesta, Zinedine Zidane or Johan Cruyff could turn their opponents inside out, game after game – I now know it needs practice and from a young age. MORE
