It is important to coach supporting attacking players and wide players to make runs into the penalty area when teams are on the attack that defenders miss leaving them free to receive and score goals.
This is often down to the individual timing of the run and the direction and pattern of the run. These include runs like faking movement one way then sprinting into spaces that defenders have left open.
There are runs that are much slower where players are drifting away from the defenders and often runs that do not work so players are tracking back to make the run again. In the youth game late runs are one of the most successful because the defenders have already picked up a player to mark and don’t react to the movement from the late run.
Runs can also trigger other runs where space is created by the initial run that drags defenders away from attacking areas. Decoy and dummy runs are often created when the player on the ball ignores the movement and goes on his/her own because the defenders are all occupied.
Get your players making runs into the box that catch out defences and create lots of chances to score goals.You can use a session like Time your runs to coach strikers to burst into the penalty area with well-timed runs to latch onto killer passes that split defences and leave strikers 1v1 with the goalkeeper giving them a great chance to score a goal.
My other favourite session to get players to time their runs into the penalty area with quick thinking and movement to create space is Running late which is a great game for strikers concentrating and getting an advantage in the most dangerous part of the pitch.
Use this fun training game to ensure your players are both quick-thinking and quick into the box for a shooting chance. Players must think quickly so they can be first to the ball and shoot. It's a great game for concentration, balance and movement. MORE
Use this lively attacking session to coach your strikers to burst into the penalty area with well-timed runs to latch onto killer passes that split defences and leave your striker 1v1 with the goalkeeper. MORE
We had a meeting this week at my club, where we were discussing the changes we face in a few months time. My U10s team goes from 7v7 into 9v9 and that means we are facing offside decisions. So how does a coach go about preparing for that? MORE
As coaches we are all obsessed with keeping possession of the ball... of course we are the best teams all do it and if you've got the ball the opposition can't score. And there is just that other coach called Pep Guardiola who swears by it... MORE