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Smart Sessions - Core Skills

Looking for a ready-made solution to your coaching problems?

These core skills Smart Sessions practice plans provide the blueprint for an entire session of fundamentals for you to run with your team. A quick read-through and you’ve got a ready-made session to take on to the pitch. Perfect for when you’re running late and don’t have time to hunt around for new ideas.

Smart Sessions can be adapted by the coach to suit any age group from age 6 to 16, and are appropriate for adult teams too. Looking for something more challenging? Try our Advanced Skills practice plans to develop your players further.

The best bit? They’re written by legendary West Ham Utd Academy Director, Tony Carr – the man responsible for a generation of talent that includes England stars Frank Lampard, John Terry, Rio Ferdinand, Michael Carrick & Joe Cole – plus many more besides. So you can be confident you’re giving your players the best possible soccer education.

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Movements to lose a defender

This session is designed to improve movement off the ball in order to lose a defender and receive a pass.

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Coping with pressure

Players can find the game mentally tiring and it is important they retain their composure. This session will help them pass and receive t...

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Reverse pass

The reverse pass is a great attacking weapon because it uses disguise to surprise and unlock well-drilled defences.

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Communicating with your team mates

This session is designed to improve communication amongst your players through a series of simple passing and receiving exercises.

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Covering defender

When a defender is applying pressure to an attacker with the ball it’s important that they have back up in the form of a second or ...

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Get down to the ground

They don’t look as spectacular or nearly as much fun as flying through the air to tip a powerful effort over the bar, but for goalkeepers...

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Heading from crosses

A high percentage of goals are scored from crosses into the penalty area, which is why it is crucial to practise attacking headers. Some ...

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Get your angles right

Soccer commentators are always expressing disapproval when a goalkeeper is beaten by a shot on his near post. Why? Because it is a sure s...

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Smother the shot

When an attacker is clean through on goal and wants to dribble around the keeper, the attacker should be favourite to score. But that ...

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Running from midfield

Help your attacking midfielders get into advanced positions to create and score goals with this drill.

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Finger tipping good

Help your goalkeepers perfect the most eye-catching save possible. This is a full-length dive through the air to tip a goal-bound shot ...

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Moving into space with the ball

Whether committing a defender in a 2v1 situation, bursting through a defence into space, or starting an attack from the back, moving with ...

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Clearing back passes along the ground

There are times when rather than just sending the ball upfield as far as possible following a back pass, a goalkeeper may have time and a ...

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Pass like you mean it

Passing to maintain possession is one thing; passing to hurt the opposition by moving them around and breaking through defensive lines is ...

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Goalkeeper’s two-fisted punch

There are times when a goalkeeper can’t catch a flighted ball, such as when the penalty box is crowded, so the next best option is to clear ...

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Back pass clearance

Goalkeepers should be as comfortable with the ball at their feet as they are with it in their hands, particularly when they receive and ...

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One-two, three – shoot!

Combination play in the form of quick, accurate passing and movement can be the key to unlocking defenses to create opportunities to shoot ...

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Ready, fire, aim

The goal doesn’t move, so when your forwards receive the ball with their backs to goal they should know where to shoot without aiming.

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Better than one direction

Being able to keep control of the ball while changing direction when dribbling is an important skill that players must use in matches, ...

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Ball dribble challenge

This session will test whether your players have the skills to take on and beat defenders, and then go on to score goals. If they haven’t, ...

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One-on-one defending

Defending in a 1v1 is tough – use this drill to improve your players’ ability to come out on top in such situations.

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Side-on volley shots

When the ball’s between knee and waist height the side-on volley is a very effective technique for getting a strike in at goal.

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Control the long pass

In the previous Smart Sessions Core Skills, we looked at long passing. Today, we show you how to teach your players how to bring those long ...

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Palming the ball over the bar

A keeper needs a variety of techniques to cope with those times when they can’t catch the ball.
Palming the ball over the bar is one of ...

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Smart Sessions - Core Skills

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Coaches' Testimonials

Gerald Kearney, Downtown Las Vegas Soccer Club

Paul Butler, Florida, USA

Rick Shields, Springboro, USA

Tony Green, Pierrefonds Titans, Quebec, Canada

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