Soccer drills and skills
This season, never hunt around for a fresh soccer drill again. Get proven and easy to use drills for all groups and abilities with Soccer Coach Weekly. As a coach, it is your job to give your team the skills and technique to be great players.
The soccer drills in this section will help you coach your players in the core skills of the game. We’ll tell you what to look out for, how to get the ideas over to your players, and we’ll give you games and exercises to really power-up their skills.
Drills by skill
Drills by age group
in Defending, Practice plans
The ability to mark an opponent closely is one of the key aspects of defending. This session will help you develop this technique in your players. MORE
in Practice plans, Shooting
The technique for passing and shooting when the ball is off the ground is not easy for players to learn. Help your team acquire these skills with this session. MORE
in Attacking, Small Sided Games
This is a great session for getting attackers to be open to the pitch and it will help your striker learn when to shoot and when to tee up a team-mate MORE
in Attacking, Email newsletters
More often than not in grassroots soccer, young players don’t get themselves into a position to finish a move that they started. Use my two favourite striker sessions to get your frontmen hitting the net MORE
in Attacking, Small Sided Games
If you want your players to outfox the opposition defence by creating goals, this game will provide plenty of opportunities to make clever passes and set up play around the goal area MORE
in Passing, Practice plans
Creating shooting opportunities is the only realistic way to win matches. A pass from a midfielder to a forward is one of the best ways your team can do this – and here’s how to teach them. MORE
in Attacking, Email newsletters
Most successful wingers are usually quick but pace alone is not enough, close ball control, the ability to play head up and to pass and cross on the run are all crucial to creating scoring chances rather than firing aimless or mishit balls. MORE
in Attacking, Small Sided Games
Youth players will often make a pass into the final third but do not support the pass by running into the penalty area. This session encourages movement to get into dangerous attacking positions. MORE
in Attacking, Small Sided Games
This game improves quick attacking and combination play. The attackers must break forward in order to use the extra player and create a chance to score. MORE
in Ball Control and Footwork, Email newsletters
Dribblers are thriving in the Premier League – Chelsea’s Eden Hazard is among the most fouled players in the league and one of the most creative. Danger men just have to be stopped. MORE
in Attacking, Crossing
In this session the wide player must complete a one-two and overlap to give attackers two ways to score. This is a great for wingers to be coached in different ways to attack from the wings MORE
in Defending, Practice plans
When your opponent has the ball it is vital to focus on prioritising areas of danger in your defence. Once these areas have been identified, your team needs to keep the ball away from them. MORE
in Defending, Practice plans
Teach your players the art of intercepting or “stealing” the ball – like Real Madrid centre back Ricardo Carvalho or Manchester United’s midfielder Michael Carrick – with this session. MORE
in Practice plans, Shooting
This session aims to improve the willingness of your players to take a chance and shoot for goal from outside the penalty area. MORE
in Ball Control and Footwork, Practice plans
Receiving a pass isn’t about just controlling the ball – your players also have to know what they’re going to do with it before it arrives. MORE
in Attacking, Small Sided Games
Running with the ball isn't just about going in one direction at one speed, players need to turn and accelerate, knock the ball into space and follow it, and pass on the run. MORE
in Email newsletters, Warm Ups
Make sure you have some different warm ups to try with your players like these four favourites of mine MORE
in Ball Control and Footwork, Shooting
If you want to sharpen up your players in front of goal, this is a continuous exercise that
will help strikers perfect the art of shooting first time with either foot MORE
in Ask Dave, Defending
How can I offer an instant confidence boost to my team’s leaky defence? MORE
in Defending, Practice plans
Pressing the opposition to win back the ball when possession is lost requires teamwork, concentration and hard work. It’s a tactic Barcelona have used in recent years and, if it’s good enough for arguably the greatest club side ever, then it’s good enough for most teams. MORE
in Defending, Practice plans
Teach your players how to defend in 1v1 situations and force attackers away from goal. This will help your team concede fewer goals. MORE
in Passing, Practice plans
When your team attacks, a quick switch of play can be used to create space on the opposite side of the pitch. This can often lead to opportunities to dribble into space or attack the opponent in a 1v1 or 2v1 situation. Here is how you can teach your players these skills. MORE
in Shooting, Small Sided Games
This unopposed session gets attackers scoring with balls coming in from the wings. All players get balls played hard and low onto both feet as they attack at either end of the pitch. It includes build up play for a thorough attacking work out. MORE
in Attacking, Defending, Formations
Very popular formation that is very attacking with three at the back, and wingbacks that need to work hard to support defence, midfield and attack MORE
