Youth Soccer Drills:Discover The Basics
Monday, July 19th, 2010
I can’t say if you’ll agree with me on this but in youth soccer drills, defense is the foundation on which the game depends. When the score in a game is 0-0, it is said to be a perfectly played defensive soccer by both sides.
Nonetheless, in kids soccer drills, there are two facets of winning a game. First is by exhibiting a wonderful defense. And the second is by having a great offense that has the capacity to overcome the other team’s defense.
Your player’s won’t be able to score if they can’t get the ball. Some coaches follow the practice of training their kids in just one aspect; offense or defense. But, complete training of players requires them to play defense when the ball is with the other team and offense when they themselves have the ball.
During youth soccer practice, the players who fail to keep the ball in their possession should go after the ball at once. This works well because the player from whose custody the ball goes is the one closest to it. So it’s imperative for him or her to put pressure on the player who has the ball now.
In other words, he must try to get the ball back as quickly as he can. This will also provide enough time to other players in the team to return to their form and get into the defensive positions. This way the opponent player who has the ball will not be allowed a free run on the field.
Players can be taught these skills by following the below mentioned techniques.
Immediate chase: When implemented correctly in youth soccer drills, it exerts a lot of pressure on the opponents from all sides. And eventually this has the effect of them losing the possession of the ball or executing a wrong pass.
Fall back and delay: To achieve this, it is a must that the remaining team members fall back, and challenge the opponent with the ball and delay him or her from getting into their team’s goal area.
Since the most dangerous place on the field is the center, so teach your players to force the opponent with the ball towards the touchline. This has the effect of the player losing the mobility to make a pass and also move in different directions.
Arc of Concentration: In terms of scoring, the Arc of Concentration is the riskiest area. The players make the most number of goals in the arc of concentration. So it’s very important to teach the players in youth soccer coaching to concentrate on moving the ball outside of this area.
This arc is right ahead of the goal. It begins from one corner post of the goal and goes all the way through the corner of the goal box and on to the touchline. The chances of a goal being scored are high when the ball is in this area.
These are possibly is the easiest ways to teach your player’s game strategy and youth soccer drills in an effective manner.
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Andre Botelho is a recognized authority in youth soccer coaching and has already helped thousands of youth coaches to dramatically improve their coaching skills. Learn how to explode your players’ skills and make training fun by downloading your free ebook at: http://www.soccerdrillstips.com.
