Hey Coaches!
This week is supposed to be warm, so it might be wise to email your team and remind them to bring lots of water. We will be doing some fun game this week to hopefully keep everyone motivated through the heat! Make sure you give your team plenty of water breaks, but at the same time don’t give them too much time to goof off.
Do your regular warm up with the 2 lines. It has been great to see everyone doing this. Warming up is vital to being a good soccer player, and helps prevent injuries. It is also a time to help them focus on what they are there for.
Once you have done your warm up, have them pair up and get in groups of 3 and try to keep the ball in the air while juggling. See who can do it the longest. This is also something you can get them to do while they arrive.
1. PONG
We did this last week, and it seemed to be a hit so we’ll do it again! Encourage players to play the ball quickly to catch their opponent off guard.
Two players play against each other and share a ball. They place two cones anywhere from 2-8 yards apart. They choose! Players pass back and forth to each other. The rules are that the ball must never stop, must always stay on the ground and must go through the two cones without touching them. Whenever this is violated the other person receives a point. Because of the rule that the ball must never stop, players have to play 1-2 touch. The closer the two cones are the closer the pairs are probably going to be. The farther apart they are, the more they will have to move laterally and look more like the old arcade “pong” game. Play for time and see who can become the PONG Champ!
2. Two-touch Showdown
This is a game between two players. A soccer ball and three cones are needed for this game.
Position the cones in a triangular shape, about two to three feet apart.
The first player gently taps the ball through the cones to the second player. The second player has to send the ball back through the cones but cannot go through the two cones from which the ball just came through, and the player only gets two touches to perform the maneuver.
Hints: 1) the first touch is crucial in that the player should touch the ball to one side. 2) if the first touch is poor and the player is fairly close to the cone, the player can take a large step and push the ball with the other foot, ankle flicking it through.
Here’s an example from youtube
3) Bocce Soccer
This is played similar to the Italian game on an open field, except you use soccer balls for the bocce balls and one mini soccer ball for the pallino, and you kick the balls rather than throw them. The game is played with two, four, or eight players. Depending on the size of your team, you can make 2 teams. Make sure that they stay within your portion of the field and don’t interfere with other teams.
This will be a good game to slow things down and give your team a little breather while still having fun and will work on passing accuracy.
Choose a player to kick the pallino (mini soccer ball). The same player will kick his first soccer ball. The purpose of the game is to get your soccer balls as close to the pallino as possible. Feel free to scatter cones around your area to add some obstacles.
After all players have kicked, the player that is closest to the mini ball is awarded points. I will have mini balls out for you.
4. Square support passing game
The purpose of this soccer passing drill is to focus on players angle of support, the weight of passes and the quality of 1st touch.
Drill Setup:
- Create a grid approximately 12x12 or 10x10 yards depending on the skill level of the players.
- Put 2 defensive players inside the grid in one color and the remaining 4 or 5 players along the outside of the grid.
- Make sure you have a good supply of soccer balls to keep the drill flowing.
Drill Instructions:
- Instruct the 2 defensive players to stay inside the grid and attempt to break up any passes from the outside players
- Outside players play keep away from the 2 inside players in an attempt to complete 10 consecutive passes. They should be moving along the side of the box they are on to always be creating space and support. Soccer players should never be standing still.
Drill Coaching Points:
The coach should focus on:
- Angle of support
- Angle of passes
- Weight of passes
- Quality of 1st touch
- Playing on toes
- Early support
- Good communication
5. Scrimmage
If you have time at the end, allow your team to play a scrimmage. Focus on their first touch, and movement off the ball to always be finding space and angles for receiving a pass. Make your game field a little smaller to speed the game up, and also force a quality first touch. Change things up by only allowing 1 touch. This make them think about what their next move (or pass) is before they receive the ball as well as will keep them moving.
