Defensive Tactics on Free Kicks

There are many disadvantages in defending a free kick in soccer. Especially when the free kick is near your goal. Here are some key elements to keep in mind when organizing your team while defending a free kick:

1. Make sure your defensive players transition from attack to defense quickly

2. Make sure your team is able to quickly set the wall

3. Make sure players don't give teams "MORE" than 10 yards. The wall should be set closer and encouraged to be moved by the referee.

4. Make sure the wall is set up correctly with the correct number of players. The number of players on a wall depends on the the distance from the goal as well as the spot of the foul. More players are needed in the center of the field, where less players on the wall are required on the outside of the field.

5. When setting the wall make sure space is not exposed at the far post.

6.  Another important part of setting the wall is to make sure your goalkeeper can see the ball.

7. Make sure after the ball is shot on goal that the wall players quickly follow up up the play and fight for the ball until the ball has cleared the area.

8. Make sure you put the appropriate players in positions where they can utilize their height and heading ability.

9. Make sure your keeper is aggressive and has the ability to win balls out of the air.

10. Make sure your keeper is able to handle high or low balls being flighted into their box.

CREATING A SOCCER-LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

We want our players to learn soccer, right? That is our goal as soccer parents and coaches. The best way to support players is to provide rich soccer environments and provide multiple opportunities in those environments.

Yes, I'm saying find your sons and daughters a really good coach and put them in many soccer type situations to challenge their learning. Wow, for being a soccer guru, I can really state the obvious.

What's different? Before today, there would be only a small number of kids who could be lucky enough to be in those environments. First, having an excellent and experienced teacher of the game. Second, that they are exposed to more that just that one environment to learn. More often than not, the reality that most players deal with is that they have a good natured but inexperienced coach and only get their soccer teaching from this one source.

I said before today a new phenomenon is popping up now in soccer training that is providing an extra environment for players who would normally be just out of luck. It is the online soccer training option. Yes, like many things today it is new, but it is set to provide critical information that players would never get otherwise.

I am advocating soccer education in many different ways all at the same time. Now could you imagine how much a soccer player can grow with a good coach, watching soccer games on TV and getting extra training help online. Where as a few years ago, the only way to grow in soccer was by having a good coach, because soccer on TV and online were not available. Players have options now, more than just changing soccer teams. Now they can keep growing, regardless of what is happening on the field.

The landscape of soccer is changing; those that were previously out of touch can be brought up to speed almost instantly. Embrace the changes for the good of the game and for the good of the players.

This tip comes to you from Kamal de Gregory, director of4skills.com and Bahamas National Team player.

Coaching Youth Soccer - Is an Elite Team Right for your Child?

By Regan McMahon
Consider how joining an elite travel team will affect your whole family.

Will the parents and siblings be separated more weekends than not? Will it limit or eliminate your ability to take a family summer vacation? How will it affect your marriage if you and your spouse are going in different directions and sleeping in different locations each weekend? How much will you and your child have to give up?

Is it worth it? Or will your child likely have a future opportunity - the high school team, a travel team when she's older - without sacrificing the early years of childhood and free play?

Will it wipe out the chance for spontaneous weekend getaways or days at the beach or in the country?

If siblings are busy with their own games, and Mom and Dad are getting around to see and support everyone somehow, great. But if younger or nonathletic siblings are being dragged to games where they are bored on the sidelines or craving their parents' attention, which is predominantly focused on the playing field, resentments and disappointment can grow and last a lifetime.

* Ask the coach not to penalize your child for attending family events.

The rule of thumb about playing time is to reward those who show up for practice and penalize those who don't. This is generally viewed as a fair system by players and coaches alike.

But when there is no accommodation for spending time with your family - to attend a wedding, a bar mitzvah or a Mother Day's brunch, or go on a family vacation when the family wants to go, even if it's not during the coach-approved two-week break in the training and tournament schedule - that tells the child that sports and the team are more important than family. Playing at the rec level, this isn't an issue.

* Keep academics a priority.

Often club volleyball tournaments in my state are scheduled to begin on Friday during the school year. That means that students, starting as early as 5th or 6th grade, miss not only Fridays but Thursdays as well, as their parents pull them out of school to travel to the out-of-town location. If you as a parent don't agree with putting sports before academics on a regular basis, and aiding and abetting the message that this sends to kids, think twice before you sign that dotted line.

* Consider not joining an elite travel team until your child is an adolescent.

Children are better prepared for intense play, practice and competition after they've gone through puberty. Travel soccer teams, for example, generally start at Under 10, which means 8- and 9-year-olds are spending weekends in motels, away from their friends and siblings, in intensely competitive play. State Cup competition starts at Under 11.

Brian Doyle, director of coaching for Michigan's elite, nationally ranked Wolves-Hawks Soccer Club, told me, "A lot of guys believe we start championships too early. Fourteen should be the first State Cup to play in. If you want to reduce stress, reduce the need to win. I personally believe the child doesn't really need to learn how to win the game until they're around 14. Before that, you're learning how to play the game."

* Check your options.

Seriously question if an elite team is what your child needs or wants. Sometimes a child wants to join a Class I team just because his friends are going to. That may be a valid reason, but alternatively, you can evaluate the situation and decide that (a) it doesn't work for our family, or (b) he's a good enough player to make the high school team without playing club or (c) it's not a great choice for our family, so we'll put it off as long as possible and let him join in 7th grade so he'll have two years of competitive training under his belt going into the high school tryouts.

One option is to do less competitive club play, such as Class III soccer, which is a step above recreational level but less demanding than Class I. They travel less and take the summer off.

Another option is remaining at or dropping down to the recreational level. There's no shame in it! If you have a good coach and good players you enjoy playing with, you can have a great time without undue pressure.

The status awarded the elite teams may be overrated in terms of the athlete's actual experience.

I know many rec players - from my kids' teams - who were extremely talented and went on to make their high school varsity teams without having given up their lives to year-round club teams in middle school.

Coaching Youth Soccer - How to Trap in Tight Spaces

As a youth soccer coach, you must teach young players to trap the soccer ball in tight spaces. To help us do this, we will create a grid that is 25 X 25 yards. Instruct each player to be inside the grid with each player having a ball. To start this drill, each player should start with the ball in their hands.

To start the drill, instruct each players to toss their ball into the air and trap it with a specific part of their body. Start with trapping with the inside, outside and sole of their feet, then advance to thigh traps, chest traps, then head traps. After the players trap the ball instruct them to make a quick 5 to 10 yard sprint with the ball at their feet, avoiding the other players within the grid.

To make this drill a bit more difficult, you should make the space tighter by reducing the size of the grid. You can also have the athletes juggle four or five times and then kick the ball up into the air and trap it as it comes down. If your athletes are proficient jugglers, be sure to use that method.

Coaches should look for proper trapping technique. To do so, make sure the soccer players are trapping the ball close to their bodies and not allowing the ball to run away from them. When trapped correctly the ball should be no farther than a yard from the soccer player's body. Another important thing to look for and emphasize to your athletes is for them to look up as they dribble through the crowd after trapping the ball. They should be moving quickly for five to ten yards and not running in to any other athletes. If they do run into another athlete, have them do 10 push ups before returning to the game.

Improving Performance by Improving the Experience

By Ian Barker

In recent years a cottage industry has sprung up around youth sports dedicated to addressing the behavior of parents and coaches and the overall "culture" of the sideline.

Youth soccer is no exception in this with scores of anecdotal observations available from all quarters in regard to the good, bad and ugly of what is happening at soccer fields during every season.

In addition, a scan of the headlines usually reveals negative stories about coach and parent action in youth sport.

Sorting through the reporting, the stories and perceptions to come out with an accurate picture of what is happening can be daunting.

Beyond that, taking steps to improve the experience for the children can seem a significant challenge for already over-taxed parents and coaches.

However, it is possible to scientifically understand the youth soccer culture, to consider the experience of all constituents, and to take practical and developmentally solid steps to do a better job.

At the same time, while educating and working to improve sideline behavior, it is possible to directly influence player performance to the good in ways more powerful than any number of training sessions.

Research conducted at Michigan State University in the 1970s has provided clarity in the reasons for children's participation in sport, the reasons for children dropping out of sport, as well as reasons why one sport is preferred to another.

The data, having been professionally collected and interpreted, points to the fact that players enjoy sport more if their experience is a "nurturing" one in which winning is important, but not at the expense of having fun, sensing improvement and feeling involved.

Indeed, winning is understood to be a likely result of the players' feeling cared about, feeling that they are improving, and feeling like their involvement is important.

If coaches and parents can understand intrinsic motivation, and how to foster it in the children, performance can and will improve.

So even the most hard-hearted coach or "involved" parent can see "gain" in the win/loss column by a balanced approach to the environment they create for the players.

When players can be encouraged to give full effort in tandem with being provided correct technical and tactical information, they will inevitably improve. Like an adult, a child will be inspired by improvement in their competence and will in turn give more effort.

Once the cycle of effort, good instruction, and identifiable improvement in skill and understanding is established, coaches and parents will see better performance.

How is intrinsic motivation fostered?

It is fostered by asking children what type of experience encourages them and then managing that environment. Short-term "success" can be achieved through extrinsic motivation, but is not sustainable if the only reason to try is based on external reward, because when the reward disappears the reason to try disappears too.

A collaborative effort between the Minnesota Youth Soccer Association and University of Notre Dame is trying to scientifically take on the challenge of identifying what youth soccer players want from their experience, what motivates them to do better -- and then to educate parents and coaches to meet the players needs.

The program, PACT (Parents and Coaches Together) asks athletes, coaches and parents about their unique experiences in youth soccer --and a baseline experience is understood.

Then coaches and parents receive a program of information that discusses player "needs," motivation and communication skills, conflict-resolution techniques, and concludes with an understanding of how to develop an adult team effort so that players' experience can be positively supported.

After the coach and parent information is delivered and a season of play has concluded, the program then asks the same questions, previously collected to establish the baseline, of athletes, coaches and parents.

This data, along with the collection and study of referee reports and red- and yellow-card numbers, is then studied to determine the efficacy of the information and the effort.

The experience in Minnesota is leading to quantifiable results that point to improved retention in player numbers for clubs, lower incidences of poor athlete and adult behavior, and improved competitive performance for clubs where the program has been delivered.

Where the program has been particularly strong is in capturing enough data to let us know how people are enjoying youth soccer. Simply put, we have found that despite the perceptions to the contrary, a vast majority of those involved are very satisfied with youth soccer.

At the same time, we know that a percentage of players believe it is acceptable to cheat to win, to injure another to win, or have felt physically threatened by an opposing parent or coach.

Formally identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the youth soccer experience has made it possible to educate adults to consciously and collectively change small details that improve how players enjoy their soccer and how they play.

We can do better, we can learn where we need to do better, and we can learn how to do better, but we have to want to.


For more on PACT (Parents and Coaches Together), go to: http://www.mnyouthsoccer.org/programs/pact.cfm

Ian Barker has been the Minnesota Youth Soccer Association's State Director of Coaching for the last decade and has been a Region II ODP coach for 15 years. He also coaches at Macalester College in St. Paul.

Soccer Coaching: Let the Game be the Teacher

In 1998 as I was getting my National Level “C” soccer license in Dallas, Texas I vividly recall the instructor repeating “let the game be the teacher”. I had my own idea of this concept, but had not practiced this concept as of yet. So, what does “let the game be the teacher” mean exactly?

Even though this was drilled into my head during the course, it took a few years for me to truly understand and appreciate exactly what this meant. First of all, I think the most important thing to point out is that “less is more”. What that meant to me is less me time (coach time) and more them time (player time). The quickest way to teach players the game is by the players playing the game. Not drills, not skills, not fitness, but the game.

Ok, so now we know we need more player time and less coach time. How can we achieve this? In the United States we do not see pickup games on the playground after school without coaches. As a soccer coach, you should encourage your players to play at home whether it’s with family, friends, neighbors or school mates. When there are no coaches and no restrictions the game becomes the teacher. In this type of setting, mistakes will happen, but in order for that player to be successful he or she must make on the fly corrections in order to be successful at these small pick-up games.

If pickup games are not feasible for your age group, use the last 20 minutes of practice and allow the kids to play a pickup game against each other and you as a coach just sit back and watch. Sometimes a quick instruction or two is needed, however in game situations, the players will learn from their mistakes.

So next soccer practice, just sit back and let the kids play and observe the play from a “distance”. It might be beneficial to add some restrictions such as number of touches, number of passes, etc, but only if you want to focus on a certain aspect of the game such as combination play, possession, or dribbling skills.

Coaching Youth Soccer - Juggling in Pairs

Juggling is very important to the development of youth soccer athletes and teaches players how to control the ball and improves touch with all body parts. As a Youth Soccer Coach, finding fun activities in order to teach the art of juggling is very important. One game to teach juggling is to have soccer players juggle in pairs.

To coach youth soccer players to juggle in pairs, simply have t players stand facing each other. Have one player start with juggling the soccer ball a couple times before playing the ball to the other player. That player then juggles the ball a couple times before passing the ball back to the starting player. Any part of the body can be used except for the hands or arms. Do not allow the ball to touch the ground and have the players count the number of times the ball is successfully played between the two players.

Depending on the age and skill level of the youth soccer players, you might allow the ball to bounce once on the ground during the pass to the other player. For more advanced players don't allow the player to use the same part of the of the body touch the ball more than 2-3 times in a row. Once they have mastered juggling in pairs, have the players play in one touch to each other in the air without the ball touching the ground.

As a youth soccer coach, make sure each player is making soft precise touches and make sure they are giving their partner a playable ball. Teach each player to be on the balls of their feet in anticipation for the ball. Also instruct the players to attempt to keep the ball below their head close to their body and in a relaxed body position.

Soccer Shooting Exercises

In our last post on Instep Drive Shooting called "Soccer Coaching - Shooting Instep Drive", we walk you through body positioning, foot positioning and body movements to strike the soccer ball with the instep of the foot (shoe laces). Now I will go over some Soccer Instep Shooting Exercises that will give you ideas to practice the instep drive with your team.

1. Start by having the players dropkick the ball into the goal from various angles and distances. The dropkick will allow the young player to get a good feel for the proper striking spot on the foot (instep) and the ball (center of ball). The dropkick will also work on timing of kicks.

2. Next, have the players shoot stationary balls from the ground from various angles and distances. The stationary ball on the ground will help the players get the feel of proper distance from the ball as well as placement of kicking feet.

3. Now that the players have progressed from the first two shooting exercises, have the player roll the ball at an angle away from their body towards their kicking foot side to strike the instep drives. Have the players start with a slow rolling ball with a slow approach at first and as they get comfortable striking slow balls, have them roll the ball a bit quicker with a quicker approach to strike the ball.

4. Next, instead of the player rolling the ball to themselves, have the coach roll a slow pass to the players kicking side and have the player strike a ball that is rolling towards them. Having a good slow pace on the ball towards the players kicking foot will allow a fairly strong kick if the players timing and body movements are correct. Make sure ankle is locked and toe is pointed down.

5. Have the players shooting moving balls combined with short and long distance dribbling, begin slow and increase speed as the player gets comfortable.

6. Have the players shoot from passes received from a teammate. You can modify the angles, number of passes and shooting distance as needed.

7. Have the players shoot from combination pass from a teammate.

8. Have the players shoot from a cross from the outside of the field.

9. Shoot while under pressure from a defender on a 1v1 plus a keeper situation. Here is a good soccer drill that is fast pace and can be tweaked to work on 1v1 shooting game.

10. Shoot from the volley or half volley from different angles and distances. This can be accomplished easily as the coach tosses the ball from their hands to the players kicking foot. This is for more experienced soccer players.

11. Shooting volleys or half volleys from flighted balls or crosses.

Here are a couple good soccer shooting drills that I found on the web:
Power Fineness with a Twist
Trap and Shoot Game
Half-Volley for Shooting Technique and Power
The Corner Shot

Teaching Youth Soccer Players to Juggle a Soccer Ball

From my last post on juggling a soccer ball, I touched on why you should teach your youth soccer players to juggle a soccer ball, and in this post I will explain you the progression in teaching juggling.

One thing I have noticed in coaching youth soccer over the past 16 years is that juggling a soccer ball is not one of the kids funnest things to do. This is mainly because at the early years they are not coordinated enough to be successful. Due to the difficulty a 6 and 7 year old has when learning to juggle a soccer ball, they lose interest in practicing something they are not good at. As a youth soccer coach, it is up to you to dedicate 5-10 minutes of the players warm-up to juggling each soccer practice.

When teaching youth soccer players to juggle a soccer ball, have the players pair up with one player sitting down with their legs in front of them. The seated player should gently toss a ball to their own feet in attempt to juggle with their instep (shoe laces). The second player will be the ball chaser if the ball gets away from the player seated. After a couple minutes, have the players switch roles.

For players just learning to juggle, have the players juggle by dropping the soccer ball to their feet or thighs in attempt to play the ball back to their hands. After the player can successfully play the ball back to their hands, have the player attempt to juggle twice before playing the ball back to their hands. As the player becomes successful, increase the number of juggles before catching the ball.

Next, have the players normal by dropping the ball to their feet or thighs. This time, do not allow the players to catch the ball when they make a mistake. Instead, if the ball is not playable before hitting the ground, instruct the players to allow the soccer ball to bounce once before being played again.

As the next learning progression, have the players start the juggling by lifting the ball with their feet. At this point, the players hands should not be used at all as all the play should happen with their feet, thighs, chest, and head. Once the players are to this point in juggling, hold a competition that encourages players to juggle the soccer ball on their own time.

Always encourage players to juggle on their own time and make it a routine to bring juggling into every training session. The soccer juggling competitions always makes juggling fun and brings out some positive competition.

Coaching Youth Soccer - Free Kicks

When coaching youth soccer free kicks, it is essential that soccer coaches know the different types of free kicks. In soccer there are two types of free kicks: 1) a Direct Free Kick and 2) an Indirect Free Kick. As a youth soccer coach, it is important to know the difference in the two types of free kicks. When taking a direct kick, a goal can be scored directly with the first kick; however, an indirect kick can only be scored with a second touch by another player that touches the ball before it goes into the net.

It is important as a soccer coach to notice the referees signals which notify us whether the free kick is a direct or indirect free kick. If the referee only points in the direction of the infraction without raising his hand, this signals to the coach that the free kick is a direct free kick. However, if the referee signals the infraction with one hand raised above his head, this indicates the free kick is an indirect free kick and the referee will only lower his raised hand once the ball has been touched by a 2nd player on the field.

Both direct kicks and indirect free kicks are taken from the spot of the violation and opponents must be at least 10 yards away from the ball. Except for free kicks that are closer to the goal line than 10 yards and in this case they must be on the goal line. The ball must be placed stationary on the ground before the ball is played. If the foul occurs within the player's own penalty area, the ball must travel outside that area before it is in play.

Some types of free kicks include: free kicks from infractions on the field (watch for the referees signals to determine whether it is indirect or direct free kick), the penalty kick (direct free kick), the corner kick (direct free kick), and the goal kick (indirect free kick). There are various strategies to each of these kicks which will be discussed in later postings.

As a soccer coach, make sure you know whether your next free kick is an indirect or direct free kick. Check back for strategies and plays for various free kicks and set plays.