Lend me your ears even though you may differ with me on this. Talking about soccer drills, the most important thing for the players is to have an understanding of the game for which they should be taught the basics first. The soccer training we talked about must happen first before starting with teaching them the more difficult parts or the best way of playing the game.
As a coach, it becomes your responsibility to ensure that players begin with hitting the right chord. So teach them all the essential soccer skills that form the basis of the game. Discussed below are some basics of the game that every budding player must know.
Training the players on dribbling and shooting skills: These are the two very basic skills that players must learn in the game. To become a successful player, these skills have a major role to play in their game. Nonetheless, training these soccer exercises must be arranged for in advance.
Start with positioning several players over the soccer field and arrange all players in a straight line on either ends of field.
After that indicate the players to kick off. They would then run onto the field, catch a ball with their foot, while dribbling and shooting it into a goal on the opposite end of the field. These two soccer drills will be easily mastered by the players if they practice it regularly.
Passing the ball and following directions: These are the two skills that help players to discover and practice unity in game. Soccer after all, is a team sport that should be shared equally between all teammates. It’ll be impossible for them to display team spirit if they don’t learn good quality passing skills or don’t understand simple directions.
There is a simple drill that can be used to teach them about passing the ball and following directions. To begin with, line up the entire team in one row at the either end of the field. At a distance of about 5-10 feet, any one player in the team should stand in front of that line.
You’ll signal them to go and the first person in line will attempt to catch the ball from the teammate in the field. When you tell them to stop, the player having the ball should pass it to the first individual in line. This soccer practice will teach the players to listen as well as follow your instructions.
Handling the Ball: Being the coach, decide and take time to teach players how to handle the ball using other parts of their body besides their feet. Because of this the players will be more spontaneous in their play while on field. Do this by making the player’s practice bouncing the ball with their heads and knees, or stopping the ball with their backs.
This is the easiest way to teach basic soccer drills that can produce great players who can then move on to actual game skills and more complicated routine. Find yourself abundant soccer specific information in form of articles, newsletters, tips, and guides at our youth soccer coaching community. So go ahead and become a member today.
Andre Botelho is a recognized expert in youth soccer coaching. He influences well over 35,000 youth coaches each year with his unique coaching philosophy, and makes it really easy to explode your players’ skills and make training more fun in record time. To download your free youth soccer coaching guide visit: Soccer drills.