Coach’s Corner

D r i l l   o f   t h e   m o n t h . . . .
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A p r i l : P r e – G a m e W a r m – u p . . . .

Drill Set-up:

• The field is set-up in a 30x30m grid (15m between each marker)
• Have 2 teams set-up with 3-4 players (6-8 in total for each team).
• Position the balls at each corner in case the drill breaks down – this enables a quick restart
• Drill starts from Teams 2a and 2b. In this example we start with player 1 (Team 2a).
• Player 1 plays a pass to the first player from Team 1a and gets a one touch return pass (position 2)
• From position 3, player 1 then plays a long pass to the next player in Team 2b and continues the run to the end of the line (Team 2b)
• The first player from Team 1a continues the run to the end of the line in Team 1b
• The drill is exactly the same from the other end.
• Green players will rotate from corner to conrner and orange players will rotate from side to side
• Encourage 1 touch passing at pace.
• This drill focuses on right foot passing, simply change directions to work on opposite foot (Green teams change corners and Orange teams work other side of marker.
• Rotate Green and Orange teams every few minutes
• Remember that the drill is to have two footballs working simultaneously
• From this set-up, a small sided game of 6v6 (8v8) 1-2 touch possession is played without any changes to field size, equipment or players
• This drill can be modified to suit younger ages e.g. number of touches, size of field etc

M a r c h : D r i b b l i n g & D e f e n d i n g 1 v 1 . . . .

One of the most important aspects required for young football players is to learn how to dribble & defend in a 1v1 situation:
The key to these skills is provided below.
Dribbling:

• Use feints & tricks e.g. stepovers, ronaldo chops, scissors, maradonna spin etc (promote creativity)
• Use a change of pace to throw the defender
• Dribble with the ball between the feet (this allows the player to move in both directions)
• Accelerate past the player and avoid them a chance to have a second attempt to tackle
• Avoid turning your back on the defender for a long period

Defending:

• Maintain a low centre of gravity
• Stay alert on the toes and be patient
• Use the front foot to tackle
• Fake to tackle to force mistakes
• Tackle when 100% success is guaranteed

Drill Set-up:

• Place 10 footballs on top of 10 markers
• Have 2 teams on each side of the markers with the coach in between who acts as a server with the footballs
• Play starts when the coach instructs the players. On the call to ‘go’ both players sprint to the end of the markers and back into the middle.
• The coach plays the ball to the first player in the grid
• The players dual 1v1 (the goal being to knock off one of the footballs off the markers – this ball is not replaced)
• The team who successfully knocks off 5 footballs first wins the game
• Encourage your players to dribble and not to shoot/pass from distance
• Discuss key points with the players and attempt again. Have the pllayers analyse the techniques of their team members

F e b r u a r y : O v e r l a p p i n g . . . .

Do your left and right fullbacks become part of the attack?

The key to overlapping is to have both the winger and fullback working close so they can link up with each other. When the ball is played to the winger, it is ideal if the winger is facing the opponent (forward) in space. The first touch of the winger must be inside to allow space for the overlapping fullback. Timing of the pass is crucial. The winger must delay the pass and try to commit the defender which will allow the overlapping fullback to penetrate the space left by the defender. This will also make it harder for the defender to recover quickly. This sequence of overlapping can also act as a decoy run. It is then important that the winger sits in to fill the space left by the overlapping fullback to avoid a quick counter attack if possession is lost but must still maintain a good distance to support the fullback. Visit the following link for a coaching drill:

Drill Set-up:

• Start with the fullback (1a) passing the ball to a midfielder (2).
• The fullback starts to overlap around the outside of midfielder (2) while midfielder (2) passes to attacker (4a).
• The attacker turns the ball back to midfielder (3), who plays a ball towards the right corner and into the run of the fullback.
• The fullback crosses the ball and the attackers (4a) and (5) run into the penalty area to attempt a shot on goal. Attacker (5) runs to the near post while attacker (4a) finds a central position by arching their run so they are coming forward to meet the ball, (4b).
• Make sure you rotate your players so everyone has a go at overlapping.
• You can easily advance this session by first adding passive defenders, then full pressure in a small sided game.