Welcome to the Soccer Awareness Coaches Corner. Browse through soccer drills, small sided games, tactical thoughts, full sessions and a variety of resources. Posts marked “Training Center Exclusive” are for members only.
Quick Transition Directional Play Promoting Passing and Movement Off the Ball
This session improves quick decision making, tight control because the spaces are small to play in, and thinking in advance due to the switch in direction of the play. You can also work on the defending players.
The following session is an excerpt from “Soccer Awareness Coaching Curriculums presented by Game Sizes: 4 v 4, 7 v 7, 9 v 9 through to 11 v 11”
This eBook covers up to 14 weeks of training for each game size presented as one session per week. All sessions have small sided games scrimmage set ups as close as we can get it to finish to reflect the theme of the session
As the program moves from 4 v 4 through to 11 v 11 the focus changes from individual teachings at 4 v 4, to small sided situations at 7 v 7, to Phases of play and tactical needs at 9 v 9; through to team tactical development at 11 v 11. 11 v 11 focuses on advanced training ideas to teach the “team”.
Quick continuous attacking play which is good for anaerobic fitness. Here the players are breaking one way passing to an outside player and switching positions, inside player out, outside player in then attack the other side of the zone.
Coaching Points:
Technical ability on the ball in 1 v 1 situations.
Quick Transition in attack - As the transition between players happens for example (3) changes with (5), the numbers team must get the ball to (4) as quickly as possible.
Observe the movement of (1), (2) and (6) in terms of their support positions as the directional change takes place, they must move in anticipation to find space to help the player on the ball as the switch occurs.
Observe also, as the change occurs, the positions of the defending team; has the decision been made quickly enough who presses the ball. Are the other defensive players supporting and covering and especially tracking runners off the ball. The coach must learn to look away from the ball and observe what may happen next before it happens.
This session improves quick decision making, tight control because the spaces are small to play in, and thinking in advance due to the switch in direction of the play. You can also work on the defending players.
Here (3) passes to (5) and (3) leaves the area. As the ball is traveling to (5), (1), (2) and (6) must get into a position to help (5) as early as possible so in theory, (5) can make a one touch pass to any or all of them. Thus (5) already has three options of a pass.
Their movement is OFF THE BALL and away from their markers.
Of course the defenders will move to compensate but for the sake of what I am trying to show it is easier to get the point across by showing the movements of the attacking team only.
The attacking players in the actual practice may get free like this anyway if they time it correctly.
The attacking players each being free to help (5) by being open for a pass.
(5) May elect to run with the ball but at least three are three options available for a pass if needed.
(5) May even elect to play a long pass straight to (4) on the other side of the field if the pressure from the closest defender is not fast enough. You may then ask the closest player (in this case player 2), not necessarily the passing player (5) to be the switching player instead if (5) passes it directly to (4).
You could even then work on defending in this game though focus on defending totally in the session or attacking totally in the session it is better not to try to do both as it can be confusing for the players.
Progression:
If a player beats an opponent in a 1 v 1 situation the team gets an extra point or goal each time.
Play one and two touch; reward each successful one touch pass with a goal to encourage the players to play quickly.
Competitive: Ensure you keep the score and have a finishing score to achieve as this keeps the players focused and motivated to win.
Academy Level: A Fun Awareness Warm-up for Improving Peripheral Vision
Use this warm up to work on awareness of where other players are (in this case all the other players are defenders trying to win possession of your ball) whilst maintaining possession of the ball ensuring players are looking around away from their own ball.
The following comes from the Soccer Awareness 12 Week Academy Level Training Plan!
Do you want to get to the next level in your team's soccer development? If so check out this specialized coaching and training program by our Founder, Wayne Harrison, is designed to cover: Technique; Skill; Physical; Tactical and Psychological / Mental Developmental Training.
Each player has a ball to play with. They must protect their own soccer ball but at the same time try to kick someone else’s ball out the area. When your ball is kicked out you cannot kick anyone else’s ball out. You can vary the game by allowing them chances, maybe up to three each before they are ultimately out of the game. When they are out have them juggle the ball to keep practicing skills.
Play until the last player is left with their own ball still and everyone else’s ball has been kicked out. This player is the winner. Variations can be you have three areas of play they can work in. They start in one then if they are kicked out they go to the next and so on, this way they get two chances but also you can have two winners in each group with an overall winner at the end. Or you can just decrease the area they are playing in to make it harder as there is less space to work in.
Coaching Points:
- Skills practice including Dribbling and Turning,
- Shielding,
- Tackling,
- Awareness of where other players are (in this case all the other players are defenders trying to win possession of your ball) whilst maintaining possession of the ball ensuring players are looking around away from their own ball,
- Anaerobic Fitness work. These are practices that are fun but ensure relevant skills are practiced by the players.
This is a session that is fun but ensures relevant skills are practiced by the players.
Kick Out Game
There are 12 players in this session, 9 with a ball, 3 without. The 3 without have to try and win a ball off a player with a ball and kick it out the area. If a player has their soccer ball kicked out then they can join in with the other players helping them keep possession by passing and support play.
To make this competitive rotate the players so different groups of 4 work together, time each group to see who does the best.
To decrease the time it takes if the defenders can win a ball and pass it to the coach (who is constantly moving around outside the area) for example 3 times out of the 9 balls won, then the clock stops. This represents winning the ball and keeping possession in a game rather than kicking it out of play and losing possession again in a game. It may be the first 3 balls the defenders win.
Then have it where they need to get all the balls to the coach, a bigger more relevant challenge and have the coach moving around the area.
The session develops from an individual 1 v 1 attacking / defending work out to a passing and support situation. You can work on the defenders by encouraging them to work as a team, maybe in 2’s for instance to have a better chance of winning the soccer balls. The defenders can pass the ball around between themselves until one can find the coach with a pass. Attackers during this time can try to win it back before it goes out the area.
We produced the eBook "Tactical Thoughts on the Development of the 4 v 4, 7 v 7 and 9 v 9 Game Sizes" covering information on team shape and development. We now add this eBook to provide Curriculums in each game size to support the tactical games eBook.
What this eBook offers you:
Its all done here for you, paying attention to the ages of the players and the depth of teaching suitable to them.
As the program moves from 4 v 4 through to 11 v 11 the focus changes from individual teachings at 4 v 4, to small sided situations at 7 v 7, to Phases of play and tactical needs at 9 v 9; through to team tactical development at 11 v 11.
11 v 11 focuses on advanced training ideas to teach the “team”.
This eBook covers up to 14 weeks of training for each game size presented as one session per week.
All sessions have small sided games scrimmage set ups as close as we can get it to finish to reflect the theme of the session.