Kids play soccer simply because it is fun to play. They get to run around, kick a ball and have the comradeship of team play. One of the biggest detractions to playing soccer is a dull practice that doesn’t challenge them with new techniques to try and worst of all standing around in a line while someone else is kicking a ball at a goal. Soccer practices don’t have to be dull and boring. Soccer practices don’t have to involve running laps around the pitch. Soccer drills can be fun.
Everyone who plays soccer runs. When they are on the field, most of the running involves short bursts of speed combined with quick acceleration. Running laps around the field builds the wrong types of muscles to provide short bursts of speed and quick acceleration. Distance running creates long muscles. Short muscles are what are required for acceleration and bursts of speed. Developing these muscles demands that the player during practice emulate the conditions that are on the pitch during match day. Practices that emulate matches eliminate the need for lines of players waiting for the ball and running laps around the pitch.
Nearly every practice field can be observed to have a team waiting in line to take a shot on goal. There may or not be a goalkeeper in the goal. Players standing in line become bored and loose interest in the practice. A better method of providing this experience is to create game situations for the players. Lets create a hypothetical team of 12 players. Create six teams of players and place them into a 1 V 1 situation. Reduce the size of the playing area and play these six teams into 6 small fields. The players play in a 1 V 1 situation with a goal to shoot at. This develops the techniques required to beat an opponent on the field during a match. The players are allowed to play in the 1 V 1 situation for a time then they have the opportunity to switch and play against another opponent.
Passing the ball from one teammate to the next is a requirement for soccer. The ball should be doing the work, not the players. After the 1 V 1 exercise is concluded, the coach can take the six 1 V 1 groups and create three 2 V 2 groups. Each team creates a goal in a triangular pattern. The playing field is enlarged from the 1 V 1 area. Each team is supplied with a particularly colored ball. The three teams then play each attempting to score on an opponent’s goal while defending their own. Restrictions can be put onto the players requiring a certain number of passes be made between teammates before a goal is scored.
The 12 players are then broken down to two 6 V 6 teams. The 6 V 6 teams are then placed onto ” of the pitch with small goals. They then play a 6 V 6 match in which restrictions can be placed upon them. These restrictions can include a consecutive number of completed passes without an opponent touching the ball, the method by which the goal is scored, on the ground, in the air, by a header etc. The small size of the field and the reduced number of players insure that everyone gets touches on the ball and that a significant amount of short distance running is involved in the practice.
Prior to starting these drills, the coach should introduce a skill or technique that needs to be emphasized during the practice. This skill or technique can be incorporated into the restrictions placed upon the player during the practice session. The running involved in these drills replaces the wasteful running laps around the field, increases the players’ skill in a 1 V 1 situation and improves their match technique. There should be a period between each drill when the coach reinforces the technique presented prior to practice starting. This “break” period also allows time for rest and recovery and water intake.
Restrictions that are placed upon the players are unlimited. The coach however must insure that the restrictions placed upon the players are within the capabilities of the players. If the players do not have much experience in playing the game, then the restriction can be as simple as only using the left foot during the drill. More experienced players can be provided more advanced restrictions such as scoring with a header. The coach through observation of his team during a match can determine what techniques he needs to have his team work on and design the restrictions to provide that work.
Providing a series of drills that advance from 1 V 1 to nearly full team conditions replicate the conditions of a soccer match. The players are constantly active building muscles that are appropriate for the match conditions that are met. The skills acquired during these training sessions provide the players the experience of playing against an opponent in a 1 V 1 situation all the way up to playing with a full team. These training sessions are enjoyable for the players and provide them an opportunity to develop and hone their skills during match situations.