How to Have a Good Soccer Practice
Focus on 1-2 skills or ideas each practice., Start practice with a mobile, dynamic warm up., Aim for 500 touches per player in each practice., Teach a technique, then reinforce it with drills and game-like situations., Keep the whole team engaged as...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Focus on 1-2 skills or ideas each practice.
This is especially important with younger kids, but even older players benefit from focused practices.
Don't try and teach individual defending, corner kick plays, shooting, and two new drills on the same day.
Instead, plan ahead of time to focus on one or two specific areas, allowing players to really concentrate on improving these areas.
Some areas of practice naturally work well together, as well:
Crossing and aerial work (headers, clearances, marking in the box, etc.) One on one defending and shooting.
Short passes and off-the-ball movement.
Close foot-skills and combination play (overlaps, one-two passes, etc.) -
Step 2: Start practice with a mobile
Static stretching, the classic "bend and hold," can actually cause more problems than it prevents.Today's coaches use dynamic stretching, which gets the body moving and prepares your players with more game-like motions and movements.
To make an effective dynamic warm-up, have the players:
Jog for 5-10 minutes, often with a ball at their feet.
Switching every 20 yards (18.3Â m) or so, do lunges, high knees, butt kickers, side-shuffles, jumping jacks, and skips.
Do 2-3 accelerating sprints, where they start at a jog and then work to top speed.
Lightly stretch any sore muscles., Obviously, you aren't going to count.
The more important concept is that players should be on the ball as much as possible in practice.
While there are plenty of uses for ball-less drills
-- teaching positioning, discussing tactics, working on plays
-- almost every drill can be made more efficient if the players are getting touches on the ball as well.Be aware of drills where only 1-2 players touch the ball.
Can you incorporate passing, break the drill into smaller groups, or find another way to get the ball on player's feet? High-intensity ball drills, such as passing drills, dribbling activities, or even partnered crossing, are a great way to start practice with a focus on technique. , If you're focusing on how to curve crosses, for example, you don't just want to teach it and move on.
Start with a demonstration about how to curve the ball, then let the kids start trying it in pairs.
From there, reinforce the skill through drills or scenarios.
For example, you might do a crossing drill where players must take a touch down the line, then hit a cross to an attacker in the box.
Finding 2-3 ways to teach and practice the skill is the best way to nail it down. , Avoid activities where most players are standing in line, or where one group of players sit and watch for long periods of time.
As much as possible, keep kids active and moving.
If you do have drills that require some standing around, there are ways to use the time effectively:
When players are in line, have them pair up and pass while waiting.
They must keep their head up as the pass so they don't miss their turn in line, which is another valuable skill.
Instead of sitting a group out during scrimmages or drills, separate them out on the end lines as "wings" that the offensive team can pass to, teaching good wide, expansive play. , For example, say you worked on crosses and headers in the first half of practice.
To drive the point home, you might play a scrimmage where aerial goals count for two points, or that a team must hit at least one long cross before they are allowed to score.
If you're working on smart passing and triangles, don't play a full-field scrimmage
-- keep the area small to make dribbling impossible.
Scrimmages are not "free play" time, they are the time to practice the skills learned in practice in a game-like setting.
In general, smaller scrimmages (3v3, 4v4, etc.) are best for fitness and ball skills, whereas larger scrimmages help focus on tactics, off-ball movement, and positioning., Practice is the time to get better, not to show off what players already know.
You want to create an atmosphere where players are willing to make mistakes, as long as they are working hard to fix them.
For example, a player may hit five bad crosses in a row with their left foot because they are right-footed.
Don't yell at them, which teaches them to just use their stronger right foot.
Let them make the mistakes now and praise them for working on weaknesses.
In general, the best way to get a lazier player to work hard isn't to yell at them, but to praise the players that are challenging themselves.
The other players will often follow suit to earn your attention., If you see a player trying to hit a cross and they always swing their legs across their body without turning their hips, don't just sit and watch even if they hit a good cross occasionally.
You want to be positive but proactive to make your players the best they can be.
When correcting bad behavior or technique, use the "sandwich method" of a compliment, then advice, then another compliment: "I love how hard you're working, but I need you to focus on squaring your hips when shooting.
You've got a really good shot, this will just make it more accurate."
Conditioning is a necessary part of training, but that doesn't mean players will like it.
The more you engage kids, the harder they will work, so finding conditioning that isn't only punishment or grueling sprints can actually help your team get stronger faster.
Some ideas include:
Getting conditioning through scrimmages: make the field bigger with fewer players to force more movement, make the team that got scored on sprint back to their goal before starting, or run 1-2 minute "burst games" where the losing team must do push-ups.
Have the player's pair up and pass back and forth while jogging​ or, if you have enough balls, have every player dribble as they run.
Do push-ups and sit-ups with the team, showing it's not just punishment, it's a good way for everyone to get stronger. -
Step 3: dynamic warm up.
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Step 4: Aim for 500 touches per player in each practice.
-
Step 5: Teach a technique
-
Step 6: then reinforce it with drills and game-like situations.
-
Step 7: Keep the whole team engaged as much as possible.
-
Step 8: Tailor scrimmages to the skills you worked on in practice.
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Step 9: Praise hustle and hard work just as much as technical ability.
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Step 10: Correct techniques and mistakes as you see them.
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Step 11: Try to make conditioning more than just running or sprints.
Detailed Guide
This is especially important with younger kids, but even older players benefit from focused practices.
Don't try and teach individual defending, corner kick plays, shooting, and two new drills on the same day.
Instead, plan ahead of time to focus on one or two specific areas, allowing players to really concentrate on improving these areas.
Some areas of practice naturally work well together, as well:
Crossing and aerial work (headers, clearances, marking in the box, etc.) One on one defending and shooting.
Short passes and off-the-ball movement.
Close foot-skills and combination play (overlaps, one-two passes, etc.)
Static stretching, the classic "bend and hold," can actually cause more problems than it prevents.Today's coaches use dynamic stretching, which gets the body moving and prepares your players with more game-like motions and movements.
To make an effective dynamic warm-up, have the players:
Jog for 5-10 minutes, often with a ball at their feet.
Switching every 20 yards (18.3Â m) or so, do lunges, high knees, butt kickers, side-shuffles, jumping jacks, and skips.
Do 2-3 accelerating sprints, where they start at a jog and then work to top speed.
Lightly stretch any sore muscles., Obviously, you aren't going to count.
The more important concept is that players should be on the ball as much as possible in practice.
While there are plenty of uses for ball-less drills
-- teaching positioning, discussing tactics, working on plays
-- almost every drill can be made more efficient if the players are getting touches on the ball as well.Be aware of drills where only 1-2 players touch the ball.
Can you incorporate passing, break the drill into smaller groups, or find another way to get the ball on player's feet? High-intensity ball drills, such as passing drills, dribbling activities, or even partnered crossing, are a great way to start practice with a focus on technique. , If you're focusing on how to curve crosses, for example, you don't just want to teach it and move on.
Start with a demonstration about how to curve the ball, then let the kids start trying it in pairs.
From there, reinforce the skill through drills or scenarios.
For example, you might do a crossing drill where players must take a touch down the line, then hit a cross to an attacker in the box.
Finding 2-3 ways to teach and practice the skill is the best way to nail it down. , Avoid activities where most players are standing in line, or where one group of players sit and watch for long periods of time.
As much as possible, keep kids active and moving.
If you do have drills that require some standing around, there are ways to use the time effectively:
When players are in line, have them pair up and pass while waiting.
They must keep their head up as the pass so they don't miss their turn in line, which is another valuable skill.
Instead of sitting a group out during scrimmages or drills, separate them out on the end lines as "wings" that the offensive team can pass to, teaching good wide, expansive play. , For example, say you worked on crosses and headers in the first half of practice.
To drive the point home, you might play a scrimmage where aerial goals count for two points, or that a team must hit at least one long cross before they are allowed to score.
If you're working on smart passing and triangles, don't play a full-field scrimmage
-- keep the area small to make dribbling impossible.
Scrimmages are not "free play" time, they are the time to practice the skills learned in practice in a game-like setting.
In general, smaller scrimmages (3v3, 4v4, etc.) are best for fitness and ball skills, whereas larger scrimmages help focus on tactics, off-ball movement, and positioning., Practice is the time to get better, not to show off what players already know.
You want to create an atmosphere where players are willing to make mistakes, as long as they are working hard to fix them.
For example, a player may hit five bad crosses in a row with their left foot because they are right-footed.
Don't yell at them, which teaches them to just use their stronger right foot.
Let them make the mistakes now and praise them for working on weaknesses.
In general, the best way to get a lazier player to work hard isn't to yell at them, but to praise the players that are challenging themselves.
The other players will often follow suit to earn your attention., If you see a player trying to hit a cross and they always swing their legs across their body without turning their hips, don't just sit and watch even if they hit a good cross occasionally.
You want to be positive but proactive to make your players the best they can be.
When correcting bad behavior or technique, use the "sandwich method" of a compliment, then advice, then another compliment: "I love how hard you're working, but I need you to focus on squaring your hips when shooting.
You've got a really good shot, this will just make it more accurate."
Conditioning is a necessary part of training, but that doesn't mean players will like it.
The more you engage kids, the harder they will work, so finding conditioning that isn't only punishment or grueling sprints can actually help your team get stronger faster.
Some ideas include:
Getting conditioning through scrimmages: make the field bigger with fewer players to force more movement, make the team that got scored on sprint back to their goal before starting, or run 1-2 minute "burst games" where the losing team must do push-ups.
Have the player's pair up and pass back and forth while jogging​ or, if you have enough balls, have every player dribble as they run.
Do push-ups and sit-ups with the team, showing it's not just punishment, it's a good way for everyone to get stronger.
About the Author
Jacqueline Lane
Specializes in breaking down complex DIY projects topics into simple steps.
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