Kids enjoy being a part of soccer practice games the most when they get to score as many goals as possible. It is therefore necessary for you to find out and add as many opportunities as you can for their practice. If you try, you’ll find countless ways that can be used to create such opportunities for them. For instance: shooting drills, small sided games, and full-field scrimmages.
During small sided games and full field scrimmages, keep varying the processes to promote more goal scoring. Slot in those games that can be played without a goalkeeper or you can confine their movement inside the defined boundary. Expand the existing goalpost or you may include more goals for the purpose of increasing goal scoring opportunities.
In soccer training, when players develop their shooting technique and tactical knowledge, goal creation also increases. What you can do is bring in shooting techniques quite early in the kids developing stage but stress them more during the later stages, just as in passing skills.
Doing soccer drills is also one of the methods to make the players skilled at shooting techniques. Players become skilled at shooting the ball accurately and score many more goals by way of these shooting drills. So it is imperative for you as a coach to develop your player’s shooting skills more and more.
During soccer exercises, the players should be taught the way to strike the ball appropriately when shooting. Players are allowed to take shots from a close range repeatedly with the inside of the foot. When the inside of the feet is used, it has a greater precision. When the situation is such that more strength is needed to hit the ball, ask the players to strike the ball using the instep of the foot, with toes pointed downwards and ankle locked.
How you position the non-kicking foot impacts the height of the shot. So players should be taught to position the non kicking foot a little ahead of the ball to keep the shot low. You should eliminate all distractions for example moving balls, moving shooters, or defenders so that the player’s concentration is only on shooting the ball.
Begin the drill progression in soccer practice games by using a stationary ball and a shooter. As the players get comfortable with the shooting techniques, make the challenge difficult by putting the shooter in action before he/she hits the ball. This change will deviate from the accuracy of the striking efforts at first, because the player’s visualization must serve a double purpose.
One, it should help the shooter negotiate space in the direction of the ball and second, it should help him/her put their foot at the exact spot on the ball.
As the players gain confidence, create a game like situation where both the player and the ball are in motion. When they make progress in shooting, make them receive the balls at different speeds.
So there you have it! Create goal creation opportunities for your players in soccer practice games and make the most of your training sessions. To know more about youth soccer and enhance your coaching skills, enroll for our youth soccer coaching community.
Andre Botelho is a recognized authority in youth soccer coaching and has already helped thousands of youth coaches to dramatically improve their coaching skills. Learn how to explode your players’ skills and make training fun by downloading your free ebook at: Fun Soccer Drills.
Tags: soccer drills, soccer exercises, Soccer practice games, soccer training