In youth soccer drills, the basis of a game is its defense and though I strongly believe in this, you may have your own opinions. When the score in a game is 0-0, it is said to be a perfectly played defensive soccer by both sides.
But, in kids soccer drills, there are two phases to winning a game. First is by exhibiting a wonderful defense. And the second is by having a great offense that has the capacity to overcome the other team’s defense.
If your players are not able to get the ball, they’ll not be able to score. There are a few coaches who tend to teach their players either of the two; offense or defense. But, a player must be given complete training in both playing defense when the ball is in other person’s custody and offense when it is with him or her.
In youth soccer practice, players who let the ball go out of their possession should instantly go for the ball. This is necessary and most appropriate because the person who loses the ball is the one closest to the ball. As a result, this player should try to put pressure on the one who has the possession of the ball now.
This is to say that he should attempt to get the ball back into his custody again. An added benefit is that the remaining team members would also get a chance to recover and take their defensive positions. This will not allow the player in the opposite team to make a free run on the field with the ball.
You can teach the players these skills by demonstrating the following techniques.
Immediate chase: When implemented correctly in youth soccer drills, it exerts a lot of pressure on the opponents from all sides. And then what it leads to is lost possession of the ball or a bad pass.
Fall back and delay: This requires the remaining team members to fall back, and challenge the opponent with the ball and delay him or her from getting into their team’s goal area.
As the most risky places on the field is the center, you must instruct your players to make the opponent run towards the touchline. This ultimately leads to the player not being able to make a pass and also move around in different directions.
Arc of Concentration: In terms of scoring, the Arc of Concentration is the riskiest area. Maximum number of goals is scored by players in the arc of concentration. So it becomes very important to teach the players in youth soccer coaching to try and take the ball out of this area.
This arc is right ahead of the goal. It starts from one corner post of the goal right through the corner of the goal box and moving right up to the touchline. With the ball inside this area, it is highly probable that a goal will be scored.
These are the most effective and easy ways to teach your players the strategy of the game and youth soccer drills in an easy manner.
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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: http://www.soccerdrillstips.com.
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