Training - Wednesday, May 9

6:45PM - 8:15PM Field Training

Pics from this session can be found here

With a sure-to-be tough game tomorrow evening against Eden Prairie to open up our Premier league schedule and our second State Cup game on Saturday against Dakota Rev, I didn't want to do too much with the girls tonight.  I did want to get back to some technical finishing work, but wanted to set up the training session so that I would be able to focus on the finishing in smaller groups rather than in a 17:1 ratio.

Here's what I did.  With 17 players, I divided the group into 4 teams of 4.  The 17th player was Mudd, our GK.  Two teams (8 players total) would work with me on finishing while the other two teams would play various small sided games.  The teams would rotate after a set amount of time so that the two teams shooting would go to play small sided soccer, and the two teams playing would come to shoot. 

To make things interesting and competitive for the girls, we kept track of points in everything (in the shooting and in the small sided games) to try and determine a winning team for the evening.

As you will see below, I didn't just send the two playing teams off to play 4v4.  I set up one field that offered 3 different small sided games (2v2 to Goal, 4v4 to Two Goals, and 4v4 to Goal) without a complete re-set up.  In this way, the training session flowed well and there was not much down time for field set up. 

Along with the variation in small sided games, I also changed up the shooting each round.  First round was first time shots from lay backs, second round was focused on far post ships, bending balls (the skill goals), and the third round was volleying technique.

We ended the evening with Power Finesse, one of the team's favorite shooting drills.  As you can see below, this game features one girl working (and the GK) with 15 girls standing around waiting for their turn.  I hate activities like this but the girls absolutely love this game, so every once in a while I breakdown and we play it. 

I. 4v4 Challenge - Round #1

Finishing Work - One Time Lay Backs

Set Up

• 2 teams of 4 players, each player with a soccer ball
• 1 goal with a GK
• Starting disks for each team 16 yards and 28 yards from goal (see below)

Procedure

• Each team designates a retriever (D) who stands behind the goal, a passer (C) who starts at the disk closest to the goal, and then two players (A and B) with all the soccer balls at the furthest disk
• Blue goes first, A passes to C who lays a ball back for A to shoot
• A goes to C, C goes to D, D retrieves the shot and takes their place in line behind B
• Green goes next and follows the same sequence

Make It Competitive

• +1 point for a goal if the GK gets a touch on the ball
• +3 points for a goal if it goes in "clean" (without the GK touching it)
• Double points for weak footed shots (trying to encourage weak foot development)

Coaching Points

• Verbal communication ("Set it!")
• Visual Communication (hand pointing to the side of the body you want the ball played to)
• Tough to keep the ball low when it is rolling back to you - concentrate on hitting the top half of the ball, upper body over the ball at impact
• Pick one half of the goal or the other to shoot at, commit to your shot and visualize the outcome

Field Play - 2v2 to Goal

Set Up

• 2 teams of 4
• One 40x30 yard field with a midfield line set up as shown below (you will use this same field for three different games)
• teams split into 2 teams of 2, each pair plays against 2 players from the opposite team in a half of the field
• 3 soccer balls per game, one in each of the two goals, one on the field

Procedure

• Teams play 2v2 to goal
• If you miss the goal with a shot, you must go retrieve the ball and your teammate plays 1v2

Make It Competitive

• +1 point for each goal

Coaching Points

• I let them play

For Round #1, I went for 5 minutes.  On the 2v2 fields, the girls played for 2 minutes, rested for 1 minute as they switched opponents, then played for another 2 minutes.  Doesn't seem like a lot of time but the players will get tired easily in this game.

On the finishing field, the teams worked for 2.5 minutes then switched sides and immediately picked up where they left off. 

After the five minutes, blue and green headed over to play 2v2, gold and gray came to work on finishing.

II. 4v4 Challenge - Round #2

For Round #2, blue played gold and green played gray.

Finishing Work - Bending Balls

During Round #1, all the girls tired to hammer the ball as hard as they could at goal. 

I used to do this as well back in the day, thinking that the only way to beat the GK was to kick the ball as hard as I could and that the best goals were the ones that rocketed into the back of the net.

I distinctly remember my first professional shooting practice with the Tampa Bay Rowdies in the summer of 1992.  We were going through a simple give and go sequence finishing with a shot on goal.  After my second or third shot, all of which had gone in by the way, I heard a "Hold up son!  Let us have a quick chat with you."  I turned to see Rodney Marsh, our General Manager, sitting in a golf cart and beckoning me over.  I knew his history as an English International and English First Division player, and all of us players were in awe of him.  Yes!  The head honcho has just seen me rocket the ball past Golden Boy (rookie sensation and my roommate, Billy Andracki) three times and I'm about to get seriously complimented by Mr. Marsh! 

"You think those are good goals, do ya?"  He said to me.  I was obviously taken by surprise by the comment, but composed myself enough to respond, "Umm... yeah."

"Let me tell you something son, any pro can strike a ball well.  The classiest goals, the ones that set you apart from the others, are the ones in which you use skill, not power."  Right or wrong, to this day those words ring clear as crystal in my head. 

Same set up and rotation as One Time Lay Backs, with the focus this time on bending balls into the corners or chipping the balls over the GK from wide angles.

Instead of laying a ball back, I asked the passers to lay a ball out to either side.

 

I went over the technique of bending balls with the inside and outside of the foot, as well as gave the girls the thought of trying to float a high ball into the opposite corner from a wide angle.

Field Play - 4v4 to Two Goals

Same field set up as 2v2 to Goal, but I had the girls pick up the midfield disk line.  They now played 4v4 to two goals.

Each half of Round #2 lasted for 6 minutes.

III. 4v4 Challenge - Round #3

Finishing Work - Volleying Technique

Set Up

• Same as One Touch Lay Backs

Procedure

• A passes to B who flicks the ball up and catches it, then tosses an underhand ball up in the air for A to volley after one bounce

Make It Competitive

• If B does not flick the ball up and catch it, any goal scored is +1 point
• If B flicks it up and catches it, then +3 points for a goal if the GK touches it, +6 points for a clean goal

Coaching Points

• Toe down, ankle locked
• Contact the ball at a point below your knee - patience for the ball to drop
• Upper body over the ball at impact
• Looking for top spin on the ball

Field Play - 4v4 to Goal

Set Up

• Same as above
• 4x2 yard crease around each goal

Procedure

• Play 4v4 to goal
• No player may enter the crease (this prevents a defender from standing right in front of the goal)

Make It Competitive

• +1 point for each goal

Coaching Points

• Let them play

IV. Power Finesse

Set Up

• 2 teams of 8 lined up about 25 yards from goal at two starting disks
• All the soccer balls with the coach to one side of the goal

Procedure

• Blue goes first
• Coach passes a ball out to the top of the box, 16 - 20 yards from goal for the player to shoot first time (without controlling the ball first) - this is the power shot
• Immediately after the shot, the coach throws another ball out for the same player to finish about 8 yards from goal - this is the finesse shot
• The finesse pass out can be rolled on the ground, though I try to play a ball in the air for these girls to finish on the volley or with their head
• GK must hold their line on the finesse shot - not come off their line to smother the ball prior to the shooter getting a shot off

Make It Competitive

For a player to remain in the game, they must score either their power shot or their finesse shot
If a player missed both shots, they are out of the game and wait behind the goal
If a player who is out catches a ball that is shot over the net by the opposing team, they are back in the game
If the shooter scores one of the two shots, they return to await their next turn in line
If they score both goals, they get to pick one player on the other team who takes a turn immediately after begin selected and MUST score both goals to remain in the game
Last team to have a player "alive" in the shooting line wins the game