Training - Wednesday, May 30

With storm clouds gathering, we took the field at Mac for our sole training session this week.  We've had a lot of soccer in the last month and the next two weeks things die down a bit game-wise.  We meet Wayzata again tomorrow in league play, then get in 5 training sessions before meeting up with the Woodbury team on June 12.  After that we have another 3 or 4 sessions, a rematch against Coon Rapids, a game against our White team, then off to Des Moines for Regionals.

My idea tonight was to get in a lot of technical finishing.  We have two regulation-sized goals at Mac that are relatively easy to move around the field.  This allowed me to set up a series of repetitive shooting exercises then change the field around to finish with some fun, competitive games to two goals.

I started with some ball striking work, building on our inside of the foot bending balls from last session while also introducing the outside of the foot bending ball. 

Before sending the girls off to work, I sat them all down behind me and proceeded to strike four different balls at the same target.  I first hit a high lofted ball, then a low driven ball, then an inside of the foot bending ball, and finally an outside of the foot bending ball.  All four soccer balls started in the same spot, and I began my approach to each ball from the same spot.  The key here is for the players to be able to hit all four types of passes coming from one starting position, changing the flight of the ball by foot placement/alignment, where they make contact with the ball, and how their leg swings at the ball.

Using these ideas, I could hit about a half a dozen different passes - low/high inside bender, low/high outside bender, low driven, and high lofted.

I. Ball Masters Program - Individual Skills Development

Ball Striking Technique

• High Lofted Pass
• Instep Drive
• Inside of the Foot Bender
• Outside of the Foot Bender

The girls worked in pairs trying to strike passes that their teammate called for.  For example, if Getch and Becs were working together and Getch had the ball, Becs would yell out "High lofted pass!" and Getch would try to hit that type of pass to Becs.

* * * * *

The coaching point I really wanted to try and hammer into the girls today was how to finish low crosses played across the box when the attacker is in the middle of the goal or at the far post.  Most girls think that to score a goal, you have to swing your leg straight up the field at the goal.  This thought makes finishing crosses difficult as, especially when the ball is played across at pace, the timing of the leg swing has to be perfect in order to impart any type of power into the ball.  Instead, I want the girls to turn their hips to face the ball more, allowing the inside of the foot to also be turned more towards the ball.  This "new" foot angle allows an increased chance of better contact on the ball while also putting the ball "back where it came from" - back toward the post that the cross was coming from.  Not only will this though increase the girls chances of making good contact with the ball, but moreover the opposing GKs who are playing say a cross from their left will be moving to their right across the goal as the ball is played across.  Their momentum will help them get to any shots played to their right side while making it nearly impossible to stop even a weak shot hit back where it came from to the GKs left.

I thought long and hard about how to try and get this point across to the girls.  Eventually, I settled on using a prop.  I had Maddie bring a tennis racket and some tennis balls to training.  I got the girls together then asked for a volunteer who thought they had mad tennis skills to step up.  Hannah gladly took up the challenge.  I stood Hannah at the far post about 6 yards away from goal while I stood at the near post.  I asked Hannah to make sure her hips and the tennis racket head were both facing straight ahead of her towards the far post area of the goal, then asked her to try and hit the tennis balls I was going to throw in front of her into the far post area of the goal.

Now I'm no Johan Santana, but I proceeded to blow three tennis balls in a row past Hannah's face while she flailed hopelessly trying to make contact.  I then did the same thing to Bidi who had been heckling Hannah for her apparent tennis ineptitude. 

I then asked Bidi to turn her hips slightly, turn the racket head towards me roughly 45 degrees, and now try to hit the same type of thrown tennis ball into the near post area of the goal.  What do you think she did on the first pitch?  You guessed it... near post side netting with an attitude!  I asked the girls what did this all mean and how did this relate to our team and the soccer field.  It wasn't hard for all of them to see what I was getting at and they were all excited to put the new found knowledge to work.

* * * * *

Shooting is all about repetition, repetition of correct technique. 

My idea today was to split the group of 18 girls (I had the U14 Blue team's GK with us as well) into two teams of 8.  I set up two shooting fields side by side, and the 2 GKs took turns alternating in the net on field #2.  Half the group would work on a specific type of finishing skill on one field while the other half of the group would work on something else on the other field.  After 5 minutes the teams would switch fields.  After another 5 minutes, that particular "round" was complete and we'd move to round #2 with different finishing scenarios. 

II. Repetition Shooting Round #1

Field 1 - Back Where It Came From

Field 2 - Give and Goes

III. Repetition Shooting Round #2

Field 1 - Back Where It Came From - Bounding Balls

Field 2 - Far Post Benders and Near Post Driven Shots

Lightning in the skies at around 6:45PM.  We called practice and huddled in our cars for 15 - 20 minutes, then took the field again.  A few minutes later, more lighting and training was called.  We didn't get to the last two activities.

IV. Repetition Shooting Round #3

Field 1 - First Time Lay Backs

Field 2 - Heading

V. 4v4 Lots O' Shots

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

Training - Thursday, April 19

In prep for our first State Cup game on April 30th, I wanted out next 3 sessions to be fairly intensive.  We'd then taper down next week a bit heading into the game the following Monday.

We had the field tonight from 8:00PM - 9:00PM.  I had the girls arrive at 7:30PM to tally up their Individual Player Goals from last weekend, as well as do some fun technical warm-ups prior to a good, hard workout.

As I called each girl over to talk about their past weekend's goals, I had the girls work on their individual juggling.  About halfway through the player meetings I called out for the girls to switch to feet juggling only.  I heard a voice pipe up from the pack "Do we have to switch to feet only if we're on a record?!?!"  It was Lily who asked the questions, and I shouted back that if people were on records that they could continue to use any part of their body to juggle, and then didn't think more of it as I continued on with the player meetings. 

A few minutes later, I looked down and my list and saw that I was missing info from three girls.  Bidi was sick and Jilly got home too late from a track meet to attend, that left Lily.  I scanned the group of girls and saw her off at one end juggling.  She looked pretty intense, so I walked over to her and asked her about her Individual Player Goals.  She said she got all three in the first game (good for her!) and that she was still on a juggling record.  I let her continue and asked the other girls to give her space as to not interfere with her progress. 

With no more meetings to do, I began our 3-Man Juggling Challenges.

I. 3-Man Juggling Challenges

Set Up

• Players work in groups of three with one ball, lined up as shown below

Procedure

• Coach calls out a specific Juggling Challenge for the groups to work on
• Groups practice the challenge for a few minutes, then have a race to see which team can get to 10 successful attempts first
• Teams count out loud to 10 as they go so that other groups know where they are at
• First team to 10 yells out "Whoo hoo!" and sits down
• Other teams take 10 minus their score (times 2 if you want) and do that many fun/fitness punishments (Flying Austrians, Donkey Kicks, Push Ups, Sit Ups, etc)
• Coach give the groups a new challenge to work on and then race, with the team that won the previous race to 10 having to wait until they hear another group get to 1 (or 2) before starting

Make It Competitive

• It is

Coaching Points

• Technical coaching

Challenge #1

• A tosses the ball to B
• B heads to A
• A heads over B to C
• Rotation: A to B, B to C, C to A

Challenge #2

• A volleys to B
• B heads back to A
• A heads over B to C
• Rotation: A to B, B to C, C to A

Challenge #3

• A volleys to B
• B skip heads it backwards to C
• C heads over B to A
• Rotation: A to B, B to C, C to A (note ball must be passed from A to C during this switch)

Challenge #4

• A volleys to C
• C heads to B
• B skip heads it backwards to A
• Rotation: A to B, B to C, C to A (note ball must be passed from A to C during this switch)

With two girls missing, we had perfect numbers for this exercise... except for the fact that Lily was still juggling.  The other girls got going on this exercise with the leftover group of two (that Lily would eventually join) practicing what they could. 

Lily finally came over, out of breath but with a HUGE smile on her face.  1,154!  Wow.

II. 3-Team Challenge

Set Up

• 3 teams of 5, each team in different color vests
• One 50x40 grid with two goals on the endlines and two Pugg goals on each sideline (as shown below)
• Another area set up with a goal for shooting
• Two teams (blue and gold) start in the 50x40 grid, the third team (green) starts in the shooting area

Procedure

• There are three stages to this activity, and each stage consists of 3 x 4 minute rounds - round #1 blue v gold in the 50x40 area with green in the shooting area, round #2 green v gold in the 50x40 area with blue in the shooting area, round #3 green v blue in the 50x40 area with gold in the shooting area

Stage 1

50x40 grid - 5v5 Possession

Set Up

• Grid is already be set up
• One ball in the middle to start play with, with an extra soccer ball on each touchline to use in the event the ball in play gets kicked far off

Procedure

• Teams play possession soccer, trying to keep the ball away from their opponents
• If the ball goes out of play, play kick ins (passes in to teammates) or dribble ins

Make It Competitive

• +5 points for a team if they complete 5 consecutive passes without the defending team touching the ball

Shooting area - Summersault Volleys

Set Up

• Players line up 25 yards from goal with all the soccer balls
• Disk line 15 yards from goal

Procedure

• First player in line does a summersault, second player in line serves a ball underhand in front of the summersaulter
• summersaulter has to get to the ball before the third bounce and shoot on goal
• Ball cannot cross the 15 yard line marked with disks, so serves must be good (not too far forward)
• summersaulter retrieves their soccer ball after the shot, server becomes the next summersaulter

Make It Competitive

• +1 point for all goals
• +3 points if the ball hits the back of the net in the air

Coaching Points

• Toe pointed down, ankle tight and locked through impact
• Wait for the ball to drop low, contact should be made below knee height
• Upper body over the ball
• Looking for top spin on all shots

Comments

• The point of the summersault is not only to make it fun and physically demanding, but also to disorient the players and force them to find the bouncing ball quickly (remember, only 2 bounces allowed), then compose themselves for a finish

Stage 2

50x40 grid - Two Goal Game

Set Up

• Grid is already set up
• One ball in the middle to start play with, with an extra soccer ball on each touchline to use in the event the ball in play gets kicked far off

Procedure

• Teams try to score goals in either of two Pugg goals

Make It Competitive

• +5 points for each goal

Coaching Points

• Don't force the attack on one goal
• Look to draw defenders in to one side of the field with short possession passes, then change the point of the attack and look to go to the other goal

Shooting area - Lay Backs

Set Up

• 2 players line up 25 yards from goal in the shooting line
• 3 players are about 10 yards closer to the goal off to the side in the passing line with all the soccer balls

Procedure

• First player in the passing line plays a back pass to the first player in the shooting line and then follows their pass to wait their turn in the shooting line
• Shooter must shoot first time
• Shooter then retrieves their soccer ball and gets in the passing line

Make It Competitive

• +1 point for all goals
• +3 points for all goals below the midpoint of the goal (encouraging low strikes on goal)

Coaching Points

• Toe pointed down, ankle tight and locked through impact
• Upper body over the ball
• Think about striking the top half of the ball

Stage 3

50x40 grid - 5v5 to Goal

Set Up

• Grid is already set up
• 1 GK, 4 field players
• One ball in the middle to start play with, with extra soccer balls in each goal

 

Procedure

• Teams try to score goals

Make It Competitive

• +5 points for each goal

Coaching Points

• Not many, let them play

Shooting area - Near Post Finishing

Set Up

• 2 players line up at the top of the 18 yard box in the shooting line
• 3 players are on the end line about 15 yards from the goal post in the passing line with all the soccer balls

Procedure

• Shooter starts a run towards the far post, then sprints to the near post area
• Passer drives a low, hard ball in for the shooter to try and finish first time
• Passer then moves to the shooting line
• Shooter then retrieves their soccer ball and gets in the passing line

Make It Competitive

• +3 point for all goals

Coaching Points

• No big, long leg swings here as the ball is coming in fast
• Looking for simply redirects while running at speed

III. 5v5 Winner Stays

Set Up

• 3 teams of 5
• 50x40 yard field

Procedure

• Blue vs green with orange sitting out
• First team to score stays on the field, losing team exists and the team waiting jumps in
• The team that scores can immediately grab the ball and attack the opposite goal
• Waiting team must enter and organize quickly

Make It Competitive

• It is

Coaching Points

• Not many, let them play

This was a tough session for the girls.  I had to shorten the last stage to 3 minute games as the girls were tiring.  It was a very competitive and lively session though and the girls loved it!

Finishing Session - Thursday, April 5

6:00PM - 6:30PM Ball Masters - Individual Skills Development

With spring break vacations in full swing, we had a dozen girls show up last night at Bielenberg for training.

I. Synchronized Ball Dancing

Set Up

• Ball per player, each player working with a partner

Procedure

• The partners are given a series of ball moves to work on together, attempting to execute the moves in as synchronized a fashion as possible

Make It Competitive

• Give the partners the sequence, have them work on it for a few minutes, then bring the team in to watch each pair work and rank them 1 to 10, with 1 being the worst and 10 being the best

Comments

In a continuing effort to find new ways to keep the girls interested in working on important individual ball skills, I came up with this idea.  I would give a technical sequence like this:

1. Forward touch with the inside of your right foot
2. Left foot Step Over
3. Right foot Cut Behind

The idea was to have the girls work on their ball familiarity in a fun and competitive setting by trying to have them work with their partner to master the sequence, then challenge the pair to execute the moves as a unit at speed. 

This was a lot of fun for the girls.  We did this 3 or 4 times using different technical sequences, then I had the pairs try and make up their own 3-move routine to show off in front of the group.

6:30PM - 7:30PM Field Training

II. Sequence Passing

Continuing on with our "improve our passing" theme since returning from Virginia, a ran the girls though our Sequence Passing routine while I set up the field for the finishing work to follow.

Set Up

• 35x40 yard area
• Two teams of 6, gold and blue, and players on each team are assigned numbers 1 - 6

Procedure

• Two soccer ball, one with the #1 players on each team
• At the coach's signal, #1 passes to #2, #2 then passes to #3, and so on
• All players must be moving at all times

Make It Competitive

• +1 point for each team if they make a mistake (you don't want points)
• Mistakes could be errant passes outside of the grid or to incorrect teammates, more touches than is allowed, not receiving the ball in a proper position, etc.

Coaching Points

• Short passes - no more than 10 to 15 yards
• Short passes should still be crisp and game like
• Keep the ball on the group, strike the middle of the ball using proper passing technique
• See your intended target before you receive the ball - meaning, take a look prior to having a ball passed to you in order to see where your next pass will be going
• Adjust your body to receive a pass facing the teammate you are going to play to next - sometimes this means moving your feet quickly in order to best position your body

Progression

• Unlimited touches by all players to start
• Two touch by all players
• Two soccer balls for each team - one starts with #1 and one starts with #4 on each team

Reverse It! Variation

• On the coach's "Reverse It!" shout, players reverse the order of their passing - #4 now passes to #3, #3 to #2, etc.

III. Pattern Play Shooting With Limited Pressure

The idea here was to get the girls into a shooting rotation that would involve finishing for sure, but also keep the non-shooting girls involved and active as well as demand that the girls focus on a number of different technical aspects of the game.

Set Up

• With 12 players, players set up as in the illustration below.  Note that I used blue and gold colors to help identify starting positions and the initial direction that players in these positions go.  There is no need for two teams in this exercise.
• One player in each of the following positions (labeled in green) - GK, Passer, Target, Defender, Attacker.  Same set up for another 5 players using the opposite side of the field, with all additional players waiting in the passing line. 
• The pink cone marking Defender D's starting position is 3 yards behind Attacker A's starting cone
• All the soccer balls split between the two passing lines

Procedure

• (1) Passer P passes to Target T then follows their pass to become the next T.  Note both blue and gold P start at the same time so that there are two passing patterns going up both sides of the field (in opposite directions) at the same time
• (2) Target T passed to Attacker A then takes D's position
• (3) Attacker A goes to goal then becomes the GK in the goal they just shot at
• (4) Once Attacker A touches the ball, Defender D is live and tries to stop A then returns to A's starting position to become the next A
• After a shot is taken on them, GKs retrieve the ball and wait in line at the passing cone by their goal in order to work they sequence up the other side of the field
• As soon as a shot is taken, the next player in line at the initial passing cone starts the next sequence

Make It Competitive

• +1 point for a goal
• +3 points for a far post goal (encouraging far post shots from angles)
• +1 point for a save as a GK

As I mentioned, though this is a fun finishing exercise for the girls, I wanted them to focus on a number of technical issues in the pattern play build up as well as on the finishing end of things.  I would let the girls run through the exercise a few minutes, stop and bring up a point, let them run through it some more, stop and bring up another point, and so on.  By the end of the 30 minutes, I had covered the following. 

Coaching Points

• Good, firm pass from P to T
• T, knowing the direction of where they wanted to play, needed to receive the ball across their body with a tight touch (close to their feet).  I wanted the target players to think about playing in a crowded midfield with not much room for larger control touches away from their feet.  I also wanted this player to play 2-touch (control then pass) as quickly as possible.  For blue in the illustration above, that would mean inside of the left foot control and a quick right foot pass.
• I wanted T to pass to A feet (as opposed to passing to space), and to focus on passing to A's lead foot, the foot closest to the direction A wanted to go (to goal) and furthest from Defender D.  In the illustration above, that would me blue T would pass to blue A's right foot.
• Positive first touch by Attacker A to goal

Two Touch Variation

Same as above with the restriction that Attacker A only has two touches.  Target T must still pass to Attacker A's feet, but now Attacker A is working on shots from distance at angles rather than also having the option to dribbling in 1v1 with the GK.

Pass to Space Variation

Same set up and sequence as the exercise above, only this time Target T plays Attacker A in to goal with a lead pass to space.

Coaching Points

• I wanted Attacker A to simulate holding their run to stay onsides, so I implemented the rule that the Defender D  could not move until A left their cone.  In this way, if A started "cheating forward" in anticipation of a pass, D could recover goal side even before the pass was made by T.  Also, this cheating forward could also lead to A drifting into an offsides position. 
• Attacker A even though not moving forward, should get their body down low and ready to explode to the ball when it is played in front of them
• Attacker A needs to communicate verbally ("Through!") and visually (with their hand out and extended showing Target T where they want the ball played

IV. 4v4 Small Sided with Neutral Team

Set Up

• 30x40 yard playing area with a goal set up at each end
• 3 teams of 4 players, each team in a different vest color

Procedure

• Two teams take the field to play 4v4
• The team that is not on the field provide a GK for each team as well as a side player on each sideline
• Wide players are neutral players and are limited to 3-touch or less
• Which ever team scores stays on the field.  The team that was scored on changes places with the neutral team

Training - Thursday, Feb 8

6:00PM - 6:30PM Ball Masters - Individual Technical Development

Fast Feet

• Taps
• Speed Taps
• Zig Zag Taps
• Step On Taps
• 1/4 Turn Taps
• Cut Behind Taps
• "U" Taps
• Triangle Taps

6:30PM - 7:30PM Field Training

I. 5v5 + 1 Possession

Set Up

• Two teams of 5 (blue and green) and one neutral player (red)
• 30x50 yard grid with the players' soccer balls surrounding the playing area

Procedure

• Teams play possession soccer
• Neutral player plays with the team in possession, effectively making it 6v5

Make It Competitive

• +1 point for 5 consecutive passes in a row without the defending team touching the ball
• Scoring doubles from that point on; 10 passes in a row is an additional +2 points, 15 passes is an additional +4 points, etc.

Coaching Points

• Move for your teammates
• Play simple and quick when in possession
• Draw defenders in with short passes, then look to find a longer outlet pass to break pressure
• Everyone on the team communicating and giving teammates good information
• "Read" the player on the ball to know what kind of pass she can make - a dribbler with time and space can maybe look to play a longer, more difficult pass, players under pressure probably need shorter, simpler options the way they are facing

Progressions

• Three-touch or less
• Mandatory two-touch

II. Four Corners Shooting Repetition

Set Up

• Two teams, blue and green
• Four disks, two at the corners of the six yard box, two about 10 yards apart 25 yards from goal
• Split team so that half the girls are at disk at the top of the six yard box and the other half of the team is at the disk 25 yards out (see illustration below)
• All the team's soccer balls with the players at the top of the six

Procedure

• (1) First green team player at the top of the six yard box passes a ball out to their teammate (the shooter) at the disk 25 yards out from goal and then runs to wait their turn in the shooting line
• (2) the shooter takes a prep (preparation) touch and then a shot on goal
• (3) the shooter retrieves the ball and then ends up at the back of the passing line
• (4) as soon as the green shooter take a shot, blue begins their turn
• Play for a set amount of time, then have the teams switch sides

Make It Competitive

• +3 points for a goal
• +6 points for a goal from outside the 18
• +1 point for a finished rebound

Coaching Points

• Focus on a good prep touch, away from your feet and at a good angle in order to help set up a good shot
• Shooters should take a peek at the goal after their prep touch and while moving toward the ball in order to visualize their shot before taking it
• Follow in for rebounds

Progression #2 (see illustration below)

• (5) Passer now plays a softer ball out in front of their teammate
• (6) Shooter gets to the ball quickly and finishes first time (without controlling the ball first)

Progression #3 (see illustration below)

• (7) Passer plays a long ball in the air to their shooting teammate who can take two touches to finish

Progression #4 (see illustration above)

• (8) Passer plays a "junk" ball (a ball that bounces) to their shooting teammate who can take two touches to finish

Progression #5 (see illustration below)

• (9) Passer plays a high ball out in front of their shooting teammate who gets to the ball quickly and tries to finish first time (without controlling the ball first)

III. 5v5 Small Sided Scrimmage