Training Library
The training library provides ideas & drills suitable for all teams whatever level.
NEW Long Passing Tip
NEW Leg Strength
NEW Defending the last 10 mins
Using Centre Midfields and Using Space
Passing Accelerating and Receiving in small groups
Winning V Playing Good Football
Seeing Your Player Defensively
Responding to Negaitive Situations
Positioning, Shot Blocking, Crossing
Dribbling and First and Second Defenders
Defensive Centre Midfielder Staying Connected
Judging High Balls Under Pressure
Passing, Moving and Changing Direction
Providing Cover on Overlapping Runs
Staying Onside By Running Along the Lines
One Touch Passing, Vision and Body Positioning
Shot Blocking and Distribution
When to Make a Run off the Ball
Hitting accurate, long passes can set your attackers free
By David Clarke
With so much emphasis on playing a short passing game, some youth players cannot hit an accurate long ball, because they never practice it.
No player should be looking to play the ball long every time, but it's a tactic that all players should be aware of.
Watch any professional match and you will see one or two long balls which put attackers through on goal - providing moments of great excitement.
Making long passes work
I’m not talking about a hoof upfield over the heads of the opposition and a charge after it. A long pass well executed can be a clever way of counter attacking against your opponents.
Practise with your defenders playing a long pass up to one of your wingers so they can run onto it and cross it into the box.
Make sure all your players know their roles in this one.
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When the long pass is played to a winger they will head for the penalty area, but will often want supporting players so they can pass to them.
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When an attacker is put through players need to follow them in to put away possible rebounds.
Put your best foot forward
The way in which you move the ball depends on several things:
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Where is it going?
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What you want it to do when it gets there?
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Which players are in the way?
Increase your team’s chances of success By fine-tuning your players’ skills as passers, you can significantly increase your team’s chances of success.
Key coaching tips
- Communicate so the pass reaches the receiver.
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Control so your player makes the most of a long pass.
Power up your players' legs
Here are three exercises to increase your players leg power to help with areas like recovery runs and tackling.
Squat jump
Players perform a squat.
The feet are slightly wider than a shoulder width apart. The toes are very slightly turned out. The back is straight with the shoulders back. The hands can be touching the side of the head or holding an imaginary bar.
From the bottom point they push up explosively getting as much height off the ground as possible. On landing they regain their balance and repeat the exercise.
Do three or four in a set and not more than three sets in a session.
Hopping
Players hop on one leg and try to get as much distance between each step as possible. Hop over a five metre distance and players should get three or four hops in.
Don’t do more than three repetitions in a session and make sure you work both legs equally.
Shadow runs
Players should work in pairs and run around an area - the size of your penalty area - one player in front trying to shake off the other player who is trying to be his shadow. The shadow should start with his hand on the shoulder of the player he is following.
Play for two minutes then swap over.
Defending the last 10 minutes of a game
By David Clarke
I find it hard to accept when we let in a goal in the last 10 minutes - especially if it's a goal that turns a win into a draw or a draw into a loss.
Tired players can often get caught upfield by swift counter-attacks that destroy all the tactical planning and good play in the rest of the game.
Last week my defenders had pushed up to the half-way line, confident that the 1-0 scoreline would not change because we had so much of the ball. But a long kick over their heads, that they didn't react to, led to an equaliser.
My defenders were looking from one to the other shifting the blame, but they all knew they hadn't reacted.
This is why all your defenders should have tasks they must do in these situations, whether it is at the beginning, in the middle, or at the end of a match.
I call it the recovery position. When long balls are hit over the top I expect my defenders to move at top speed to the positions I have given them to make it harder for attackers to capitalise on balls over the top.
It is something you have to practice so it becomes like second nature to the players. At the end of the game when tired minds are not thinking you want your players to automatically move into the areas that are under threat.
The best way to practice is have long balls kicked over the heads of your defenders and have them turn and run to defend the penalty area.
Where should they run?
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Tell your defenders to take a direct line towards their own goal.
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Recovery lines are like a funnel – that means players by the touchline should run towards their nearest post while players in the middle take a line towards the penalty spot.
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Get your players goalside of the opposition player with the ball – in this way their direct route to goal is blocked.