Boys and Girls 9/10/11 Fall Soccer Week 5

Focus Skills: Attacking and Defending

It could be cool on Tuesday so ensure that players are properly dressed and keep moving.

Focus: defending and attacking

Defending coaching points

Defender's stance:

Defender's feet should be about a shoulder width apart, legs should be slightly bent, stay on toes so you can react to any sudden changes of direction by the attacker.

-quick close down

-delay/give space - don't commit- jockey

-watch ball not player

-make the attacker make the mistake

-force to outside/weak side if you know it

-go for ball when attacker has pushed ball away from feet

Defending tips/points
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7Tn3cFmrCg&feature=relmfu
http://3v3soccer.blogspot.ca/search/label/3v3%20soccer%20defense

Attacking:
-attack with speed
-keep ball close
-attack weak side if you know it
-try and catch them flat footed
-exploit them if too close

Warm Up: Players spread out in 15X15 grid. Players assume defending stance. Model the stance and the movement. Goal is for them to touch the knees of other players. Movement by shuffling only. Ensure they are not crossing their feet. 

Next, transition into a game of shark. Mark each corner with different colored cones. Players dribbling in grid, coaches or players tries to win ball from fish. 20 toe touches or storks if shark attack is successful. To give players an opportunity to work on their offensive skills, when coach yells a specific color players must dribble to that colored corner trying to get past sharks.  Incorporate dynamic stretches within activity as needed (once everyone is in the blue lagoon corner do 20 high knees ..)

Gauntlet drill

http://3v3soccer.blogspot.ca/2009/05/gauntlet-drill.html

This is a great activity to teach defensive and office skills. The kids love it.

Set up activity as shown in link below. Start with 1 vs 3 focusing on good defending and attacking skills. Model attacking skills and ask some players to show some good offensive moves. 

Have players start at one end of the activity and work their way down to being goalie and then back to the start again. 

1v1  Attack
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EadxBPmQvtg
A good activity for practicing attacking moves.

Numbers Game if time and you have not done recently.

Small sided game. 4 vs 4 or 5 vs 5. :)