There are some free soccer training drills using which you can master the art of passing and shooting as well as controlling the ball. This article talks in detail about two of the best known soccer drills, Shoulder To Shoulder and Shark in the Middle.
Shoulder To Shoulder drill works both for offensive and defensive players. The main goal of this exercise is to teach offensive player to practice fast shooting under pressure and let the defensive players practice clearing the ball.
This drill uses three players per drill group. The distance the works out between A and B is 10-15 yards.
B and the defensive player make a line shoulder to shoulder. B and the defensive player, standing next to each other, face away from the goal on the left side of the field. On the coach’s whistle, A throws the ball behind other two players. B and the defensive player initiate and attempt to take control of the ball. B’s aim is to shoot on the goal while the defensive player’s objective is to turn with the ball and dribble it above the center line.
By actively choosing coaching drills like Shoulder to Shoulder, players learn to win the ball despite being under immense pressure from an opposing player.
Shark in the Middle is an interesting game that can be played any time during the practice and its duration can be worked out as per the need. This is one of those free soccer training drills that is aimed at developing attentiveness and self-control in players under high pressure situations.
Players stand in a large circle on the field. One player is selected to be the “shark” and stands in the center of the circle. There is only one ball in it and given to a person who stands in the circle.
When you blow the whistle, the player with the ball passes it to the other player along the circle. Then the second player passes the ball to another player he likes and so on.
Then the whistle is blown again signaling the start of the game. The objective of the game is to make sure that shark does not get the ball. The player may pass the ball to anyone they like along the circle, be it a teammate right next to him or a teammate at some distance. The players try to go for as many passes as they can.
This process goes on until the shark gets the ball.
When the ball is caught, the player that caused the ball to be intercepted becomes the new shark and the first shark joins others along the circle.
Shark in the Middle finds a place among those football drills that require a sharp thinking and an idea of the experience of the shark.
To conclude, these free soccer training drills help players to build self-confidence to handle the ball while under pressure from an imminent attack. Subscribe to our youth soccer coaching community to for more such youth coaching tips and tactics.
Andre Botelho is a recognized expert in youth soccer coaching. He influences well over 35,000 youth coaches each year with his unique coaching philosophy, and makes it really easy to explode your players’ skills and make training more fun in record time. To download your free youth soccer coaching guide visit: Free soccer training drills.
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