Monday, February 22, 2010

Soccer Practice - How To Design Best Games Possible



Once you go through the article, it’ll be easy for you to believe that it is games rather than soccer drills that are most influential in honing skills during the soccer practice. Not only are games more stimulating than drills, but the energy required is also the same like in a real tournament.

In soccer training, games require strength, are fun to play, and kids get to learn the skills while realizing the enjoyable features of the game. A few guidelines must be taken into account prior to initiating games into training sessions.

1. Every player should have the ball and play with it as much as possible.

2. Its vital that each player has an equal participation in the game. It shouldn’t be that the weak players are deprived of playing with the ball.

3. Do away with the idea of rewarding or punishing the kids. The games are not meant for that.

4. To build soccer skills should be the only focal point of the games.

5. If you can, it’s better not to implement any rules or restrictions in a game.

6. The games should be simple to understand and play. Precious time is wasted when the games are difficult to understand and play.

7. Last of all, it’s a good idea to keep increasing the amount of challenge in the game once they have cleared a certain level.

Each session should include minimum 200-300 touches of the ball for every player in soccer practice. This will ensure that they are making progress in improving their skills. Here’s a list of few soccer coaching games that are not only interesting, accepted, and useful, but also help players hone their skills.

1. Shoot the coach: Here, the kids try to put the ball into the goal by moving in a crowd and keeping their head held high. This has the effect of improving the dribbling and a player’s ability to concentrate. One of the great ways is to play the game is to begin with 3 players and add on the number gradually.

2. Freeze Tag: It accounts for great warm up rounds and helps kids in learning to keep the ball away from the defender. Each player in this game has a ball apart from one player who is required to touch and not kick the ball. When it takes place, the player possessing the ball becomes stationery acting as a goal post. The player can be de-frozen only when the other player has hit the ball between his legs. Keep playing till all the players are frozen.

3. Red light, green light: In this game, the kids stand in a line. When the coach shouts green light and turns the back towards the ball, the players must move forward with their respective balls before the coach again shouts red light and faces the kids. If a player has not made the complete move, he has to return to the starting line. This is a great game for building agility and focus.

So, this is it! If you like to know more about such soccer practice games, register for our youth soccer coaching academy where you will find several such resources.


Andre Botelho is an expert in Soccer practice. He influences over 35,000 youth coaches each year with his coaching philosophy, and makes it easy to explode your players' skills and make training fun in record time. Download your free Soccer Training guide at: Soccer Training Drills.


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