It’s a well known fact that in the game of soccer, a team’s defense is its basis and the Drills for soccer should be designed in a way that they can rise above the defense of opponent team.
A few coaches like to train their players on either playing defense or offence. Right kind of soccer drills teach all players defense when the ball is with the opponent and offence when it is with them.
Players should immediately go after the ball once they’ve lost it. The first one to go after the ball should be that player who lost it. Since he is the closest, it’s imperative that he is able to put a lot of pressure on the opponent who now has the ball. As a result of this, the opponent team’s player having the ball’s possession will end up making a terrible pass or giving away the ball.
Your soccer practice must take care of the fact that all other team members should fall back in case of any one out of them is running after the rival having the ball. These players must make an attempt to stop him from getting into their goal area.
Center of the soccer field is the most risky area. So make you drills for soccer in a fashion that forces the rival team member with the ball to progress towards the touchline. This will restrict his ability to pass the ball and will also limit the directions that he can go to.
The dodgiest area where the majority of goals are scored is the arc of concentration. This arc is in the front of the goalpost. It kicks off from the corner post of the goal right through to the corner of the goal box and then makes its way to the touchline. Hence, train the players with a lot of soccer exercises so they can work the ball outside this area as the opposition is most likely to score a goal here.
When it comes to defending, success is achieved by maintaining a balance. Over here, the players who are closest to the ball play tight. This means that they stay as close to the ball as possible. Players who are not close to the ball play lose. This means they place themselves at a position which covers all possibilities in a specific area and not just a single player.
Your team will be in control when they have the ball. In order to achieve this, snatch the ball away from your opponent as fast as you can. A whole lot of coaches mistakenly allow the players to control the ball. This implies to move the ball slowly without making contact with the opponent and maneuvering the ball away from him.
In case they miss the ball here, they will get back to the ground and the opposition would attack the goal.
So, make these a part of your drills for soccer so that your players are able to play a far better defensive game. If you wish to keep yourself updated on the happenings in the field of youth soccer, join our youth soccer coaching community and discover a wealth of knowledge, tips, articles, newsletters, videos and the like.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
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: Drills for soccer
