top tip - pitchero
TRANSCRIPT
In this IssuePage 1!! Top Tip: How to lay out a straight line of cones!
Page 2!! The Main Feature: Shooting - the basics!
Page 3!! The Game: Walk the Plank!!
Page 4! !Steve’s Coaching Clinic: What should I do about these clowns?
Dear Coach,!We all want our players to score more goals and a lot of coaches spend a lot of time working on complicated attacking set plays and encouraging their players to ‘shoot on sight’. !But if you don’t make sure that your players know how to strike the ball properly, clever set plays and all the encouragement in the world isn’t going to help them score more goals. !Today’s article covers the basics - how to approach the ball, how to strike it, where to look when you strike the ball, the follow through etc. !Don’t assume your players know how to kick a ball - make sure they do! !Today’s game is for very young soccer players. Children aged from 4 to about 7 have wonderfully vivid imaginations and they’re going to love imagining that they’re playing soccer in a pirate ship being chased by sharks!!Have you got some players who like testing your patience? I know I have and so has the coach whose email is featured in the Clinic on page 4. What would you do with his ‘clowns? !Yours in soccer,!
Welcome from Steve Watson
How to lay out a straight line of conesTop TipLots of coaches struggle to lay out a straight line of cones but it’s actually quite easy.!
Before you start, check the field for hazards especially holes, broken glass and dog excreta.!
Then place the first cone down in line with another object behind it such as a tree.!
Then walk backwards, keeping the first cone and the reference object in view.!
Drop a cone every 5 to 10 yards until you get to the end.!
When you get to the end of the first line, turn 90 degrees and drop cones as you're walking backwards again and you'll end up with nice straight lines and a properly sized grid!
1www.footy4kids.co.uk
Issue 45 5th August 2014
footy4kids Premium is a monthly subscription service for youth soccer coaches. Try it free for one month at!
www.footy4kids.co.uk/premium or call +44 1483 892 894.
To begin with, let's break the mechanics of shooting into a few simple steps:!
1. Head down – eye on the ball.!
Tell your players that as they approach the ball they need to have a quick look up to pick out their target and then look at the ball as they actually shoot.!
Why? Because it is critical that your players strike the ball correctly and they can't do that if they're not looking at the ball when they kick it.!
2. Plant the non-striking foot next to the ball.!
If the non-striking foot is planted behind the ball the resulting shot will go high (and probably wide of the target).!
3. Pick the spot on the ball you want to hit.!
Your players should fix their eyes on the centre line of the ball as they bring their foot back to kick it. If they do that they will naturally strike the ball in the right place to get maximum power and accuracy. If they kick the ball below the middle the ball will rise and if your player 'tops' the ball it will just roll along the ground.!
4. Keep the knee of the kicking leg over the ball.!
Often, young players will stand too far behind the ball when they shoot. This results in their back arching as they kick the ball and loss of power.!
5. Approach the ball slightly from the side.!
This is perhaps the most important part of the whole technique.!
If your players run straight at the ball they won't strike it with their instep, they will hit the ball with their toe.!
'Toe-poking' can be quite effective sometimes. In a crowded penalty area, for example, a quick toe poke may well result in a goal. But when a player has time to choose how to kick the ball they will get more power and accuracy by using their instep.!
Younger children may protest that it's easier to kick the ball with their toe and it goes further. You just need to show them that they can hit the ball just as hard with their instep and their shots will be more accurate. An easy way of doing this is to get them to shoot at a cone or pole set up 10 or 20 yards away. You should be able to demonstrate that is much easier to hit the target and knock it over using the instep.!
6. Follow through on the ball like a ballerina landing from a leap.!
The kicking leg should continue to swing rapidly forward and slightly across the front of your body as the ball goes toward the goal. !
I tell my players to imagine there is a pane of glass behind the ball and they want to smash it as hard as they can! !
Goal!!!!
Shooting - the basics
The Main Feature
2www.footy4kids.co.uk
Want your players to score more goals? Make sure they can shoot!
Objective: to improve dribbling and general ball control skills.!Age range: U5 - U7!Set up: create a playing area big enough for all your players to dribble around in. Create a playing area big enough for all your players to dribble around in. Tell them that this is a pirate ship!!Use flat cones to mark out a 5x5 safe zone in each corner of the playing area.!Give each player a ball.!Nominate two players to be the sharks - the rest are pirates.!How to play: players dribble their ball around the playing area in different ways.!1. 'Scrub the deck' - players dribble the ball with their sole;!2. 'Walk the plank' - players dribble the ball with their toes;!3. 'Hoist the sails' - players dribble the ball with the insides of both feet.!Several times during the activity the coach shouts out 'shark attack!'. !That is the signal for the pirates to dribble their ball as quickly as possible to one of the safe zones while being chased by the sharks.!Change the sharks every 2 or 3 minutes. !
Walk the Plank!The F4K Game
Encourage your players to dribble with their heads up and try to avoid bumping into each other.!
3
Player movement Ball movement Run with ball ShotKEY:
www.footy4kids.co.uk
Steve’s Coaching Clinic
QUESTION:!Hello Steve,!
I coach an U12s team who are doing really well. We are, however, just going through the ‘growing up, testosterone fuelled’ period with a few of them with silly antics, showing off and back-chatting.!
It's never really happened before but with them all moving up to ‘big school’ I think a few of them are spreading their wings and testing me!!
The few clowns of the group are distracting for the others but we don't want to lose them or their respect as we've had the core of the team since they were five years old.!
!ANSWER:!
Every youth soccer coach sometimes finds it hard to keep their players focused during coaching sessions.!
I know I do!!
But you do need to differentiate between normal, childish behaviour and behaviour that is disruptive.!
All children will sometimes chat among themselves and play their own little games during coaching sessions. That is to be expected and should be tolerated, providing it does not disrupt the group.!
Deliberately disruptive behaviour, however, needs to dealt with by reference to the team rules.!
If you haven't done so already, sit your players down (preferably with their parents) and discuss how they should behave at coaching sessions.!
Don't be prescriptive - it’s best to get your players to suggest the rules and the sanctions for breaking them.!
Don’t crack down too hard (soccer is only a game, after all) but when you apply sanctions, make sure they are applied consistently. 'Three strikes and you miss the next match' , for example, should be applied to every player regardless of who they are or how much you need them in your team.!
Providing you are fair, consistent and reasonable you should find keeping good order during coaching sessions isn't difficult.
What should I do about these clowns?
You can only ask Steve a question if you subscribe to footy4kids Premium. Send your youth soccer coaching questions to [email protected] and Steve will do his best to help. If Steve doesn’t know the answer, he’ll find someone who does.
(c) Green Star Media Ltd. !Green Star Media Ltd, Meadow View, Tannery Lane, Bramley, Guildford GU5 0AB, UK.!!Editor!Steve Watson!
Illustrations!Steve Thorp!
Publisher!Kevin [email protected]!
Managing Director!Andrew Griffiths !!To subscribe to footy4kids Premium please contact Duncan Heard in our Customer Services department at duncanh @greenstarmedia.net or call 01483 892894!!All rights reserved.!!Click here to read the full disclaimer.@
4www.footy4kids.co.uk