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DUO JUGGLING

Description Of Drill

The object of juggling is to keep the ball in the air for as long as possible without having it hit the ground. You can use any part of your body (feet, thighs, head, shoulders etc.) except for your hands. Working in pairs of two, have your athletes control the ball in the air. The easiest way to do this is by using their heads. You should start this drill off by allowing them to use only their heads. Back and forth, one touch each, they should be heading the ball to each other. After a few minutes of this, make it mandatory for them to use only their feet, then only their thighs. Eventually you can allow them to use any body part, but continuing to only touch the ball once before the partner touches it. To increase the difficulty of this drill add a third person to the duo and make the athletes direct their passes in a more triangular pattern rather than simply back and forth.
 

Coaches should be making sure that the athletes only touch the ball once after receiving the ball from their teammate. This shows that they have control over themselves as well as the ball. If they have to hit the ball three or four times before they get the ball back to their teammate then the drill's skill level decreases. For younger athletes it is O.K. for this to occur. Their abilities may not allow them to play one touch back and forth to each other, but older athletes need to find the finesse within them to do this drill properly.

INDIVIDUAL TACTICS DEFENDING

The primary job of the defender is to deny penetration. The defender will try to keep the attacker from shooting, passing forward or dribbling forward. The way the defender does this is to pressure. Here, positioning is everything. It is not enough for the defender to know what to do if they are not in the position to be able to do it. There are six priorities for the pressuring defender.

Intercept balls passed to the attacker. If the defender can intercept a pass before the individual duel even occurs, obvious victory is obtained. The defender must be positioned goal-side of the attacker so that they can see the ball and their attacker, so that they can see the ball coming.
 

Tackle the ball as the attacker makes their turn. This still win it before the confrontations gets started, but is second to interception.

 
Force the attacker to screen the ball with their first touch. Force the attacker to not be able to turn and face the defender. Make the first touch be negative (away from the defender).

 
Tackle as the attacker is half way through their turn as the attacker attempts to face the defender. A good defender senses when the attacker has committed to turning and will then confidently win the ball the instant it comes into view. This is impossible to do unless the defender is within tackling range. Usually, a great deal of work must be done on behalf of the defender to stay within this range. As the attacker is shielding the ball, attempting to turn on the defender, the defender, as they are to stay within tackling range, must keep in mind "two nevers":

Never lean on the attacker. Good attackers will use this over commitment to their advantage by spinning and playing the ball into the space left by the open defender;

Never lose sight of the ball.

Steer the attacker into the least dangerous space. Once the attacker has turned, channel them into an area where they will do the least damage or into a supporting defender. This may, in many cases, be the sideline. In short, the defender now attempts to "set a trap". Here, the speed of the approach is crucial. If the defender tries to close down an attackerís space too quickly, the attacker will play the ball quickly behind the defender, using the defenderís speed to their advantage. If done too slowly, the attacker is given too much time to make a good decision.

 
Recovery runs. If the defender is beaten, they must now try to get goal-side of the attacker. The recovery run should be toward the near post. The object is to get goal side, in a good defending position, as quickly as possible.

Summary

The decisions of the individual defender have to do with two things:
 
-Whether or not to try and make contact with the ball.
-How and where to position oneself.

In priority order, the defender will try to do the following; based on what position they are in relative to the attacker.
-Intercept
-Tackle on the first touch
-Force the attacker to screen; do not allow them to turn
-Tackle on the half turn

If the attacker is already turned, screen attacker to get:

-into position to make the tackle
-into a position where the attacker is isolated or outnumbered
-into a position where the attacker has only a few, or easily predictable option
-Destroy the attackers shot or pass by deflecting it
RECOVERY FOR THE CHIP

To gain confidence to leave the line and play more of the modern keeper/sweeper roll the keeper will need to be confident in his/her recovery for the chip.

1st be sure that the keeper understands that he/she should always turn the ball over the top with the hand farthest from the goal.

Work these VERY slowly at first.

Start with the recovery footwork. Have the keeper start at about the penalty spot. Facing the field. Place 2 balls on the ground about 1 yard inside and one yard in front of the posts. (If he/she, as my current top keeper does, tends to go all out set this up away from the goal so that there will be no collision with the posts.) The keeper stands facing the field and you call either right or left. The keeper should execute a "drop step" directly toward the called ball and with a fairly deep knee bend move to touch the ball. The technique of the "drop step" is VERY important. I will assume for this that you called "left." The keeper should step a comfortable distance with the left foot directly toward the ball at the left post. While stepping the keeper should keep the knees bent and drop his/her left shoulder.

Every time the keeper returns to the spot call a ball. Watch the drop step and watch for the shoulder drop. Once they are moving correctly increase the speed and keep watching his/her footwork until he/she is working very hard after he/she is fatigued but not exhausted slow them back down and refresh the drop step technique.

For the next part you will need to work in the goal area. Have 10-15 balls around the spot and the keeper on the line in the center of the goal. The place you stand with the balls should be adjusted for size and confidence of the keeper. For my U17G keeper I am now standing 1/2 way between the spot and the edge of the 18, but I started with her half way between the 6 and the spot. Hold a ball in you hands about waist high. Keeper moves out and touches the ball with either hand and begins to back pedal. As soon as the keeper begins to back up serve the ball toward one or the other upper corner. At first let the keeper know where the serve will be but as they progress use surprise with the drill. (Again adjust the serve for ability, but be sure that he/she must drop step jump and turn the ball for the save.) He/she should make the same drop step as before and as the ball is entering her "hitting zone" jump and PUSH the BOTTOM of the ball straight up. The ball will go over the top because it already has enough forward momentum. Continue to watch the drop step and shoulder drop and assure that he/she is remaining low until he/she jumps. As he/she progresses increase the speed and reps. The idea is too use this as both training and conditioning.

At high speeds this "dive" or jump is the one that has keepers appear to spin in the air after a save. It can be a bit of a trauma and sometimes dangerous. Start slow and don't progress until the keeper is confident at each level.
 

WARNING: As with most keeper work this can be dangerous. Be sure to progress slowly for technique. Do NOT progress too fast. Each step builds on the last and 80-90% of goalkeeping is technique.

THE ART OF SHOOTING

Taking shots on goal is something that every youngster loves to do. If thereís a ball and a soccer goal nearby a childís first instinct is to shoot. They donít want to work on passing or trapping or, heaven forbid, conditioning. Everybody loves to shoot and everyone loves to score. There are four key concepts and skills that should be mastered in order to have a successful and powerful shot. Keep your toes curled, your knee over the ball, your head down and follow through. If you can do those four things every time you shoot, you will strike the ball low, hard and effectively.

Curling Your Toes

It is very important when you shoot that you donít use your toes. If you do use your toes, not only will they hurt after awhile, but also your shots will never go the same place twice. When shooting the ball you want to use the top part of your foot, where the laces of your shoe are. This is a much wider surface than your toe so it will be more accurate and it doesnít hurt at all. In order to hit the ball properly off the laces of your foot you must curl your toe.

Getting Your Knee Over the Ball

A huge problem that people have when shooting is that they kick the ball over the goal. This is such a horrific problem because it can mean the difference between winning or losing a game. If you kick the ball over the goal you have no chance of making it. If you put the ball on frame though, you not only have a chance to score yourself but the possibility of a rebound may occur. Anything is possible when you get your shots on frame. To correct this problem simply concentrate on getting your knee over the ball. What does that mean you ask? To practice this and get the idea, stand on your left leg and point your right toe towards the ground next the front of your planted left foot. Look down and notice the position of your knee in regard to the position of where the ball would be in a shooting position. That is what NOT to do. Now slide your right foot, which is still pointed toward the ground, back towards the heel of your planted left foot. Look down! Notice how your right knee is now over the area in which a ball would normally reside when shooting. That is getting your knee over the ball. When you shoot you want to make sure that your knee is directly over the ball, keeping your shot low and also increasing the power and velocity of the shot.

Keeping Your Head Down

It is very common to want to look at where you are shooting. You want to make sure that you donít miss the goal to the right or left or shoot right at the goalie. Unfortunately, by looking up when shooting you actually reduce your chance of hitting the target. You definitely want to look up and know your target before shooting, but during the actual act you want to have your head down. If your head is down it will help you focus on getting your knee over the ball. If your head is looking up at the target your knee is most likely behind the ball and you shot is going over the goal. So remember to keep that head down and watch your foot make contact. There is plenty of time to look at the target after the ball sails into the back of the net.

Following Through

The follow through is a very important part of the shot. It may make the difference of 5 to 25 miles per hour on your shot. When shooting the ball with your right foot you want to have your left foot firmly planted next to the ball. You want your right leg to be cocked with your toes curled. As you swing through the ball your knee should be over it at the point of impact and then your leg should continue to follow through the swinging motion. After contact you want to land on your right foot. Thatís right! You want the force of your motion to throw you off of your planted left foot and onto your swinging right foot. The same thing works when hitting shots left footed. Plant the right, cock the left, toes curled, knee over the ball at impact, follow through and land on your left kicking leg.

FAKE-OUT SKILLS

Here are a few fake-out skills that every player should know, and all are individual drills. The drills should be repeated by switching what foot does what. I have described them using the right foot as the dominant foot.

Zig-zag
The player stands behind the ball and pushes the ball with the laces of the right foot to the right side. The player then stops the ball and steps beside it with the right foot, and uses the outside of the left foot to push the ball in the other direction.

Slice
The player stands behind the ball and passes the right foot over the ball, slicing it in half, and steps beside the ball with the right foot. The player then uses the outside of the left foot to push the ball in the other direction.

Reverse
The player stands behind the ball and rolls the ball three times with the sole of the foot back and forth. On the third time the player pulls the ball behind them and turns around, keeping himself or herself facing the ball.