What if I told you that young players enjoy the soccer practice games the most when they are scoring goals. Yes, you must make it a point to include large number of opportunities for them to practice scoring. In order to create such occasions for them, many options are available that can be performed. For example: small-sided games, full-field scrimmages, and shooting drills.
Throughout the full field scrimmages and small sided games, you need to continue amending the methods that help scoring more goals. Add in such games that don’t need a goalie to play or limit the goalie’s movement within the predefined lines. The current goalpost can be extended or extra goals can be integrated for enhancing the chances of enhancing goal scoring.
Once the players develop their shooting skills and tactical understanding in soccer training, generating more goals gets easier. What you can do is bring in shooting techniques quite early in the kids developing stage but stress them more during the later stages, just as in passing skills.
One of the ways to develop shooting skills is through soccer drills work. With a view to score more goals, these drills help the players develop and improve upon their shooting talents. As a coach, you should therefore work on developing your kids shooting skills progressively.
During soccer exercises, the players should be taught the way to strike the ball appropriately when shooting. Players can take repeated shots at close range from the inside of the foot. When they use the inside of the feet, it increases the shooting accuracy. When the situation is such that more strength is needed to hit the ball, ask the players to strike the ball using the instep of the foot, with toes pointed downwards and ankle locked.
How you position the non-kicking foot impacts the height of the shot. So instruct the players to position the non kicking foot ahead of the ball to keep the shot low. Make sure you eliminate all distractions for example moving balls, moving shooters, or defenders to focus your player’s mind on striking the ball.
Begin the drill progression in soccer practice games by using a stationary ball and a shooter. As the shooting techniques progress, increase the challenge by putting the shooter in action before he/she hits the ball. Such a shift will distract from the accuracy of the striking efforts at first, because the player’s visualization must serve a double purpose.
On one hand, it allows the player kicking the ball to find some space in the direction of the ball and on the other, helps them put their foot right where the ball is.
As players grow in confidence, increase the difficulty by putting both the shooter and the ball in a moving state. When they improve their shooting, throw the balls towards them at irregular speeds.
Here you go! By introducing many opportunities for scoring goals in soccer practice games, you can make the players benefit a lot out of their sessions. For more of such tips and other soccer coaching resources, join our youth soccer coaching community.
Andre Botelho is a recognized authority in youth soccer coaching and has already helped thousands of youth coaches to dramatically improve their coaching skills. Learn how to explode your players’ skills and make training fun by downloading your free ebook at: Fun Soccer Drills.
Tags: soccer drills, soccer exercises, Soccer practice games, soccer training