The triangle drill - develops goalkeeper agility, positional sense and shot stopping ability. It is also good for practicing other players' shooting techniques.

Set up

A three-goal triangle of normal full-size goal dimensions is set up on a good diving area.

Three cones are positioned about 15-20 yards away facing the centre of the goals.

One player stands at each cone, with at least two balls, while three retrievers stand around the area to get the balls back quickly to those at the cones.

triangle drill

Organisation of the Triangle Drill

The drill starts with each player firing a shot at goal in strict rotation. The goalkeeper moves quickly from goal to goal to reposition himself for each shot.

The coach should signal to players when they should shoot so that the goalkeeper is kept working hard to save shots. A reasonable time period for the goalkeeper is about 30-60 seconds, which the coach should monitor since the work is very strenuous.

Progression of the Triangle Drill

Create a competition among the goalkeepers to see who can lose the least number of goals in given time periods.

Some of the players shooting the ball can be asked to play a certain type of shot, to give the goalkeeper practice in that situation, e.g. a player may attempt to chip the ball over the goalkeeper's head.
The coach can increase the tempo of the practice whereby each player shoots just as the goalkeeper recovers from the last shot, thus putting him under greater pressure.
Add a cone at the centre of the triangle. The keeper has to make his save, run around the cone and make another save at the next ?window?.

Organize the players into pairs in a 20 x 10 yard grid.
Players "A" passes the ball to player "B". When player "B" receives the ball they attempt to dribble past the end-line defended by player "A". The players take turns at being the defender.

What you need to coach:

Close the space quickly and don't let the player with the ball build up speed.
Pass the ball firmly making it difficult for your partner to control the ball.
Pass the ball slowly allowing more time for the defender to close the space down.
Don't dive in.
Force the player with the ball to do what you want them to do - force them to their weaker foot, force them to the side-line etc.

Breakaways

A competitive and easy to explain drill that improves defence and attacking skills

Set-up:

Divide your team into attackers and defenders.

Attackers in red bibs, defenders in blue bibs.

Three lines of attackers - A1, A2 and A3 - spread out equally at the midline. A1 has the football.

Centre defender D1 is positioned at the top of arc.

The goalkeeper is positioned in front of the goal somewhere out near the edge of 6 yard box.

Two additional lines of defenders D2 and D3 at opposite sides of the pitch on the touchline about ten yards inside of midfield. The defenders D2 and D3 should count slowly to 5 before entering the field.

Attacker A1 dribbles at defender D1 and uses combinations of passes, overlaps, wall passes, through balls, etc. with A2 and A3 in a 3v1 breakaway to get a shot or cross off. First touch shots that score are to be rewarded with two points. Other goals count one point.

soccer coaching drill - breakaways

Coaching Points:

Defender D1's job is NOT to tackle A1 or win the ball, but rather to delay the attack (until help is available) and force the player with the ball wide (out of the middle) in order to give up poor chances of scoring only - that is shots from out wide and shots that the keeper will be able to cut the angle down and defend easily. It is also very important that defender D1 position himself so that he can intercept passes into the area in front of the goal should the player with the ball choose to cross the ball.

The defenders D2 and D3 should count slowly to 5 before entering the field. Their job is to make looping recovery runs to aid defender D1. They should pick up an attacker to defend or combine with D1 to double-team the player with the ball only if they can do so without risking giving up an easy shot on goal. If they are unsure where to make their recovery run to, tell them to go to the penalty spot and organize their team defence from the penalty spot into a better defensive position. When in doubt, the penalty spot is the universal recovery destination. Defenders should get goal-side of their marks as soon as possible.

Defenders should not tackle or try to win the ball until they have their defense organized and have defensive support behind the tackler or double-team.

Attackers can not waste time as defenders D2 and D3 will recover within five seconds. They must combine quickly to work the ball into shooting position and must get a shot off before D2 and D3 are in recovery positions. First touch shots are a must. They should also "crash" the goal immediately after the shot is taken. Goals only count if all three players touch the net within three seconds of a shot. Coaches should count out loud to remind players.

On offence, the objective in a 2 on 1 situation (or 3 on 1) is to get the ball to an open attacker in the middle. If ... the attacker comes out from the middle too early the job is relatively easy. The player dribbling down the outside of the field need only pass to their teammate in the middle. If the defender is much smarter and stays in the middle then the player with the ball should dribble at an angle across the field toward the far corner. The other attacking player should wait until just after they have passed the middle, then run behind them toward the opposite corner of the field. This crossing movement confuses the defenders and the goalie. It draws the defenders out of position and creates a good opportunity for the second attacker to take a drop pass or back heel pass and shoot into the open net on the far side of the goal. A similar crossing movement is also useful in 2-on-2 fastbreaks. From "The Art of Soccer" by Mark Catlin, MD

On defence, From "The Art of Soccer" by Mark Catlin, MD

Delay

Don't be beaten

Force play to the outside

Protect the centre, prevent movement and passing to the centre

Approach ball when scoring threat is high but at an angle to prevent centering pass.

Options:

Count by defenders D2 and D3 can be adjusted depending upon age and success wanted. A higher count (i.e. 10) to start off to insure that attackers get a shot off. After initial success, move to a lower count to apply pressure to get shot off quicker.

Vary number of defenders that start in box.

Give defenders one point for every attack that they thwart. Keep score.

Start ball with attacker A2 or A3 to vary the attack origin and options and movement off of the ball.

HOW TO WARM UP

INTRODUCTION

The warm-up session is an extremely important part of the training process. This article describes the structure of the session and the individual components. The diagram below outlines the major steps involved in the process and these are discussed further on in the article. The difference between training and match warm-ups is also discussed.

GENERAL WARM-UP

Firstly, it should be mentioned that the duration and intensity of the warm-up session must be adjusted according to the environmental temperature and conditions. For example, if the temperature is hot and humid then less time will be needed to heat up the muscles. Also, the period between the warm-up and the training session/game should be extremely short or at worst a few minutes in length. If this period is greater, the benefits of the warm-up will be reduced. This is important as well during the half-time period where players should not be allowed to get cold.

The general warm-up includes gentle rhythmic exercise followed by static stretching.

Gentle rhythmic exercise - 5-10 minutes slow jogging, half spent dribbling with ball, half without. Also, the larger muscle groups can be warmed by 2-3 minutes of standing exercises such as gently rotating arms/hips forwards, sideways and backwards and running on the spot with gradual gentle high knee lifts. Try as well to include skipping, side jogging and running backwards.
Static stretching - 10 second stretch for the calfs, hamstrings, lower back, hip, groin, side, stomach, shoulder and arms. Muscles should only be stretched to the point of mild tension (Please note that illustrated diagrams on how to stretch as well as general information on stretching/flexibility will soon be available in the Fitness section of the site).

SOCCER SPECIFIC WARM-UP

Although soccer is a game requiring a high level of fitness, good technique is all important. Thus, the soccer specific part of the warm-up should include lots of activity with the ball. The general warm-up has prepared the players for such ball work and it is up to the coach to decide the content and order in which the soccer specific section takes place. The following is an example of what can follow the static stretching session.

Technique work: 3-5 minutes of practising the basic techniques, passing, control, juggling... At no time should the player stretch for a loose ball as he may risk pulling a muscle.

Specific running/jumping drills: 5 runs of 30 metres where the players steadily reach 3/4 maximal speed (jogging in-between runs). The players can alternate these runs with and without the ball. Follow this with jogging and several high jumps in the air (also useful for keepers).

Specific stretching (Ballistic & PNF) - The Ballistic type of stretching must be undertaken only if the player is comfortably warmed-up and the coach must use their experience and judgement whether to include it as recent evidence argues against the use of this type of stretching. The player undertakes 5 controlled swinging stretching movements for the desired muscles (resting 10-20 seconds between each repetition). PNF stretching involves the use of something to work against such as a partner or an apparatus. Perform the desired PNF technique 5 times for a 10-30 sec duration for each given muscle group (resting 10-20 seconds between each repetition).

If the coach does not want to use these particular stretching techniques, he can ask players to repeat their static stretching exercises but this time encouraging them to stretch a little bit further and for a little bit longer (20-30 secs) whilst emphasising safety and good technique.

Group warm-up 1 - Players are placed in groups of 6 and small passive 5 minute games played in pre-marked areas. The aim is to keep possession but no hard physical contact (e.g. tackling) should be permitted.

Running drills 2 - 10 short maximum sprints (15m) involving stops and changes of direction. Try using cones to run through and around.

Group warm-up 2 - Same as the first group warm-up but under realistic game conditions.

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN PRE-MATCH & PRE-TRAINING WARM-UPS

Both the pre-match and training warm-ups should follow the same guidelines mentioned earlier. However, the pre-match warm-up should continue right until the kick-off although this is not always possible in professional football where players often return to the dressing room. When returning to the pitch, players should try to perform activities to regain muscle temperature (if they feel they have gone "cold"). The same goes for the half-time match period. Furthermore, the warm-up routine must be systematically employed by players before every match to ensure correct preparation.

The warm-up session is also a good moment for each player to prepare psychologically and to get a feel of the ball. Overall, 15 minutes should be spent on individual or personal warm-ups, then 10 minutes for the team as a whole and finally another 5-10 minutes for each player to prepare by themselves (personal technique, further stretches, motivation etc.).

Training can often be regarded as being tedious by certain players who become less and less motivated. Thus, warm-up programs should be planned well ahead and made as creative and stimulating as possible. This is the only real difference between training and match day. As mentioned earlier, the majority of the warm-up session before training should be undertaken with the ball to ensure that players are stimulated and want to participate.

CONCLUSION

In this article we have looked at warm-up procedures. Players undertaking such procedures will be less at risk to injury and better prepared for matches and training. The session must be built up slowly and systematically and the players should above all enjoy it ! As well the coach should make sure that the players know how to prepare themselves and employ the required warming-up techniques. He can also use this moment to encourage and talk to players.