Filed under: Dave Clarke, Soccer Coaching, Soccer Skills, Soccer Team Management | Tags: cesc fabregas, nasri's goal, nemanja vidic, Rio Ferdinand, samir nasri, theo walcott
This is a goal that I have to put among my favourites because of the build up and movement all over the pitch and the run off the ball by Theo Walcott to create the space for the goal.
There are so many coaching points in this clip it is worth showing your players.
Watch Walcott’s movement at the end of the move which drags Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic, two of the world’s most experienced defenders, to create the space that allows Samir Nasri to score this goal.
It is the perfect example for any young player to watch, Walcott does not touch the ball yet has a big hand in creating the goal and Nasri explodes into the space to score.
Also look out for a great hook turn from Cesc Fabregas. The movement all over the pitch is very good.
Filed under: Dave Clarke, Soccer News, Uncategorized | Tags: Ronaldo, Torres, ibrahimovic, beckham, Alonso, Ballack, Campbell, Crouch, Del Pierrro, Drogba, Essien, Gerrard, Giggs, Henry, van Nistelrooy, Rooney, Shevchenko
Further to my blog on Stephen Ireland and his cars I there might be a few of you out there interested in these stars and the cars they drive.
On this clip you can see the cars of Alonso, Ballack, Beckham, Campbell, Crouch, Del Pierrro, Drogba, Essien, Gerrard, Giggs, Henry, Ibrahimovic, van Nistelrooy, Rooney, Ronaldo, Shevchenko, Torres.
Filed under: Dave Clarke, Soccer Coaching, Soccer Skills, Soccer Team Management, Soccer Training | Tags: corners, free-kicks, goal kicks, how to play in rain, tactics, windy conditions
It was pretty horrible playing in the wind this weekend and you have to think about your tactics because goalkicks, long through balls and clearances will all be affected depending on whether you are playing into the wind or not.
I have a load of tips for playing into the wind on my Better Soccer Coaching website.
Whether your players are kicking into the wind, or with the wind, follow these tips to keep youngsters’ shots, passes and goal kicks accurate.
Playing into the wind tips
Tell your players to keep it tight — short passing skills are needed into the wind. Any long balls will be held up by the wind and you will soon find you’re up against a fast breakaway attack.
In training drills practise holding the ball up — get your players to play balls into the attacker with his back to goal, creating opportunities for your midfielders to run with the ball.
At goalkicks, tell your goalkeeper to play out to the sides — a long kick down the middle would be suicide.
Playing with the wind tips
Tell your players to resist the temptation to blast long balls into the opposition half — your forwards will soon get tired of the ball going straight out of play.
But do let your goalkeeper unleash some long balls – get your forwards to cause chaos with the bouncing goalkicks by heading them towards goal.
Tell your forwards to test your opponents’ goalkeeper with high accurate shots.
Watch the highlights of this 2002 World cup qualifier between the Faroe Islands and Luxembourg. Wet and windy conditions provide some great moments!
And watch this tornado during a youth match
Filed under: Dave Clarke, Soccer Coaching, Soccer Skills, Soccer Team Management | Tags: goalkeeper warm-ups, goalkeeping drills, Houston Dynamo, Mike Toshack, windy tactics
It was raining this weekend, it was muddy it was windy. Who in their right mind would be a goakeeper on days like this?
I always like to warm my goalkeeper up so they are ready when the match starts, on days like this weekend it is more than vital to do so. And you want to warm up the use of their feet because in these conditions it is the footwork that will often be the deciding factor when the ball is played in with the rain, wind and mud making handling treacherous.
I use this warm up all the time in the winter – and often during good weather as well! It’s so easy to set up and you can get a couple of dads to help out while you take the rest of the boy for other warm ups.
It’s one I got from Mike Toshack the goalkeeper coach for the Houston Dynamo. All you need is a goal and two cones with a couple of dads and balls.
Set it up like this:
Put two cones 5 yards in front of a goal in the centre, 4 yards apart creating three ‘goals’
You need a goalkeeper and two players or helpers
First helper passes to goalkeeper in the middle goal, who must pass firmly back with their right foot.
The goalkeeper then moves to the ‘goal’ on their right to save a shot from the second helper.
The goalkeeper then moves back to the centre goal to play a pass with their fet and sd so on. After 5 shots to the right the goalkeeper must then move to the goal area on their left.
You want to see the goalkeeper moving quickly between the goals.
Keep their hands and head steady.
Be on their toes ready to react to the ball.
Watch this clip of Mike Toshack the goalkeeper coach for the Houston Dynamo putting his players through the drill.
Filed under: Dave Clarke, Soccer News | Tags: afghanistan, beckham, LA Galaxy, MLS cup final
David Beckham’s rehabilitation with the LA Galaxy fans will be completed when he goes with the team to join US soldiers on a morale-boosting trip to show their support for the ongoing military campaign in Afghanistan. They’re back in love with him anyway after he took them to the weekend’s MLS Cup Final.
They’ll be there on Thanksgiving Day an emotional experience for all.
Call me a cynic, but when I read of the hardship he was going to endure in a US army barracks I did think it was going to be in Afghanistan, but it’s actually in Germany.
On the evening of Thanksgiving Beckham and his team-mates will play Kaiserslautern FC – currently in the second tier of German football – in a friendly match at their 48-500 capacity Fritz Walter Stadium. Up to 25,000 tickets for the game are being made available to US servicemen, their families and US Defence Department staff.
Watch the highlights of LA Galaxy v Houston in the Western Conference:
Filed under: Dave Clarke, Soccer Coaching, Soccer News, Soccer Skills, Soccer Team Management, Soccer Training | Tags: Altidore, cherundolo, finishing drill, goal scoring competition, warm down
I always like to end my coaching sessions with a competition of some sorts that the players look forward too and lets them take their minds off the technical side of our sport and allow the fun side to envelope them for 10 minutes.
It ends the session on a high and all the players usually want more of the same. I know it makes them want to come back for the next session which is great news when you’re the coach.
So I use games like this end of training finishing drill which the US National Team use with their players.
It’s a simple miss and you’re out, score and you get another turn exercise. You are also getting players thinking without realizing it. Should they place it or go for power. Which technique will they use. They will all want to win so they will concentrate.
Watch this clip of the US team playing the exercise at the end of training.
Defender Steve Cherundolo is captain of the US team and plays for Hannover 96 in the German Bundesliga. He said: “When it matters I try and concentrate a bit more and score a few goals. It was fun.”
The winner of the drill this time was forward Jozy Altidore. He said (with a big grin): “I always want to be number one!”
Watch it here:
Filed under: Dave Clarke, Soccer Coaching, Soccer Skills | Tags: dutch drills, huntelaar, simple volley, soccer volley, volley
I have a lot of volleying practice sessions, but few of them are just for one player. Running and volleying usually means there needs to be a server who throws or crosses the ball to the volleying player, and that often means a lot of wasted time with overhit crosses or balls at the wrong height.
It takes hours of training to perfect the volley and you don’t want to spend too much time on it at your coaching sessions but this is something the players can do on their own.
In this exercise it is down to the player to flick the ball up then volley it. It’s a great game to give your players for homework that they can do in the back yard or down at the park.
Set up two goals 60 yards apart. 10 yards from each goal put a couple of cones, players run at jogging pace from one set of cones to the next, flick the ball up at the cones then volley it into the goal. Turn around then repeat the drill.
If you’re not sure of the technique check out my coaching publication Soccer Coach Weekly where I explain techniques in my Skills School column.
Watch the Dutch striker Klaas Jan Huntelaar doing the exercise in the clip below:
Filed under: Dave Clarke, Soccer Coaching, Soccer Team Management | Tags: girlfriends, Katy Perry, MTV EMA, WAGs, West Ham Kit
At the weekend one of my U16 players was acting strangely. Cocky was an understatement. All acting up and lippy “I’m not being subbed today!” Messing about during the warm-ups I was getting annoyed with him until one of the other boys told me his girlfriend was watching.
When the match kicked off I couldn’t see him in his usual position… he was running up front desperate to score. Considering he was a defensive midfielder it was causing problems to the team. All the other players started moaning at him to get in to position but he wouldn’t come back.
Eventually I had to take him off and get him to calm down. He got a ribbing from the other boys but he didn’t seem to care. I let him go back on later but the same thing happened.
No wonder Fabio has told the England players to leave the WAGs at home.
And what about Katy Perry at the recent MTV Europe Music Awards in Berlin dressing up in a West Ham to embarrass her boyfriend Russell Brand:
Filed under: Dave Clarke, Soccer Coaching, Soccer Fitness, Soccer News, Soccer Skills | Tags: attack drill, counter attack, william Gallas
Quick counter attacks are one of the ways you can make sure your young team makes the most of winning the ball.
Catching a defence out when the team has won the ball relies on quick thinking and accurate passing. Defenders will struggle to keep up with the ball so an accurate pass and a quick thinking attacker can combine to create good goal scoring opportunities.
Young players can get over excited when they win the ball and just kick it in the general direction of the goal. You need to get them looking and thinking about where to put the ball to cause the most damage to the opposition.
Try this drill with your players, you score points by hitting targets a bit like being at the driving range with your golf clubs hitting different distances. In this video the coach uses baskets to hit but you can make target areas out of cones.
Filed under: Dave Clarke, Soccer Coaching, Soccer Skills | Tags: coaching wingers, crossing drill, Manchester Utd, pfa player of the year
By Dave Clarke
At the ripe old age of 35 its amazing that Ryan Giggs is still good enough to win the PFA player of the year award which he did in April this year. One of the reasons for his longevity is that he is constantly on the training pitch going through his paces.
One of the best training exercises for any winger is the training he does so he can get pinpoint accuracy on his crosses. His delivery in to the box is the right weight and direction almost every time.
The secret behind his success is this little exercise.
If you look at the diagram the coach had split the penalty area up into very tight squares numbered one to ten. When he called out a zone to Giggs the player had to cross the ball so it landed in that square. It was a very precise exercise, the coach had a lot of balls and played it to either position 1 or position 2 for Giggs to run onto and cross first time to the called out zone.
As I was coaching under 15s I could use all the zones but for younger age groups you could just shout near, far and penalty spot. There is also an opportunity to practice cutbacks where the player is crossing the ball back to the edge of the penalty area for players running in.
For players who cannot cross the ball very far it is good practice for them to run onto the ball and cross it using a good technique – they will soon progress.
