This is why you shouldn’t tell your players to always pass the ball when they have created space. If they run into that space they are threatening the opposition causing them to react in a different way. Running at a back four means the defenders are caught between going to the runner with the ball and the other attackers moving into dangerous positions.

If they are pressed and can’t beat the player then they can pass and the result will be another player running into space.

Very difficult to defend against. It’s running with the ball and facing 1v1 decisions on the way to goal. I they can run with the ball the whole way they will have split the opposition defence open and have a good chance of scoring.

Give your players the freedom to run with the ball and don’t tell them off if they lose it!

Watch Theo Walcott do it below:

You can make a game of it with your players, timing them and seeing if they can beat the time they set. You can cut the distance for smaller children or you can set different distances for your fast and slower runners.

Not every player is going to be able to beat their times, but it makes a good five minutes of fitness at your next training session.

I also have a clip of Barcelona’s Dani Alves crossing for Bojan to score. Look at how the cross goes into the danger area between the penalty spot and the six yard box. Perfect.

Key soccer coaching tips for crossing skills

•Low, powerful crosses are hard to defend.
•A good, accurate, low cross into the penalty area is one of the hardest balls young defenders will have to face.
•High, looping crosses are hard enough but at least you can see those.
•Balls coming in at an angle just behind the defenders are almost impossible to control and often any touch by a defender will result in an own goal.

How to do it

The technique players should use is the swerve pass using the inside of the foot.

The technique

•Non-kicking foot should be slightly behind, and to the side of the ball. Use the inside of the foot to kick across the ball.

•Tell player to keep his head steady, eyes looking at the ball at the moment of contact.

•His body should be slightly forward to keep the ball low.

How often have you seen your players go into contorted angles to try and wrap one of their feet around the ball only to see it dragged wide with the goal at their mercy?

In these cases a simple deflection can make all the difference. So when you practice this don’t worry if they cannot strike the ball with any pace, if they can use both feet to direct the ball that can be the difference between winning or losing.

Watch this clip of right footed Joe Cole, the Chelsea midfielder, directing a hard cross with his left foot to score against Manchester United for an important 1-0 victory which basically won them the Premier League title.

The left back was on loan from a Premier League club and in his first game had given a hard pass to the goalkeeper – who it must be said has never been confident with back passes.

He likes them wide in the penalty area away from the goal and on his right foot. The young defender had used the goalkeeper to get out of a tricky situation without giving away a throw-in. It had been more like a pass to an outfield player, but the goalkeeper should be able to control the ball with one touch then kick it towards a team mate.

It is a pressure situation for a goalkeeper in youth soccer, and a pressure situation for those of us watching. If you’ve got a goalkeeper who just can’t get to grips with the back pass take the heat off them and yourself by getting your defenders to pass in the right place.

Passing so that if the goalkeeper misses the ball it goes out of play for a corner is better than passing so the ball goes into the net if its missed.

Check out the diagram of where the pass should be then watch Gary Neville pass back to the hapless Paul Robinson in an England Euro 2008 qualifier against Croatia.

It’s a great thing at this age to have a left footed player because it means your forward line is very well-balanced and playing down both wings is made much easier without having to play a right footed player on the left wing like most teams have to do – so I’m not complaining!

You also have to remember he is only 8-years-old so there’s plenty of time for him to learn.

I find that easy drills with both feet are the best way to ease these young players in to using both feet and I found the one in the clip below to work well with my younger players:

What you see in Drogba is power and determination to get to goal. There are some great strikers around the world but I don’t think I have ever witnessed a more powerful player than Drogba.

His ability to hold on to the ball under pressure and knock defenders away is second to none. Then he has a powerful shot at the end of it.

The work Drogba puts in on the training ground is the secret of his success. He uses exercises like the one above to fine tune his balance and power. If you are going to turn your young players in to potential Drogbas you have to do something similar with your players.

Try this:

Your player must dribble in and out of the coaching poles, go around either side of the cone, by selling a dummy or skill move and follow up with a shot on goal.

In diagram two the player must do the same movement but beat the goalkeeper at the end.

In diagram three the player must do the same movement but beat a real defender and then the goalkeeper.

He obviously has a lot of natural ability but he also puts in a good deal of hard work to give him his striking power. Watch these clips from Chelsea’s training ground you will see what he gets up to in order to make himself one of the world’s best strikers:

I came across this technique in the clip below. Bet none of you can do it!

I just sit there and watch them and take a few notes which give me some great ideas what to do with my own players at our next match.

It doesn’t matter what age you coach, all ages can warm up in the same way. When you go to watch your next game see how simple some of the warm ups are for even the most skilful players.

The superstars of the English Premier League warm up with simple runs, stretches and jumps.

Watch these clips taken before Chelsea and Manchester United games where the players are warming up before their matches.