Tags : Soccer training for kids, for youth, drills, shooting, Football, Tactic, Tips, Training, defense, attacing, dvd, Coaching dvd, skills, drills , Passing
The Tip
In the past I have always had my players pass the ball back and forth to each other while standing still to teach them how to pass the ball; now, you are telling me that they should never be standing still. How will the kids learn how to pass the ball if they don’t learn the skill standing still first?
This again is a very good question. Earlier, we talked about how whatever we do in practice should look like what happens in the game. The game places certain demands on the players; it requires them to do certain things in order to succeed. Therefore, everything we do in practice should prepare the players to meet those demands. In the game of soccer, players do not statically (without motion) pass the ball back and forth. Just because a player can pass the while standing still does not mean that they can pass the ball while moving. To strike a ball while moving players must get a feel for where to put their plant foot based on how fast the ball is moving. While standing still though and striking a stationary ball, players do not have to make that judgment; they can just put their ball right next to ball because it is not moving. When the ball is moving though they have to put their plant foot in front of the ball because the ball will continue to roll forward in the amount of time it takes someone to withdraw their leg and then snap it forward. The players must learn to time their kicks so that the ball is right next to their foot when they make contact. As a result, players should be asked to always be moving while they are passing. When kids start to learn to pass at the age of eight they should be moving all the time, they should never just stand across from each other and pass the ball back and forth.
