How would you react to the fact that one thing that young players find truly hard is to use a straight leg to kick the ball? In coaching soccer drills, this is by far the biggest problem that a coach and the players face. It calls for the player to keep complete balance and bend the leg at the knee in order to kick the ball. Both posture and strength to kick the ball comes out from below the knee.

In soccer practice, this is the opening pose for just about all types of kicks. The rushing of the foot from below the knee creates an immense impact on the ball. This offers great amount of power to players for carrying out different types of kicks. However, what type of a kick would it be is determined by the precise contact of the foot on the ball.

For example; it could be knocked very high, driven low, turn left, or sway to the right.

In soccer, the three critical passes are the instep drive, a side foot pass, and the outside of the foot pass. We’ll now chat about them further.

Soccer Coaching

The side foot pass: In teaching soccer, this is the most widely used and the simplest pass. This is usually employed to make short distance passes. While this pass can be easily predicted and is a little slow, it is extremely simple to learn and easy to carry out. The ball touches the inside of the foot and the ankle with the foot turned outwards.

In coaching soccer drills, players should know that their body need not be tense during the movement with the ball. The most essential rule pertaining to various kicking action is this. The ankle and the foot need to be stiffened only at the time when the players is about to get in contact with the ball.

Once the players become confident, their overall action should seem relaxed, smooth and effortless.

Outside of the foot pass: Since this pass can never be predicted, is pretty accurate and quick, players must be trained on this even though it’s a little tough to master. The ball gets in touch between the outside edge of the foot and the laces with the foot extended and turned inwards. The pass is then transformed into a quick throw for short distances by using the foot.

Throughout the coaching drills session, the posture of the players should be relaxed.

The Instep Drive: Both the versions of instep drive i.e. the low driven version and the lofted version are brought into play to pass the ball over longer distances. After the players have learnt it, variations can be brought in to make a "chip pass" or an "in swinging pass". Since the approach of the instep drive is slightly angled and the non kicking foot is placed about 12 inches to the side of and behind the ball.

Here, the ball gets into contact in between the inside of the foot and the laces which is extended and very firm.

So, go forward and make the kids try different things with the ball by teaching them the basic kicking techniques as well its variations.

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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: Soccer Training Drills.

In coaching soccer drills, there’s no doubt that perhaps the most complex part is that of finding out the most appropriate method of managing the conditioning schedules of the players. The reason I say this is because in the last few years, the fine line between coaching and educating has gradually dissolved.

I’m sorry to say that even today, there are many coaches who fail to recognize the importance of designing player specific coaching plans in teaching soccer. The players must be taught about the game as a person along with their professional conditioning and training. Many a times, this educational characteristic of soccer gets totally neglected in almost all scenarios.

Yet, there is just one code that must be adhered to while determining the coaching drills for the kids. Any player who wishes to become a great soccer player of huge prominence should first attempt to grow as an individual. A coach should therefore act according to the above principle.

It’s easy to find out the reason that pushes a player to take on the duty of a coach.
His desire to remain associated with the game even after his days as a team player are over. This results in many successful soccer players settling down as coaches. But they fail to seriously consider the nature of this job.

Soccer Coaching

It is considered by some as the first step that’ll take them towards the prospects of coaching adult players. Many of them consider this as their only chance to get one with the sport and contribute to the game by sharing their experience and techniques and helping the kids grow. Theses reasons are both suitable as well as acceptable. It’s not just these responsibilities that follow your choice but also certain ethical duties that must be looked at while making a choice.

Communication is main aspect in coaching soccer drills, but unfortunately it’s very complicated for almost everyone to acknowledge. It is not enough to have a great career history spanning many years of top rated success and achievements to qualify as a professional coach.

There are some very important goals that a youth soccer coach needs to set for himself. It’s a capable and an expert coach who alone can cheer his players to fall in love with soccer so much so that they begin to experience it as an upbeat and a stimulating practice. During the soccer practice, the players should feel at ease all the time so that their feelings are conveyed openly in course of the game.

All players in the team vary in terms of strength, style, and individual skills unique to them. The fact that every single player in the team has the qualities and talents of a champion is not of much value. What is most important is that every single player must be able to reach his own ability ultimately.

The fact that every successful, skilled, and competent player does not necessarily make a talented youth coach must be understood. He must possess a unique ability to connect easily with kids; a natural gift for individual contact and emotional relations.

Some food for thought; try and figure out the true motivations that cheer you to follow this prospect since it’s a pre requirement in this context.

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You may have heard that in coaching soccer drills, all skills have only 1 goal and that is to take a shot at the goal. It takes both skill and instinct to develop the art of good shooting. But other than this, winning attitude is also equally important.

All the players must be involved in this but more importantly; it is up to the forward players to shoot the ball. When teaching soccer, shooting should be at the top of your list.

So many things may come out of a shoot. Shots can be positioned towards a goal. The goalkeeper might drop the ball exactly at the feet of your forward player. Wild shots can turn into great passes. Ground shots may bounce back. You may even hit a goal through a straight shot.

During the soccer practice, attacking players are always on a lookout to shoot the ball into the goal at every possible opportunity. They are trained in a way that they think of nothing else but scoring goals. In England, these attacking players are known by the term sniffers. This is due to the fact that they are always on the lookout for scoring chances.

Soccer Coaching

To them, every opportunity is the last one they will get and hence shoot ferociously. They are always present when the opportunity is right. They have the skills to even convert negative situations into positive ones. So in coaching soccer drills encourage your players to shoot the ball whenever possible.

In most cases, when the ball is knocked with a view to get it through the goalpost, it is termed as a shot. Yet, one technique that is most effective is driving the ball through the middle by use of the laces of the foot. While performing this, head of the player should be over the ball, his upper body be steady, and his toes should be extended.

During the coaching drills, teach the players to shoot the ball low and wide of the goalie. In such a scenario, high shots are less preferred that low ground shots. For the reason that goalies have to stretch their hands a greater distance to stop low ground shots, it is a little tricky for them.

While practicing with regulation sized goals, players get to score more by hitting the ball over and above the goalkeeper’s head. As a result of it, the players develop the tendency to shoot high goals so this must be discouraged. This practice can be put to stop in coaching soccer drills by not allowing players to adult sized goals.

Now get out there and start teaching your players to look up once before they shoot the ball with a view to check the position of the goalkeeper.

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In coaching soccer drills, there are certain training tips that I’d like to share with you before you initiate your training program even if you have been doing this for quite a long time. Let's say that the soccer practice has one broad goal for both the coach and the player and it is to have fun while participating in the practice sessions.

At this time, it’s essential to follow your goal and not feel distracted by other things. Consequently, identify such objectives that are particularly important for you as a coach and also equally important for the team. For instance; constantly remind the players to remain physically fit, develop them into sporting players with a positive attitude towards the game, and concentrating on skills unique to them.

Since you are the coach, you only are responsible for setting high standards of sportsmanship for players. Cheer them to have an attitude of fair play, sportsmanship, and team spirit. However, in teaching soccer, you can have numerous other objectives that you can add to those mentioned above.

The theory of winning is one concept that I’d like to stress upon when it comes to coaching youth soccer. Infuse an open concept of winning in your player’s minds when you are coaching them. Let them know that to be tagged as winners, they must focus on playing their best game and not worry about the results.

Soccer Coaching

This will take away the pressure off the kids and they'll focus more on playing their best game rather than just winning it.

When coaching soccer drills, always keep in mind the importance of giving clear and correct instructions if they are to be helpful. It’s imperative that your kids are aware of the dos and don’ts that are critical to the game of soccer before you go any further with their training. The dissimilarity between coaching and teaching lies in the fact that coaching is concerned with a group of players who are already familiar with the game to a certain extent.

In the process of coaching drills, it is nice to first impart 5 to 6 demonstrations about a drill to the kids and then let them practice it themselves. It is because kids have a tendency to learn quickly by watching than by listening. If you endeavor to explain in instructions, they will not understand it. Rather they are pretty good at imitation.

Therefore, consider giving demonstrations wherever you can.

Finally, but still very important is your ability to keep the kids engaged in important activities. This holds even bigger importance when the weather is not conducive to a regular session. It is very well acknowledged that the kids find it enjoyable to play in the rain. Hence, instead of simply cancelling the session, it makes more sense to have them play soccer games or something like that.

Just keep in mind that the kids should be wearing additional protective gear in such weather.

Go ahead and make these tips a part of your plan. You will be surprised by the results.

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Andre Botelho is a recognized expert in youth soccer coaching. He influences well over 35,000 youth coaches each year with his unique coaching philosophy, and makes it really easy to explode your players' skills and make training more fun in record time. To download your free youth soccer coaching guide visit: Coaching soccer drills.