SoccerHelp Tips For Good Recreational Practices
1. You must have at least one ball per player.
2. You must be organized, have a practice plan and get to practice early.
3. Minimize lines and standing around.
4. Maximize touches on the ball.
5. Avoid general scrimmaging for more than 10 minutes per hour. In general scrimmages players don't get enough touches on the ball, the weaker players tend to get the fewest touches and bad habits can be reinforced because players tend to do the same things they have always done. If you scrimmage, do so without a goalkeeper (see "Small Sided Scrimmage Without A Goalkeeper" below).
6. Praise hustle, improvement and a good attitude. Measure each player's performance by his or her personal improvement and effort, and not by comparing them to someone else. Try to motivate in a positive way that builds self-esteem.
7. A good game must be easy and quick to set up, and should be simple to explain and manage. If you are spending too much time on set up or instruction, simplify it.
Evolution From A Bad Drill To A Good Practice Game
A Bad Drill: There is only one ball, players stand in one line and dribble one at a time thru a row of cones and back. Disadvantages include: it is boring, inefficient and does not simulate match conditions.
A Better Practice Game: Every player has a ball and his own row of cones. On "Go" all players race to dribble thru the cones and back to the start. Advantages include: it's more fun than the drill and involves competition and game speed. Disadvantages: dribbling thru cones is not the same as dribbling thru players, the set-up is too time consuming and it teaches dribbling but it doesn't teach shielding or to look up while dribbling.
A Good Practice Game: Use 4 cones to make a square about 10-15 steps wide, smaller or larger depending on age and the number of players. Each player has a ball. Spread players around the square with each facing inward toward the opposite side of the square. On "Go" the players dribble straight across, turn at the opposite side of the square and dribble back. Each player keeps count of his or her trips across the square, each time the player turns is "One". The first to ten wins. To monitor progress, ask each player his score at the end of each game. Players will be dribbling across the square from four directions, will have to look up to avoid running into each other and will have to shield the ball when in traffic. Advantages include: easy set-up and management, provides competition and pressure, self-teaching, teaches dribbling and shielding, players must look up while dribbling, the coach can specify the part of the foot players must use to turn, and enlarging the square will teach players how to speed up when out of traffic. In brief, this is a very efficient and effective practice game. It has the added advantages of causing player's to learn to make quick, instinctive reactions in a crowd and of improving peripheral vision. It can be played 3 times in less than 10 minutes. We call this game "Dribble Across A Square".
1. You must have at least one ball per player.
2. You must be organized, have a practice plan and get to practice early.
3. Minimize lines and standing around.
4. Maximize touches on the ball.
5. Avoid general scrimmaging for more than 10 minutes per hour. In general scrimmages players don't get enough touches on the ball, the weaker players tend to get the fewest touches and bad habits can be reinforced because players tend to do the same things they have always done. If you scrimmage, do so without a goalkeeper (see "Small Sided Scrimmage Without A Goalkeeper" below).
6. Praise hustle, improvement and a good attitude. Measure each player's performance by his or her personal improvement and effort, and not by comparing them to someone else. Try to motivate in a positive way that builds self-esteem.
7. A good game must be easy and quick to set up, and should be simple to explain and manage. If you are spending too much time on set up or instruction, simplify it.
Evolution From A Bad Drill To A Good Practice Game
A Bad Drill: There is only one ball, players stand in one line and dribble one at a time thru a row of cones and back. Disadvantages include: it is boring, inefficient and does not simulate match conditions.
A Better Practice Game: Every player has a ball and his own row of cones. On "Go" all players race to dribble thru the cones and back to the start. Advantages include: it's more fun than the drill and involves competition and game speed. Disadvantages: dribbling thru cones is not the same as dribbling thru players, the set-up is too time consuming and it teaches dribbling but it doesn't teach shielding or to look up while dribbling.
A Good Practice Game: Use 4 cones to make a square about 10-15 steps wide, smaller or larger depending on age and the number of players. Each player has a ball. Spread players around the square with each facing inward toward the opposite side of the square. On "Go" the players dribble straight across, turn at the opposite side of the square and dribble back. Each player keeps count of his or her trips across the square, each time the player turns is "One". The first to ten wins. To monitor progress, ask each player his score at the end of each game. Players will be dribbling across the square from four directions, will have to look up to avoid running into each other and will have to shield the ball when in traffic. Advantages include: easy set-up and management, provides competition and pressure, self-teaching, teaches dribbling and shielding, players must look up while dribbling, the coach can specify the part of the foot players must use to turn, and enlarging the square will teach players how to speed up when out of traffic. In brief, this is a very efficient and effective practice game. It has the added advantages of causing player's to learn to make quick, instinctive reactions in a crowd and of improving peripheral vision. It can be played 3 times in less than 10 minutes. We call this game "Dribble Across A Square".
3 SoccerHelp Practice Games and The Classics They Replace
1. "Dribble Across A Square" (for U-8 and older). This is the game described above. It replaces dribbling thru a line of cones. This game works indoors.
2. "2 Team Keep Away" (for U-10 and older). Replaces "Monkey In The Middle". Use cones to outline a field about 20 steps by 30 steps (smaller or larger depending on age and number). Divide into 2 teams, if you have 5 or more an odd number is okay, otherwise the coach or a spectator plays. Have the teams face each other from opposite sides of the field. Give each team one ball for every 2.5 to 3 players (e.g., teams with 5, 6 or 7 players get 2 balls). On "Go" each team tries to keep their balls and steal the other team's balls. The team with the most balls at the end of 2 or 3 minutes wins. This game has many quick transitions and teaches teamwork, support, movement off the ball and many other things. This also works well indoors.
3. "Small Sided Scrimmage Without A Goalkeeper" (for U-10 and older). This is a better way for Rec teams to scrimmage. Divide your team in half, don't use Keepers, and goals only count if shot from within The Scoring Zone, which is identified by a Red Cone.
This game is better than a regular scrimmage in 2 ways:
(1). All players learn to defend and play tough defense and block shots, and not rely on the Keeper, and
(2). To score, they must work the ball close to the goal and not take long shots, so control, dribbling, passing, and movement off the ball in the Attacking Third are encouraged. The field should be 30-50 steps long and 25-40 steps wide. Use cones to make goals 4 steps wide. A Red Cone should be 7-10 steps out from each goal. Goals can only be scored on shots from inside the Red Cone. Call offside if it is blatant. Rec teams should only scrimmage for about 10 minutes of each hour they practice. This game can help evaluate players.
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