Improve your Football Coaching, with great drills, techniques & training plans

Defending Turnover Ball -

Turnover ball or loss of possession can be a very dangerous moment during a match. This session looks at some of the roles and positional play for the team that loses possession. The team getting in possession will be looking for a deep (attacking) ball and the opponent must look to frustrate that.

As mentioned, this is all about trying to simulate losing possession and the team getting in possession trying to look for the counter attack. Coaching needs to focus on cutting out the long ball and forcing a back pass or wide pass. Players need to close down the other team and the ball needs to be recycled very fast by the team in possession.

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Player Assessment, How to?

Here at Sportplan we are often asked for guides on assessing players. So this week we have one for you. There are many ways players can be assessed; a coach is assessing their players in-game performance constantly every match. Key skills such as passing and kicking accuracy and technique can be easily assessed in isolated tests. But other game core skills are less easy to assess.

This session has been sent in by a teacher who uses this session for GCSE Moderation Final Assessment, but these exercises can help you as a coach to analyses key skills Passing/Movement/Game Awareness/Shooting/defense.

Conditioned games: Even having looked at all skills in isolation there is no substitute to assessing players in game situations. Using a 6 v 6 conditioned game, start with no tackles and/or 3 touch then move to a normal rules, means all players can be assessed on similar criteria rather than focusing on their technical positions. Do not attempt to referee and assess players, make sure you have assistance, Allow goalkeepers to use their hands in the drills - to be seen in their best light.

Key Criteria's for in Game Assessment: Passing/Movement/Game Awareness/Shooting/defense.

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Claim the Ball - Aggressive Possession

This weeks session we look how we can make players awareness of their active role when in possession but not in possession of the ball themselves.

Using constructive concepts to teach big game concepts, such as support play is not easy for any coach, but this progressive session guides you through it, the aim is to make players aware of their movement off the ball, when the team is in possession. Their movement must be decisive and aggressive. To create extra space/time on the first touch.

As this is all about awareness, the key is in coaching. Let the players know exactly what it is you're looking for and reward (good) iniative highly. You want your players to be vocal when they demand the ball; you need to be vocal about what it is you demand from each drill and subsequent session.

I have coach this session with 14 year olds upwards, even senior teams need these concepts re-enforced time and again.

See the difference in how your players' movement off the ball when their team mate is in possession. The ability of the player in possession to spot the runs off the ball and act accordingly.

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