Soccer Attacking Strategies, Tactics and Attacking Plan, Soccer Formations and Soccer Drills, Assigning Soccer Positions

Scoring goals isn't all about skill, it has a lot to do with hustle, teamwork, winning the ball, the formation and style of play you use, and your ability as a coach to motivate your team and to put players in a position where they can help your team score. You can't turn unathletic players into great athletes or greatly improve the skill of players who don't come to practice, but there are some things you can do. The following tips are from Premium 35 Attacking Tips, Tactics & Strategies.

Teach your players how to "chip" and "loft" the ball. This is important for long shots, to "clear" the ball, and for "over-the-top" passes. For an easy way to teach this see the "Chips / Lofted Passes" Practice Game.

Have an Attacking Plan. See "Attacking Plan" in Premium.

Use a Formation that works for your team. See "Formations".

Use a "Style of Play" that works for your team. See "Style of Play" and "Formations" in the Dictionary.

Assign players to positions where they can be successful and help the team. See the section titled "Assigning Positions".

When your goal is under attack, be sure your Offensive MF's and Fowards stay the proper distance from the ball, shift with the ball side to side, and position themselves to win a pass or a cleared ball. (See item 4 of "Attacking Plan" and "Shift and Sag" in the Dictionary). This will help ensure your MF's and F's are in position to win many of the cleared balls and your chances will be increased because you will have several players in the area to which the ball is most likely to be cleared. Another advantage of shifting is that even if the opponent wins the ball, your players should be in good position to defend.

Some "Rules" I Recommend for Assigning Positions: Below are 4 "rules" to keep in mind when assigning positions or choosing a formation:

You CANNOT put timid players in front of the goal.
Keep your best players in the "Center" positions (Center Fullback, Stopper, Center Midfield, Center Forward). The team that controls the Center usually wins. Let your opponent have the "wings" (sidelines), in fact, encourage it. They can't score from there and your team will always have time to "recover" and the opponents will run a lot more.
Put your best, toughest athlete at "Stopper". This doesn't have to be a skillful player -- just one who can definitely stop the opponent's attack. I once had a player who was fast and incredibly brave, but lacked skill. He was a great Stopper. He couldn't dribble well or pass, so I just told him to stop the attack and kick the ball back downfield where our MF's and Forwards were waiting.
Keep in mind that you shouldn't put your best player at Goalie, in fact, try to find a player who has good hands but isn't a good field player. Read "Stopper Importance" for a coaches' comments about this. I often put a heavier player at Goalie, especially a tall, heavy player.