An Easy Way to Teach Soccer Players to Play Faster
See Results in 2 Practices
Improved Dribble Around Cone & Pass Soccer Drill
9 Things this Soccer Practice Game Can Teach
This Works Great for Rec and Travel Age 7 & Older

After getting some great feedback from coaches, I have revised the Dribble Around Cone & Pass Relay Race game so it is easier to teach players to play faster.

The team that plays faster will almost always win real soccer matches. This is especially true in youth soccer. Fast play allows a team to attack more quickly and is hard to defend because defenders don't have time to "recover". By fast play, I'm not talking about how fast a player can run - I'm talking about how fast a team can move the ball away from their Defensive Third and into scoring position while consistently maintaining possession.

Players will quickly improve by playing this game because they immediately see results about what allows them to play faster. The teams that play faster using one-touch, passing as soon as they have an opportunity, and being Aggressive Receivers will win, and the teams that play slower using 2-touch, not passing soon enough. and not being Aggressive Receivers will lose.

This game can teach 9 important things, all of which will allow your team to play faster.

  1. One-Touch as a way to play faster and to think about how to use Open Space to advance the attack.
  2. To pass ASAP instead of holding the ball too long - If an attacker holds the ball too long, it gives opponents time to recover and the opportunity is lost. In addition, defenders will shut down the dribbler and take away passing options.
  3. Aggressive Receiving - Receivers should be taught to expect a Bad pass instead of expecting a good pass. Receivers MUST stay on toes, judge the direction of the pass and stop bad passes. If the pass is to the receiver, the Receiver should move to ball and NOT wait for ball to come to his or her feet).
  4. Passing while running (this will also help them learn how to shoot accurately while running).
  5. Turning while dribbling fast, which involves controlled deceleration.
  6. Importance of "first-touch".
  7. Speed dribbling while keeping the ball under control.
  8. Accuracy and proper weight on passes while playing fast and under pressure (like players must be able to do in real matches).
  9. To only 2-touch if you can't one-touch. One-touch is a faster way to play. I'm not talking about using this game to teach one-touch passing, I am talking about teaching players to one-touch the ball into open space and running onto it when that is possible. That will start to teach them how to use Open Space to their advantage so they can play faster.

Changes I made to the Dribble Around Cone & Pass Relay Race Game:

  1. First team to 6 wins that game - play this game 5 or 6 times at each practice until your players can play fast. It is better to play this game 5 or 6 times by only playing to 6 than it is to only play it 2 or 3 times to ten. The reason is that you want to give a tip after each game, so short games are best because you can give a tip after each game that your players can try and they will learn faster. Remember, the objective is for your players to improve at a fast rate - the games are a way to keep it fun and create competition and pressure to play fast, and a way to measure progress.

  2. Don't "Balance" the teams - I have changed my mind about the benefits of "balancing Teams". With Rec teams, rather than "balancing" Teams, I suggest pairing up your best players to play together, so they get used to playing together and can push each other. I suggest having the Best "Teams" compete against each other while the Weaker Teams watch, and then have the Weaker Teams play against each other while the Best Teams watch. I think that is better than trying to mix up good and weak players on the same team or having a Weak Team compete against a Strong Team. Watching a short game will let the players get a breather. However, I think it would be a good idea to occasionally switch up the players on the Better Teams and sometimes switch up the players on the Weaker Teams, but not to put skilled players and unskilled players on the same teams, and not to have the Weak Teams compete against Strong Teams who they have no chance of beating, because that could be discouraging.

  3. Keep it Moving Fast So they Get a Good Workout.

  4. The Guided Discovery Method of Teaching - How to give a tip at the end of each game is described at the game instructions for Dribble Around Cone & Pass Relay Race.

Try this game and if you have ideas about it, please let me know. There is also a version of it on SoccerHelp Basic.

Best,

David at SoccerHelp

Links to 29 Pages of Free Soccer Coaching Tips, Tactics & a Drill to Teach Players to be Aggressive - http://www.soccerhelp.com/soccer_coaching_tips_drill_links.shtml

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