Ambush
Thursday, April 10, 2008 at 12:31PM 
Emphasis:
Dribbling, passing, receiving, and tackling
Make a 20x30 yard grid. Place two players (hunters) on the outside of the grid in bright colored pennies. The remaining players are inside the grid with a ball each.
Objective:
The hunters yell “ambush”, and enter the grid and try and kick the balls away from the dribblers and out of the grid. If the ball is kicked out, those players remain in the game and can now combine passes with the remaining players with balls. The game ends when the last ball is kicked out of the grid. Assign new “hunters” after each game.
Progression:
- Increase the number of hunters.
- Make the grid smaller.
Coaching Points:
- Dribble away from pressure.
- Shield the ball if attacked.
Inside Out Penalty Box Game
Thursday, April 10, 2008 at 12:28PM 
Emphasis:
Speed dribbling and defending
Set-up:
Place five, six foot wide goals evenly around the outside of the penalty box, using cones or flags. Place plenty of extra balls around the perimeter of the box
Objective:
Simultaneously games of 1v1 occur for 1 minute at a time. Split your team into pairs. One player starts with the ball on the outside of the penalty box. The other player is the defender and starts in the middle of the box. The attacker can enter the box at anytime, but may only score by exiting through a gate while maintaining possession of the ball. If the ball is won, it is given back to the attacker.
Progression:
- Must find a new gate each time.
- On a turnover, switch the roles.
Coaching Points:
- Dribble at speed but keep the ball under control.
- Dribble straight at the defender and invite them to commit one way.
Cutting Off The Channels
Thursday, April 10, 2008 at 12:12PM Emphasis:
Dribbling for Penetration
Make a 20x10 yard area with two four yard goals on opposite sides of the grid. Two players are positioned in the grid and two players are resting, one behind each goal with extra balls. Repeat setup to accommodate the entire team.
Objective:
The player with the ball must beat his/her opponent on the dribble and pass it through the small goal to the resting player. If a goal is scored, the ball is stolen, or it goes over the line, a change of possession occurs and play continues in the opposite direction. Play for 1 minute and then switch with the resting players.
Progression:
- Increase the size of the area to 40x20 and make it 2v2.
- Increase the size of the area to 70x40 and make it 4v4.
Coaching Points:
- Defensive player should funnel the attacker away from the goal by forcing them to one side.
- Must get the defender off balance by quick and fancy footwork with the ball.
- Attacker must look for and create opportunities to penetrate.
Article is from www.soccerspecific.com
Bumper Balls
Monday, April 7, 2008 at 11:56AM
| Emphasis: Set-up: |
Objective:
For players to get comfortable striking a ball with the inside of the feet for accuracy and utilizing the instep drive over distances.
Progression:
- Player #1 and#2 stand next to each other to start.
- Player #1 passes his ball forward. The distance does not matter (10-20 yards approximately). Player #2 let’s player #1’s ball come to a complete stop. Player #2 then tries to pass his ball and hit player #1’s ball.
- Every time a player hits his opponent’s ball they collect a point.
- The player that gets three points first wins.
- Players keep alternating passes until one hits the other players’ ball.
- Winners and losers from different groups are paired and repeat the exercise.
- Once players are comfortable with this exercise, allow players to hit the ball as a moving target. At no time are any balls by either player allowed to come to full rest.
- Final progression to direct players to use a specific part of their foot only during that particular game.
Coaching Points:
- Weight of passes
- Timing of the pass
- Accuracy of the pass
- Utilizing instep with inside the foot as well as the outside of the foot
**Graphics provided by www.soccerspecific.com
Slalom Relay Races
Thursday, March 27, 2008 at 03:44PM 
Relay 1:
To start off I had the girls go for 2 minutes straight as fast as they could go through the cones. I challenged them to leave when the person in front of them got to the first cone to start and try to catch her. We did this four times. First it was however they wanted to dribble. The next two were with their weaker foot. We finished with them being able to dribble however they wanted.
Relay 2:
I let them race through it like the first relay with a couple of different ways to dribble. Then we had 5 teams and we had everyone battle to see who could complete the course first.