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Drills
Footwork | Defense | Offense | Shooting
"When you're not practicing, remember, someone, somewhere is practicing, and when you meet them, they will win." Ed Macauley
Links to ATSC resources appear to the left and links outside ATSC appear below.
Specific Drills
Web Sites with Many Drills
If you have other suggested resources, please send them to the ATSC webmaster.
Daily Drills
What to do on days when there is no practice or game
The following collection of footwork and dribbling moves was put together by Dennis Mueller, a boy's U16 competitive coach in Princeton, NJ from the tapes by Weil Coerver (1-2-3 Goal, Coerver Coaching), Frans van Balkom (On the Attack), Hubert Vogelsinger (Videocoach Vogelsinger) and Dario Gradi (Soccer Skills for the 90s). The following is what Dennis wrote about the collection (this page is available as Daily Soccer Drills, a 3-page pdf (29kb) from The Arlington Pride, Elite and Mutiny combined soc-cer.org site).
- Inside Roll -- Roll the ball across your body from outside to inside with the inside and sole of the foot and stop the ball with the inside of the other foot.
- Outside Roll -- Roll the ball across your body from inside to outside with the outside and sole of the foot and stop the ball with the inside of the same foot.
- Side to Side Push-Pull -- Tap ball back and forth with inside of feet, push ball forward with one foot and pull it back the sole of the opposite foot.
- Side to Side Step-On -- Roll ball to outside with the sole by stepping lightly on the ball, then tap ball back to the inside with the inside of the foot.
- Side to Side Front Roll --Tap ball back and forth with inside of feet, push ball slightly forward then pull the ball across your body with the front part of the sole.
- Pull Instep Push -- Push ball forward and pull it back with the sole, then tap ball forward with the instep of the same foot.
- Pull a Vee -- Push the ball forward and pull it back the sole of the foot while turning and then take the ball with the inside of the same foot.
- Pull & Take with Outside of Foot -- Push the ball forward and pull the ball back with the sole then push the ball diagonally forward with the outside of the foot.
- Pull & Roll Behind -- Push the ball forward and pull the ball back with the sole of the foot then pass the ball behind the standing leg with the inside of the foot. Control the ball with the sole of the other foot. feet.
- Pull turn --Push ball forward with one foot and pull it back with the other while turning toward ball and take the ball in the opposite direction with the inside of the first foot.
- Inside of foot turn -- Push ball forward, move past ball and turn toward ball and take it with the inside of the foot in the opposite direction.
- Outside of foot turn -- Push ball forward, move past ball and turn toward ball while taking it with the outside of the foot in the opposite direction.
- Cruyff -- Push the ball forward, fake kick with inside of foot, but instead pull ball behind the standing leg and change directions.
- Stepover Turn -- Push ball forward, step over ball with one foot, turn toward ball and take it in the opposite direction.
- Full Sole Roll -- Roll the sole of one foot forward over the ball and to the outside so the ball stops against your heel. Turn and take the ball with the sole of the other foot with a Step-On.
- Scissors -- Starting with the ball to one side, step over or in front of ball so that the ball ends up on the other side of you. Take theball in the opposite direction with the outside of the other foot and then stop ball with the sole of the first foot.
- 360 -- Push ball forward, stop it with the sole of one foot while stepping past it, turn and drag ball back with sole of other foot, continue turning all the way around and take the ball with the inside of the first foot.
- Kick Over ball -- Kick over ball with inside of foot then pull it back with the sole of the same foot.
- Hip Swivel -- Fake with inside of one foot by swivelling hips toward ball, then reverse direction and take the ball with the inside of the other foot.
- Matthews -- Fake with inside of foot nudging ball by dipping shoulder, then take ball in the opposite direction with the outside of same foot. (explode)
- Cap -- Cut ball with inside of foot slightly backward and take ball ahead with the inside of the opposite foot.
- Stepover -- With ball moving, stepover ball so ball is outside of stepover foot, turn and take the ball with the other foot.
- Scissors over ball -- Step behind ball as if preparing to take it with the outside of one foot, then step over the ball and take it with the outside of the other foot.
- Rivelino -- Same as stepover, but take the ball with outside of stepover foot.
- Vee -- Fake pass with instep (across body), pull ball back with sole and take in opposite direction with the inside of the same foot.
- Cruyff -- Fake kick with inside of foot, but instead pull ball behind the standing leg and change directions.
- Inside of foot cut -- Cut the ball across body with inside of foot while simultaneously stepping over it and take with outside of opposite foot.
- 3/4 Inside of foot turn -- Cut ball back with inside of foot, continue turning 3/4 of the way around and take the ball with the inside of the same foot
- 3/4 Outside of foot turn -- Cut ball back with outside of foot, continue turning 3/4 of the way around and take the ball with the outside of the same foot
- Scissors behind ball -- Step behind ball as if preparing to take it with outside of one foot, fake, then take it with the outside of the opposite foot. (easy to learn)
- Scissors in front of ball -- Step behind ball as if preparing to take it with outside of one foot, then step around front of ball and take it with outside ofthe other foot.
- Double Scissors -- Push ball forward, make alternate scissors steps and take with outside of first foot. (ineffective close to opponent)
- Reverse Matthews -- Fake with outside of one foot, step behind and take with outside of opposite foot. (also called body swerve or Touch 'n go)
- Stepover - Scissors -- Ball rolling. Stepover followed by scissors with same foot and take with outside of other foot.
- Front Roll -- While moving forward, pull ball across body with sole and take with outside of opposite foot.
- Rolls (4 each foot)
- Inside Roll
- Outside roll
- Foundation (4 each foot, alternating feet 3 touches between moves)
- Side to Side
- Push-Pull
- Side to Side Step-On
- Side to Side Front Roll
- Pull back and go. Do sequence with one foot then switch (4 times each foot )
- Pull, Instep Push
- Pull a Vee
- Pull & Take with Outside of foot
- Pull & Roll Behind
- Turns: Travel 10 feet turn 180 degrees use 3 touches between turns (4 times each foot)
- Pull Turn
- Inside of foot turn
- Outside of foot turn
- Cruyff
- Stepover Turn
- Change of direction with fakes, 3 touches betweens turns (4 times each foot)
- Hip Swivel
- Matthews
- Cap
- Stepover
- Scissors
- Rivelino (You can substitute any of the "Moves to Beat an Opponent")
Complete Seven Minute drill is more than 575 touches on the ball.
Spend another ten minutes passing against a wall, both feet, both one and two-touch, instep and inside of feet, include fake kicks. Keep feet moving and work on accuracy.
Spend ten minutes juggling the ball trying to get 100 consecutive juggles.
Do 50 to 100 situps, then stretch.
Try to do complete workout every day. This workout can be done anywhere that there is little danger of breaking things, for instance in a basement, playroom or outside.
Shooting Drills
Shooting drills (adapted from "tal" on GotSoccer)
Find a fence or backstop to set the goal up in front of so you don't spend all your time chasing balls. You also need to have about ten balls to work with (all properly inflated).
To start:
Have the shooter standing about 20 yards out from the goal. Have a ball server standing behind and to the right side of the shooter. As the shooter starts to run, serve a rolling ball for the shooter to run onto and shoot. Ideally, the shooter is 10-15 yards from the goal when they shoot. Also, ideally, you'll have a keeper (mom's and dad's work fine for younger shooters) standing in the goal. The shooter shoots for accuracy (i.e., just inside the post on either side). Do this 3 times 10 balls with the right foot then repeat with the left foot.
Change the drill by having the server stand in front of the shooter and to one side. The server is now cutting the ball back to the shooter who is running on to it. Accuracy of shot placement is again the objective. Do this 3 times 10 balls with each foot.
At this point you've taken 120 shots on goal.
You can take this drill to the next level by serving a bouncing ball to the shooter.
Finally, you can serve square balls from either side. These are the hardest and should come last.
If you are good enough to serve the ball consistently with your foot great. If not, serve it from your hand. Either way you need to consistently serve a ball that is correctly paced and accurately delivered.
Important:
These drills (or any others for that matter) should be set to the level of the player. A good rule of thumb is that the player should be successfully hitting the target at least 50% of the time before you increase either the speed of service or difficulty of the drill.
Fitness, Conditioning, Soccer Health
Links to ATSC resources appear to the left and links outside ATSC appear below.
Upper Body Strength
Courtesy of the ATSC Pride ('91G)
The Importance of Upper Body Strength
A Q&A with Sue Hammond - Trainer for the Washington Freedom and Women's National Team
Sue Hammond was the trainer for the U.S. national team during the 1999 Women's World Cup and now serves as the trainer for the Washington Freedom.
Following is a question and answer session concerning the importance of upper body strength in soccer players and what players can do to increase that strength.
Q: Discuss the importance of upper body strength in soccer players.
A: People often don't think soccer players use their upper arms, because they're usually just thinking legs, and kicking, and running, but we see a lot of shoulder and wrist injuries when players are trying to hold off opponents and fighting for the ball. Also, another huge occurrence of injuries is when the players are knocked down and fall and catch themselves.
Upper body strength is just a good way of preventing any injuries from happening.
Q: What are some tips for increasing/improving upper body strength?
A: I'm a 100% for free weights. Any kind of free weights, as long as someone who knows what they're doing teaches them. We concentrate primarily on the shoulders, the pecs, the back, and the trunk for stabilization. We also do a variety (of exercises) so the girls don't get burned out. We don't do a lot of heavy weights, and we do about 10-12 reps. It's not strenuous, but it's enough.
Q: What types of exercises do you do specifically?
A: We do your typical curls and extensions for the biceps and triceps, and then we also do upright and seated rows, bench press, inclines, lat pull-downs, push-ups, and pull-ups.
Changing Direction
From "The Champion Within," by Lauren Gregg
Changing Direction
By Lauren Gregg
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The ability to change direction is critical in soccer. Consequently, in your physical training, be careful not to do only straight-ahead conditioning.
As a collegiate coach, I would always know who had done enough playing and soccer-specific training over the summer. The players that had done enough pure "running" as a primary means of preparing for pre-season were very sore because they hadn't used the muscles needed to play soccer.
They hadn't trained the ability to change direction, to accelerate and decelerate. Ideally, playing in competitive games has to be a consistent part of your preparation. Otherwise, you must perform the sport-specific movements to train the muscles required to play soccer.
"I feel my strengths are my acceleration and changing directions," says Mia Hamm. "A lot of the Coerver moves combine both of those things--high-speed change of direction and quick acceleration after one or two touches."
When changing directions, you need to be able to have your body in a position to either control the ball or receive the ball to burst past an opponent.
"When you change directions quickly, it's important to be in control of your body, and that's something I've recently learned," says Michelle Akers. "I've learned that I'm a flailer. I flail everywhere.
"When I stop, I'm off-balance and my arms are flying all over the place. I should be together, staying compact in one unit. That way, I can effectively go in another direction and move efficiently."
"Being a flailer has probably been why I got injured so much," adds Michelle. "When you are off-balance and in contact with another player, bad things are going to happen. So I'm learning not to flail.
"If you watch Kristine Lilly, she's not a flailer. She is always in balance and ready to move. She's never flailing around. Joy (Fawcett) is the same way."
Player Tips
Useful resources for players from ATSC and from around the web
This section is for documents, links and information that are useful to ATSC players, a mix of FAQs and other useful information.
Let us know what you find useful and what else you would like to see here by sending an email to the ATSC webmaster.
Recommended Reading
Books and articles recommended by ATSC coaches
These are books and articles recommended by ATSC coaches. Unless otherwise noted, book descriptions are from Amazon.com. (Buying these books by clicking these links to Amazon.com helps support ATSC.)
9 Critical Characteristics of Successful Soccer Athletes
Courtesy of the ATSC Pride ('91G)
9 Critical Characteristics you must have to be a successful soccer athlete!
By Jeremy Boone
Soccer has rapidly evolved into a quicker and faster game. Not only does it take excellent technical and tactical skills, but also a higher degree of athleticism in order to be a competitive player. Because of this increased level of play, there are great soccer players and there are great soccer athletes. Take for example Rivaldo,
Juggling Tips
By Larry Paul, a founding member of WAGS
Juggling is often viewed as the quickest method to acquire touch and ball mastery. It has become something of a benchmark that relates to skill. But what does it actually show? Is a player that can juggle 300 times twice as good as one that can only juggle 150? When practicing juggling what is the angle of the balls flight to the player? Straight down. Does this
Principles of Defense - from WUSA
Courtesy of the West Chester (PA) United Soccer Club
Principles of Defense
By Tony DiCicco
For all you young (and not so young) fans who watch the WUSA games, try to watch the teams as well as the players and take notice which side of the ball they are on. In the next two articles, I will describe the "Principles of Defense" and the "Principles of Attack." I think if you understand these principles a bit better, you will appreciate what the players are doing and understand why they are doing it. Then you will become a better player yourself.
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