Coaching Soccer Drills: A Guide To Shooting Tactics
You’ve probably heard it a hundred times that in coaching soccer drills, all tactics, skills, and teamwork taught to the players ultimately lead to a shot on the goal. It takes both skill and instinct to develop the art of good shooting. But there is one more thing that is equally important towards shooting; an aggressive attitude.
It is the responsibility of every player but more importantly that of the forward players to shoot the ball. When teaching soccer, give a lot of emphasis on shooting.
There are so many things that may be a consequence of shooting. Shots can be converted into goals. The goalkeeper might drop the ball exactly at the feet of your forward player. Wild shots can turn into great passes. Ground shots may spring back. A goal might result out of a straight shot.
When in soccer practice, attacking players are always looking for a chance to shoot the ball right into the goal. They are accustomed to think only about scoring a goal when in the field. In England, these attacking players are called sniffers. This is due to the fact that they are always on the lookout for scoring chances.
To them, every opportunity is the last one they will get and hence shoot ferociously. You will see that they are always available when the situation is favorable. They’ll even make the most of being in the wrong place at the right time. Therefore, in coaching soccer drills you must ask the players to hit the ball at every opportunity.
As a general rule, any kick that causes the ball to go towards the goal is considered as a shot. But the most successful technique to drive the ball is striking it through the middle by using the laces of the foot. To carry this out, the player should have his head over the ball, his toe should be extended, and his upper body should keep steady.
In the course of coaching drills, teach your players to shoot the ball wide and low to the goalie. At this point, low ground shots are favored over high shots. The reason is that low shots are especially difficult for the goalies to stop as they have to move their hands a greater distance than for high shots.
Young players while practicing inside regulation sized goals, tend to score more by kicking the ball over the head of the goalkeeper. This must be discouraged otherwise players form the habit of shooting very high goals. In coaching soccer drills, don’t allow the kids to play in adult sized goals to stop this practice.
So go ahead and make your players expert in shooting the ball to score goals by confirming the position of the goalkeeper once before shooting.
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Andre Botelho is the author of “The Expert Youth Soccer Coaching Guide” and he’s a recognized expert in the subject of youth soccer coaching. Learn how to explode your players’ skills and make coaching sessions fun in less than 29 days! Download your free pdf guide at: Youth Soccer Drills.
