Soccer Practice Games: Shooting Secrets Revealed

What if I told you that young players enjoy the soccer practice games the most when they are scoring goals. For this reason, you must look for opportunities to score goals and integrate for them. Scores of options are available today that can be carried out to generate prospects like this. For example there are small sided games, shooting drills, and full-field scrimmages.

During small sided games and full field scrimmages, keep varying the processes to promote more goal scoring.  Incorporate games that don’t need goalkeepers, or limit the movement of goalkeepers within the warning lines. Expand the existing goalpost or you may include more goals for the purpose of increasing goal scoring opportunities.

During soccer training, players can improve goal creation by becoming a skilled shooter and developing their judgment skills. Similar to passing skills, it works well to initiate shooting methods pretty early in the development of kids but lay more emphasis at the later stages.

Doing soccer drills is also one of the methods to make the players skilled at shooting techniques. Shooting drills develop and improve the shooting skills that players require to successfully score goals. So it is imperative for you as a coach to develop your player’s shooting skills more and more.

Soccer Training

In your soccer exercises, coach the players how to strike the ball appropriately while shooting it. Players can use the inside of their foot to take shots from a close range. When the inside of the feet is used, it has a greater precision. In situations when more power is needed, teach players to strike the ball using the instep of the foot, with toes pointed downwards and ankle locked.

Positioning of the non kicking foot has an effect on the height of the shot. So players should be taught to position the non kicking foot a little ahead of the ball to keep the shot low. Ensure that there are no distractions such as moving balls, moving shooters, or defenders so that the players can focus only on striking the ball.

You can start the drill progression in soccer practice games with a stationery ball and a stationery shooter. As the players get comfortable with the shooting techniques, make the challenge difficult by putting the shooter in action before he/she hits the ball. Such a shift will distract from the accuracy of the striking efforts at first, because the player’s visualization must serve a double purpose.

One, it should help the shooter negotiate space in the direction of the ball and second, it should help him/her put their foot at the exact spot on the ball.

As players become confident, enhance the level of difficulty by placing both shooter and the ball in motion, and create a more game like state. When they improve their shooting, throw the balls towards them at irregular speeds.

So now you know! Create more opportunities for scoring goals in soccer practice games and the players will derive the most of the sessions. You can join our youth soccer coaching community for more in-depth knowledge on youth soccer.

Andre Botelho is a recognized authority in youth soccer coaching and has already helped thousands of youth coaches to dramatically improve their coaching skills. Learn  how to explode your players’ skills and make training fun by downloading your free ebook at: Fun Soccer Drills.

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