You must be aware that defense is the foundation of any soccer game and the drills for soccer should also teach them to conquer the opposite team’s defense.
Some coaches tend to teach their players to play either defense or offense. Right kind of soccer drills teach all players defense when the ball is with the opponent and offence when it is with them.
After the ball has gone out of the player’s charge, they must go after it right away. Any player who fails to keep the ball with him should be the one to run after it first. Since this player is next to his rival who has the possession of the ball, he must have the potential to put a lot of pressure on him. This will have an effect on the rival who has the ball resulting in an awful pass or losing the ball.
Ensure that in soccer practice, when a player is running behind a opponent who has the ball, the remaining players can back him up. His entry into your goal area should be postponed as much as possible.
Center of the field is a critical region. Your drills for soccer must therefore force the opponent with the ball to move towards the touchline. This will restrict his ability to pass the ball and will also limit the directions that he can go to.
It’s the arc of concentration where record number of goals is scored and is also the most hazardous. This arc is in the face of the goal. It kicks off from the corner post of the goal right through to the corner of the goal box and then makes its way to the touchline. Consequently, fill your training sessions with a lot of soccer exercises that teach them to work the ball around in this area as the opposition can easily score a goal here.
When it comes to protecting, maintaining a balance is crucial to success. In this, the players close to the ball play firm. This conveys that they should stay as close as possible to the ball. Players that are far away from the ball play lose. This implies that these players play at positions where they can cover maximum number of players than just one.
Your team will be in control when they have the ball. For this, take away the ball from your opponent as efficiently and quickly as you can. A great number of coaches commit a blunder by permitting the players to engage with the ball. This refers to sliding into the ball without touching the opponent and knocking the ball away from him.
In case they miss the ball here, they will get back to the ground and the opposition would attack the goal.
So include these tips in your drills for soccer so that your players get more adapted to playing a defensive game. Register for our youth soccer coaching community and gain access to knowledge, tips, articles, newsletters, videos from the field of soccer.
Andre Botelho is a recognized expert in youth soccer coaching. He influences well over 35,000 youth coaches each year with his unique coaching philosophy, and makes it really easy to explode your players’ skills and make training more fun in record time. To download your free youth soccer coaching guide visit: Drills for soccer.
