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 other than this, winning attitude is also equally important.
All the players must be involved in this but more importantly; it is up to the forward players to shoot the ball. When teaching soccer, give a lot of emphasis on shooting.
There are so many things that may result from a shoot. Shots can be redirected into the goal. It may happen that the goalkeeper drops the ball right in front of your forward. Directionless shots can become beautiful passes. Ground shots may spring back. You may even hit a goal through a straight shot.
At the time of soccer practice, the attacking players always try to make the most of every goal-scoring opportunity. They are trained in a way that they think of nothing else but scoring goals. These attacking players are referred to as sniffers in England. This happens because they are always reviewing scoring chances.
They take every chance for a shot as if it is the last chance that they’ll ever get. They are always present when the opportunity is right. They have the skills to even convert negative situations into positive ones. Hence, in coaching soccer drills, you must instruct the players to hit the ball whenever they get a chance.
As a general rule, any kick that causes the ball to go towards the goal is considered as a shot. One of the most effective techniques of driving the ball is through its middle with the help of 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.
When kids practice inside the regulation sized goals, they are likely to score more by striking the ball above the goalie’s head. As a result of it, the players develop the tendency to shoot high goals so this must be discouraged. When coaching soccer drills, put a stop to this activity by not permitting kids to play in adult sized goals.
So get going and train your team members to see and confirm the goalkeeper’s position before they shoot the ball into the goalpost.
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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.
Tags: coaching drills, coaching soccer drills, Soccer practice, teaching soccer