by Greg Bach
Figure 12-3: Successful shoulder tackles rely on using the entire body.
If your league allows some contact, take a look at the keys to executing a successful shoulder tackle:
Leverage: The key to making a shoulder tackle is being able to use the entire body to gain a better position to make a play on the ball. The player who gets her shoulder in front of the opposing player’s shoulder (see Figure 12-3a) without being called for pushing, is at a distinct advantage.
The feet: When the players arrive at the ball, the player who has the advantage in shoulder position uses the foot that is farther away from the defender to make a play on the ball (see Figure 12-3b). Using the inside foot makes it easier for the opponent to take the ball away. Using the outside leg and the outside portion of the foot makes it extremely difficult for the opposing player to have any chance at the ball.
Side tackle
You can use a side tackle, which is also referred to as a poke tackle, when a defender finds herself running alongside an attacking player who’s dribbling the ball and looking to penetrate for a shot on goal or deliver a pass to a teammate. Executing a side tackle requires the defender to be right next to the attacking player. When the attacking player is about to pass or kick the ball (see Figure 12-4a), the defensive player reaches her leg in, extends her foot, and knocks the ball away by using the toes of the foot nearer the opponent (see Figure 12-4b).
After the ball is poked away, if no other players are in the vicinity, whoever can react faster is able to make a move on the ball. Players who carry out the side tackle shouldn’t be satisfied with simply knocking the ball away from the opponent; encourage them to complete the play by hustling to gain possession of the ball for their team.
Remind players that they must be right next to the attacking player to pull off this type of tackle. If a defender isn’t close to the offensive player when attempting this move, and she extends her leg, she isn’t able to make contact with the ball, and the offensive player can scoot past her before she has a chance to recover, giving the attacking team a big advantage.
Figure 12-4: This player attempts to knock the ball away from her opponent with a side tackle.
Hook tackle
The hook tackle is similar to the sliding tackle in that the defensive player drops to the ground to carry it out. The biggest difference between the two is that hook tackles are done when the attacking player is dribbling right at the defender. The following are the steps to carry out a successful hook tackle:
Wait for commitment: After the attacking player commits to going left or right, the defender can begin to make a play on the ball (see Figure 12-5a).
Get low: As the attacking player moves to her right (see Figure 12-5b), the defender drops his body low to the ground and uses his right hand for balance. A common mistake many youngsters make when learning this technique is that they fail to get low to the ground right away. When they don’t, they’re often off balance and wind up lunging for the ball rather than making a hooking motion with their leg.
Top leg hooks ball: While bending the bottom leg, the player’s body connects with the ground, and he swings his top leg in a hooking motion to steal the ball (see Figure 12-5c). Teach youngsters to focus on making contact with the ball with the tops of their shoelaces. As your players become more experienced with this technique, some will actually be able to hook the ball and immediately gain control of it themselves.
Figure 12-5: A player uses the hook tackle to steal the ball.
Chapter 13
Coaching Restarts
In This Chapter
Mastering offensive opportunities
Making a defensive stand
Shooting, passing, and tackling are some of the basic skills youngsters must have a good command of in order to excel on the field, but other areas of the game deserve your attention too. In this chapter, we introduce you to those aspects of the game that make playing soccer so truly unique and exciting — and coaching it constantly challenging and fascinating.
Efficiently executing direct and indirect free kicks, penalty kicks, corner kicks, and throw-ins — all those skills that come in handy following a stoppage or interruption in play — provides enormous advantages for the attacking squad. Helping your youngsters learn how to capitalize on these opportunities enhances their skill set and hopefully their already-growing enjoyment of the sport. Furthermore, developing their ability to make defensive stands when the opposing team is in attack mode can be equally rewarding.
Initiating Offense
During your games this season, the majority of your team’s scoring chances may come in the form of throw-ins, direct and indirect kicks, and penalty kicks. Being prepared to take advantage of these opportunities when they arise can have a major impact on the game. For a basic description of the rules associated with these techniques, check out Chapter 3. And for associated drills, see Chapter 14.
Throw-ins
When the ball crosses the sideline during the course of action, play comes to a brief stop. The team that knocks the ball out of bounds loses possession, and its opponent gets to throw the ball in to start play again.
Put the throw-in into play as quickly as possible to gain the advantage if the opposing team isn’t in proper position to defend it.
The steps for executing a throw-in are the following:
1. The youngster must begin by holding the ball behind his head, with his body facing the direction in which he’s throwing the ball (see Figure 13-1a).
When the ball goes behind the head, the child’s elbows should be pointing out to the side to ensure that he gets the most power behind his throws.
2. The player throws the ball with a continuous forward thrust until the ball is released in front of his head. When the player follows through with the throw-in, he should snap his wrists.
The player must use both hands to throw the ball and keep his feet on the ground. He isn’t allowed a running start or a jump in the air to try to get more force behind the ball.
Make sure the player drags the toes on his rear foot hard enough so that he can hear it. This habit helps ensure that he’s never called for an illegal throw-in during the game for lifting his foot (see Figure 13-1b). More advanced players don’t rely on dragging the foot and can generate enough force on their throws by standing with their feet close together.
3. The player should deliver the ball at the feet of a teammate so she can easily control it and the team can begin its attack.
If the player throws the ball at head or chest level, it’s more difficult to control, and defensive players have more opportunities to come up with steals.
Figure 13-1: This child demon- strates the appropriate way to start a throw-in.
Some things to keep in mind when dealing with throw-ins and younger players include the following:
Teach them to always throw the ball in the direction of the other team’s goal. If the ball is thrown toward your own goal, and it’s misplayed, your team has handed over possession of the ball to the opposition closer to your own goal. See Figure 13-2 for the way in which the most basic throw-in shakes out.
If the ball has a lot of spin on it, the referee may rule that the player used one hand too much, and the opposing team will be given a throw-in. Stress to youngsters to follow through with both hands at their target, which helps prevent their stronger hand from having a more dominant role in the throw.
Figure 13-2: Throw the ball in up the field, toward the opponent’s goal.
During a game, having a throw-in at the opponent’s end of the field represents an excellent opportunity to run some plays to help create scoring opportunities. The following is a basic Screen-and-Roll play your team can use. (See Figure 13-3.) Here’s how it works:
Figure 13-3: Use this Screen-and-Roll for your team’s throw-ins.
1. Player A tells Player B to be ready for the pass.
This statement makes the defensive players think the ball is going to Player B, and they may
relax their coverage a little bit on the other attacking players.
2. Player B moves forward as though he’s receiving the pass.
3. Player C sprints down the sideline.
Player B, moving forward, creates a partial screen to help enable Player C to get free to receive the pass.
4. Player A throws the ball to Player C.
Penalty kicks
The referee awards a penalty kick to the attacking team when a defensive player commits a penalty inside the penalty area. These kicks are golden opportunities to score a goal, because the goalie is at an overwhelming disadvantage. A penalty kick is a free shot that’s taken from a spot 12 yards in front of the goal.
The penalty-kick spot is a lot closer for younger players in beginner leagues. Know your league’s rules (as we remind you in Chapter 2). You may be embarrassed if your team has been practicing penalty kicks from 12 yards away during the week, only to earn a penalty kick on game day and find out that you can take these kicks from 7 yards away.
During the kick, the goalie must have his heels on the goal line. He can move side to side as long as he doesn’t leave the line until the ball is kicked. All the other players must stand out of the penalty area. The more experienced your players are, the more exactly you want them to aim their shots when they’re awarded penalty kicks. Ideally, you want them to aim at a spot within approximately 4 feet of either goal post. Depending on the age of your team, you have two options for what kind of shot to take:
Push pass: At the younger levels of play, you may want your players to take the shot by using a push pass. As we discuss in Chapter 9, using the inside of the foot delivers a more accurate shot than an instep kick from this short distance, and the youngster should be able to get enough force behind the ball to beat the goalie.
Instep kick: At the more advanced levels of soccer, players are able to utilize powerful instep kicks, because over the course of playing several seasons, they usually develop pretty good accuracy with this type of kick.
A good way to help young players hone their penalty-kicking skills is to set up a pylon behind the goal line in the net about 2 feet away from each goal post. If players are comfortable hitting the target (in this case, the pylon), they’re sure to enjoy the same amount of success with a goalie standing in their way. A well-placed penalty kick with a decent amount of pace behind it is virtually impossible for a goalie to stop at any level of play. Having kids aim at a pylon in this drill helps them learn to pick out a spot inside each goal post that will be an extremely difficult shot for any goalie to stop.
Corner kicks
When a team knocks the ball past its own goal line, the opposing team is awarded a corner kick from the corner arch on the side of the field where the ball went out of play (see Figure 13-4). During the kick, defensive players must be at least 10 yards from the player kicking the ball, while the teammates of the youngster delivering the corner kick may position themselves anywhere they choose.
Generally speaking, the more players positioned in the goal area, the more difficult the goalkeeper’s job of fielding the ball amid all the traffic around him. Ideally, you want the players to position their kicks about 5 yards in front of the net, which makes moving on the ball more difficult for the goalie. You can employ a number of tactics on a corner kick, depending on the age and skill level of your team:
Assist a header: If you have a height advantage over the other team, you can send a high corner kick to the front of the net that your taller players can attempt to head into the goal.
Short corner kick: Inexperienced players, or those players who don’t have the leg strength to boot the ball toward the goal, can execute a short corner kick. Here, the ball is simply passed to a teammate positioned a short distance away, and the attack begins from there. This play is highly effective when the player receiving the ball is a skilled dribbler who can help work the ball into the opposition’s penalty area to get off a shot or deliver a pass to a teammate to generate a scoring chance.
Back pass: Here, the youngster sends the ball back toward midfield. Taking this approach allows the team to set up and get its players positioned for the ensuing attack.
Figure 13-4: Your team can use several tactics when attempting a corner kick.
One of the most effective techniques for teaching corner kicks is instructing the child to use her instep and kick low on the ball to get it airborne. The instep gives the child the most control over the ball. With older and more experienced players, you can work with them to come across the ball slightly as they make contact with it (check out Chapter 11, where we cover the banana kick), which generates spin on the ball — much like a golfer who draws (hooks) the ball on his tee shot (making it go right to left). This extra spin makes it more difficult for the goalie to handle the incoming ball. If you have a strong-footed kicker on your team who can deliver the ball to the farthest goal post, and a player who’s pretty good at headers to make contact with the pass, they may be a potent tandem that your team can utilize to create scoring opportunities.
Free kick
The officials award two kinds of free kicks — direct and indirect — when players commit fouls. Free kicks are a great opportunity for your team to get organized, run a set play that you practiced during the week, and take control of the action on the field. The opposing players must be at least 10 yards away from the ball during a free kick. The most obvious difference between these two free kicks is that a direct free kick may be kicked directly at the goal, whereas an indirect free kick must touch another player before your team scores.
As you can see in the following sections, you’re certainly at an advantage when your player with the strongest leg takes the direct kick and your best passer handles the indirect kick. But make sure that all the kids get plenty of work in these areas during practice. During the game, your strongest player may be at the other end of the field without time to run over to take the kick. Also, you should work closely with all your kids so that each one has enough confidence to take the kick, and regardless of how proficient the players are in this area of the game, all of them should have equal opportunities to try these kicks during the course of the game.
Direct free kicks
Direct free kicks (see Figure 13-5) provide the opportunity for you to get a little creative with your coaching. The more experienced and talented your players are, the more room you’re afforded with your play calling, and the more options you have at your disposal. Working on a series of different plays in practice gives your team options to choose among on game day. Take a look at some key points to consider when taking a direct free kick:
Figure 13-5: You can get creative when set- ting up to take a direct kick.
The fewer, the better: When your team sets up for a direct free kick in the vicinity of the opposing team’s goal, the less time you spend on passes and the quicker you get the shot on goal, the better, because it translates into improved scoring chances. Using set plays that involve multiple passes provides the defense plenty of time to react and recover in order to make a steal or disrupt the play. During practices, teach the players to take a direct shot, or at least limit the team to one pass before shooting.
Attack quickly: When setting up to take a direct kick, regardless of where it’s from, do so quickly. These kicks are wonderful opportunities to begin a successful attack, and your team members enjoy greater success if they get play restarted quickly, before the other team has an opportunity to set up. If the defense has already gotten into position, don’t rush if no tactical advantage exists. Get the team situated first and then proceed.
Use decoys: These decoys are so-called trick plays that your team will, excuse the pun, get a real kick out of. They’re fun to learn and practice, and when the deception translates into a goal on game day, everyone feels good seeing it all come together. For example, you can have a player charge up to the ball as if he’s going to deliver a kick, but at the last second step over the ball and look to receive a pass f
rom another player taking the free kick.
Good passer: If you have a child on your team who has emerged as an excellent passer, you can take advantage of those skills by having her handle the free kick in a key situation. The ability to chip the ball over the wall of opposing players in front of the goal (see the “The wall — and other techniques for defending against free kicks” section, later in this chapter) is an excellent asset that can really put the defense on its heels and force your opponents to scramble to recover.
All areas: Free kicks occur at random spots all over the field during games, not just in front of the goal, so vary the spots where you practice free kicks. Being prepared to take free kicks from all areas of the field and at different angles is crucial in order to exploit these opportunities to the fullest.
Direct shots: The defensive team setting up a wall in front of it doesn’t necessarily mean that your player handling the direct kick should look to pass rather than shoot. If your team is in a prime scoring area of the field, teach your players to take a good look at the wall before passing up a shot. The defensive team may have a wall set up that isn’t technically sound, and your player can exploit it by executing a shot on net. If the player can get off a shot, strongly encourage him to do so.