You may know this already that in coaching soccer drills, every other skill leads to one final aim, a shot at the goal. It is both a matter of skill and intuition to cultivate the art of shooting. But there is something more that is equally important and that is a persuasive attitude.
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 a number of things that may come out of shooting. Shots can be positioned towards a goal. It might be that the goalkeeper drops the ball at the foot of your forward player. Unruly shots can turn into brilliant passes. Ground shots may return. You might even score a goal directly from the shot.
When in soccer practice, attacking players are always looking for a chance to shoot the ball right into the goal. They are made to think in a way that they always have goal scoring on their mind. These attacking players are referred to as sniffers in England. It is so because they are always looking for scoring opportunities.
To them, every opportunity is the last one they will get and hence shoot ferociously. They are always present when the opportunity is right. They have the skills to even convert negative situations into positive ones. Therefore, in coaching soccer drills you must ask the players to hit the ball at every opportunity.
As a rule, a shot is whenever the ball it hit in the direction of the goal with the intent to score. Yet, one technique that is most effective is driving the ball through the middle by use of the laces of the foot. Make sure that the player’s head is over the ball, his toe remains extended, and his upper body keeps steady.
In the course of coaching drills, teach your players to shoot the ball wide and low to the goalie. Herein, low ground shots take priority 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. You need to discourage your players on this as this leads them to a habit of shooting high goals. This practice can be put to stop in coaching soccer drills by not allowing players to adult sized goals.
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.
Tags: coaching drills, coaching soccer drills, Soccer practice, teaching soccer