Soccer Coach Drills

By: Nicole Jackman

Break Studios Contributing Writer

If you want to be successful as a soccer coach, then learning how to put together winning soccer coach drills is a must. This article will equip you with some of the best soccer drills a coach can use. Soccer drills are important for many reasons. The right soccer drills will establish you as the mentor, the teacher of your team, and you will serve your team well as a coach. Soccer drills are meant to increase skill and improve team cohesiveness. These soccer drills will reinforce fundamental skills as well as get the players working as a team. There are many important concepts you need to learn to be a successful coach, and the right soccer drills are just one facet. Consider these drills as a stepping stone towards your coaching success. Soccer drills come in many forms, but they all have elementary concepts at heart. These are conditioning, reinforcement of basic skills and teamwork.

To put together soccer coaching drills, you will need:

  • A coaching book
  • Soccer coaching equipment (cones, nets, balls, etc.)
  • A soccer team to coach
  • An understanding of the sport
  1. Putting together winning soccer drills as a coach takes an understanding of the game. Drills will be used to improve skill and work conditioning. These drills target these areas and more. The first drill is working the soccer ball at the feet while maneuvering around cones. This is a fast-paced drill and should be monitored by the coach.
  2. Another drill pits defense against the midfield and strikers. Have your fullbacks, sweeper and stopper set up (you can mix in some midfielders here). Have the strikers and middies facing the delivering middies (back to goal) and have the attacking player turn and run to beat the defenders and strike on goal.
  3. The next drill will work on first touch and delivery. Have your players spread out about twenty-five yards. Deliver long balls back and forth, working on dropping the ball to the feet, using the foot or chest. There are literally dozens of drills based on this one that you can employ.
  4. Keep these things in mind. Always have your team work the ball at their feet. Work give-and-gos and timing drills between your middies and strikers. Lead passes are also very important. Have your defenders practice clearing the ball. Think of every aspect of the game and fold them into coaching drills.

Repetition is key to successful soccer drills. As a coach you need to fold in repetition and the basics. Have your team practice working together on touching and timing. By all means, scrimmage as much as possible to work on timing and on understanding where players can expect to find their teammates.

Posted on: Sep. 13, 2010