Soccer Skills:

Does Your Soccer Team Have fun...and Win?

Learn to develop players and dominate teams

Tactical

Soccer Tactics are the strategy behind the game. It is “X’s and O’s” of how you will implement offense and defense. All tactical articles will be identified with the green panel of the soccer ball (shown left). While soccer tactics can be explored on a general level, it is best if we examine what is appropriate on each age level as players become more capable as they become more aware as people and as players.

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Fitness

Fitness and nutrition becomes the top of the pyramid where performance can be impacted by training and is only appropriate at older ages where mastery of ball and tactics, as well as a developed body make sense. While we can all eat healthier and become fitter as adults, it’s important and fundamental to understand that fitness – as a concept – isn’t age appropriate until you reach eleven.

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Technical

This is really the core of our work as youth coaches. How do we help develop the necessary technical soccer skills within our players? What are the best drills and where should we start? Dribbling, trapping, heading…it’s all so overwhelming.

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Psychological

If we strive to understand our players and their capabilities, we are fundamentally in a better position to meet their needs and connect with them as people, so we can motivate and inspire them. One of the biggest mistakes that we make is that we approach the game through our eyes – not our players’ eyes. As a result, we treat kids as “little” adults instead of, well, kids.

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Team Management

Before you even meet your players or step onto the field, you are managing the team. This area encompasses all aspects of the game because you are the director. Not only does this include the four on-field aspects of the game, but also all the things that need to happen off the field: coaching philosophy, team meetings, paperwork, interfacing with parents, quickly disseminating information, injuries, tryouts, etc.

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Coaching Sphere

We developed the CoachingSphere as a framework to help you visualize your role as coach and to cultivate the best development of players and teams. The five areas are: team management, player psychology, technical skills & drills, soccer tactics and fitness & nutrition. Utilizing this framework enables us to easily break down each of the five building block components and examine them individually and in context for the team and the player for maximum player development.

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Who do you coach

Discover Age Appropriate Soccer Information for your Team

Soccer Skills

Find Fun Soccer Drills that Will Challenge your Players

Free Soccer Drills
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Soccer Skill:
Agility

Freeze Jump

As a foundation for agility, the ability to land safely and effectively is a critical skill to be mastered. Being able to land competentlywhen jumping different distances, heights and angles can significantly reduce risk of injury whilst providing a solid base for rapid direction changes and deceleration. Freeze jump is a simple game that can be played with players of all ages to help them develop their landing competence.

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Soccer Skill:
Agility

Balance challenges

A few progressively more difficult balance challenges to help your players develop a solid base of balance and stability as the foundation for safe and effective soccer skill development.

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Soccer Skill:
Warm-Up

Movement Based Warm-Up Part Three

These Movement Based Warm Ups provide a general framework for organising and structuring warm ups for your young players, and as such can be simply adapted or modified to include and challenge a variety of different football and movement skills alongside the development of teamwork, co-operation, decision-making and communication skills. Each of the three parts shown here illustrate a few of the large number of skills that can be practiced through this warm up framework.

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Soccer Coaching Blog
calm

Play Soccer with Calmness, Not Panic

Soccer is a fast-paced game and is sure to test even the most calm of nerves.  With exhaustion settling in towards the end of games and the score line possibly demanding extra efforts of desperation, players will often play with a bit of panic in their game.  For some players, a lack of confidence can [...]

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Richard Swanson (c)BreakAwayBrazil.com

Man Dribbling Soccer Ball from Seattle to Brazil Dies

A Seattle man was struck by a car and killed Tuesday morning as he was on his mission of dribbling a soccer ball from Seattle to Brazil.  His goal was to get to Brazil in time for the start of the 2014 World Cup.  The man was identified as 42 year old Richard Swason, who Lincoln City Police found [...]

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water

Maintain Proper Hydration When Playing Soccer

Whether you are playing a small-sided pickup game in the backyard, or you are part of an international soccer team bracing for a World Cup match, soccer players must take care of their bodies.  This involves proper nutrition but also quality hydration.  Making sure that you have drunk enough water beforehand to be ready for [...]

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Player steps up to take a penalty kick (c) Wallstreet Journal

Penalty Kick: Who Takes It?

Your team is awarded a penalty kick in a match and it’s time to decide who will be stepping up to take the penalty.  Do you let the person who has earned the penalty take it?  Do you have one or two designated players on the team who will always take it?  Do you select [...]

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eplball

Champions League Qualification Building Suspense for Top London Clubs

The three clubs of Chelsea, Tottenham, and Arsenal are the finest clubs that London has to offer on the soccer field, and they are currently engaged in an epic battle for the two remaining spots in the Champions League next season.  For any club, the Champions League represents the pinnacle games of the season, with [...]

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