Simple Tips that will Significantly Impact Games

As I approach my one-hundredth post, I have learned the following:

• Gore sells. Besides the home page, my most popular post was the one about Aaron Ramsey’s broken leg.
• Initially, I thought I only had ideas for 25 or 30 posts. I now know I have what seems like an endless supply of material to write about.
• My content must be OK as Soccer America has reprinted five articles to date and Potomac Soccer Wire reprints one of my posts weekly.
• I have learned that most soccer blogs cover professional games, leagues, and players. Very few blogs are dedicated to improving youth soccer for an audience of youth coaches, players, and parents.

The other day I was looking at the page hits and noticed that a set of very valuable articles I wrote early on has not gotten the love or attention I feel they deserve. I have written 20 articles that start with the title, “2-3 Goal Difference per Game”. These were written primarily for coaches who tend to over-coach, place too much importance on the X’s and O’s, and don’t let their players go out and have fun and make mistakes.

Soccer, especially at the youth level, should be about free play and only a few coaches’ instructions during games. These articles include simple coaching tips that should be easy for players to understand and learn quickly. These tips will dramatically affect the outcome of a game. While player development, and not winning, should be a youth coach’s ultimate goal, increasing a team’s chances of winning without compromising development and fun is not a bad thing either.

You will find the subject matter and respective links to the 20 articles below. Enjoy!

• Indirect Free Kicks
• Goal Kicks
• Corner Kicks
• Throw-Ins
• Quick Kicks
• Dribble On Goal
• Penalty Kicks
• Role of the Goalie
• No Offside Traps
• Bombs Away
• Good Sportsmanship
• Play the Whistle
• Shots On Goal
• Communication
• Simple Goalkeeper Tricks
• Never Let the Ball Hit the Ground
• Follow up the Shot
• Smart Pass-Backs to the Goalie
• Neutralize the Best Player
• Home-Field Advantage

2-3 Goal Difference Per Game: Indirect Free Kicks

Treat all free kicks as direct free kicks (DFK), even when the referee signals an indirect kick (IDK). This is especially true when your team is inside or just outside the opposing team’s penalty area.

According to the laws of the game on IFKs, “a goal can be scored only if the ball subsequently touches another player before it enters the goal”. Coaches and players usually take this to mean a teammate must first touch the ball. But the law states that it can be any player.

For all IFKs around the opponents penalty area, have one of your stronger kickers take a low shot on goal. If the ball goes into the net, I guarantee you that more often than not, a field player or the goalie will have touched the ball first.

Tips:

• Shoot the ball on the ground so it can get deflected.
• Shoot the ball hard.
• Before the game, tell the referee what you have planned and ask if the goal will count if the ball is touched by a defensive player. During a game, some referees could be caught off-guard by this tactic.

Defending Against the Indirect Free Kick

Conversely, if an opponent employs this method for all its IFKs, the defending goalie plays an important part besides trying to save the shot. First of all, she needs to know if the free kick being taken is a direct or indirect free kick. If the free kick is an IFK, the ball is heading directly for the goal, and the ball has yet to touch another player other than the kicker, the goalie should wisely let the ball go into the goal. Since the ball did not touch a second player, a goal kick will be awarded to the defending team and more importantly, the goal will not count. However, should the goalie attempt to save it, get her hands on the ball, but have the ball still go into the net, a goal will be awarded.

BE SMART GOALIE!