You may have heard that in coaching soccer drills, all skills have only 1 goal and that is to take a shot at the goal. It takes both skill and instinct to develop the art of good shooting. But apart from this, there is something else that is equally important and that is forceful attitude.
It is the responsibility of every player but more importantly that of the forward players to shoot the ball. When you are teaching soccer, give shooting top priority.
There a number of things that may come out of shooting. Shots can be redirected into the goal. It might be that the goalkeeper drops the ball at the foot of your forward player. Directionless shots can become beautiful passes. Ground shots may bounce back. 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 known as sniffers in England. This is because they are always sniffing out scoring chances.
To them, every opportunity is the last one they will get and hence shoot ferociously. They are always present at the right time at the right place. They’ll even make the most of being in the wrong place at the right time. So in coaching soccer drills encourage your players to shoot the ball whenever possible.
Normally, anytime the ball is kicked with an intention to put it inside the goal is taken as a shot. But the most successful technique to drive the ball is striking it through the middle by using the laces of the foot. To carry this out, the player should have his head over the ball, his toe should be extended, and his upper body should keep steady.
The players should be taught in coaching drills to shoot the ball low and wide of the goalie. In such a scenario, high shots are less preferred that low ground 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 must discourage your players to do this as it instills the habit of shooting high goals. When coaching soccer drills, put a stop to this activity by not permitting kids to play in adult sized goals.
So now go teach you kids to become master shooters when it comes to scoring goals by checking the goalie’s position once before they are ready to shoot.
You can lay your hands on loads of relevant information pertaining to coaching young players in form of newsletters, articles, and videos by subscribing to our youth soccer coaching community.
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