Backdoor Drill

This drill teaches players to work together to perform a backdoor play while also teaching your back player to stay disciplined and force the pass.

Required: Four players (Prefer: 3 players and 1 coach), one soccer ball and one goal.

Setup: Two players are forwards and side by side, while the remaining two players (one of the coaches) are on defense, one in front of the other (the coach up front so he or she can coach).

Drill: The object is for the two forwards to work the ball between the coach and back defensive player while the back player simply stays between the ball and the goal. [Remind the back player that in a game, he or she is responsible for the player with the ball, and that teammates are responsible for running back and cutting off passing lanes; but for this drill, the top defense player will NOT be running back and the back player will REMAIN back; but in a game, the back player can run forward to stop this. In a game, the back player’s job is to force a pass and not allow a direct shot into the goal.]

When the forward with the ball approaches the first defender, he or she has two options: 1) if the defender pushes up, simply pass the ball to his or her teammate and run past the first defender; or 2) if the defender cheats to block the pass, dribble around the defender toward the goal. Once the first defender is beaten, with either a pass or a dribble, the player with the ball should dribble wide (away from his or her teammate) to force the back player to move to one side, thus opening the backdoor. From this position, the player with the ball has two options: 1) pass the ball to his or her teammate who should one touch the ball into the goal; or 2) if the defender moves to stop the pass, simply shoot straight into the goal. [While your defender is taught to stay between the goal and ball, opponents often start this way, but after scoring several backdoors, they will often try to anticipate and stop the pass. Your forwards should be ready for this and simply shoot into the open goal.]

3v3 Soccer Shadow Scrimmage

This is the fastest way to teach younger kids how to play, i.e. where to go and set up. Basically, every player has one coach or an older player on the field, running with the player, directing exactly how and what the player should be doing.

This is a small post; but shadow scrimmages are really good for improving your team quickly.

Cool Passing Drill

This is somewhat of a complicated drill but really cool once your players get it. It teaches quick passing and movement with quick thinking.

Required: Five players and one ball (four cones are optional)

Setup: Set four players (or cones so players can remember where to go) in a square shape. [HINT: First-timers should make the square large as it will make this drill easier. The better your players get, the smaller you can make the square.]

Drill: To start, the fifth player runs to the corner, the one with the ball. The corner player passes back to the running player, then turns and runs to the next spot (or cone). While on the run, he or she will receive a pass and pass it to the player opposite of the cone he or she just ran from. Continue this progression. [HINT: going counterclockwise is easier for righties and going clockwise is easier for lefties, so be sure to change directions.]

I’ve attached a graphic with numbers (when things should happen) to help you visualize this drill.

Freestyle Backstop

[I usually set this drill up for early arriving players.]

Required: A backstop, three goals and a ball.

Setup: A player stands with a ball in front of the backstop. The goals are positioned on either side and behind the player.

Drill: The player kicks the ball into the backstop. When the ball returns, the player can one- or two-touch the ball into any of the three goals. I encourage fancy touches.

Here’s my son showing a fancy through the legs redirect... (I didn’t setup goals for the clip, but I think you get the point.)

Gauntlet Drill

This is an offense focused drill using 1v3 and 2v3 scenarios.

Required: Cones or field paint, a goal, one ball and at least five players.

Setup: Use cones or field paint to create three rectangles, one next to the other, and place a goal at one end. The rectangles can be 10 by 20 yards. Each rectangle has one defender who has to stay in his or her rectangle. The goal can be set back, a few feet from the last rectangle, or you can make a box that the defender cannot go in.

Drill: In 1v3, one player starts opposite the goal and tries to dribble through the gauntlet of defenders, using moves, to score a goal on the other side. In 2v3, two players use one ball to dribble and pass through the gauntlet to score a goal. Your team should see that it is much easier to score as a team. If a defender tries to block the pass, your player should dribble around the defender. If the defender challenges, the player should pass. Don’t forget to rotate your players.



Incidentally, when I asked my son if he could remember some of the games our team played, he mentioned the gauntlet. I tried to tell him it was a drill not a game, but he insisted it was a game.

More, simple, fun, and effective drills...

1) Turn and Shoot

All players stand by their ball, in a line, with their backs to the coach. Without the players looking, the coach places a cone on the ground, runs off and yells, “Go!” All the players turn, find the target and shoot. The first ball to knock the cone over gets a point for that player, but in order to score the point, the ball cannot be the last ball. In other words, if every ball, except the last ball, misses, no point. Trick players by placing the cone off the ground, in the net, or on top of a goal.

2) Redirect (with a ball chaser)

Two coaches stand somewhat apart and in front of the first player who is standing in a line, the other players waiting their turn. The first coach passes or tosses the ball at the player who must redirect the ball to the second coach. If the second coach catches or stops the ball, he tosses or passes the ball back to the player who redirects the ball to the first coach. If either redirect misses a coach, the player becomes the ball chaser and must collect the errant ball. The chaser waits by the coaches until there is a new ball chaser before getting back in line. [Hint: Start with easy passes, then you can move to bounced passes and/or headers.]

3) Ball Brushing Roundup

Bring many different kinds of balls: tennis (if the grass is cut low or indoor), bocce, mini and normal soccer balls. Start players off with two of the same size balls. Players are required to brush both balls forward, one with the left foot and one with the right foot, by stepping on the top and slightly rolling each ball forward, about ten or more feet, and then back again. After that, players use balls of different sizes, e.g. a bocce for the right foot and a mini for the left foot, etc... Once they get that down, add another ball.

My son showing examples of ball brushing...



4) Touch-Step Dribbling

To teach players to keep the ball close, have them dribble across the field with a ball by alternating touching the ball forward with one foot while stepping forward with the other, i.e. touch, step, touch, step, touch, step, etc... Inexperienced players often kick the ball forward and then run after it (kick, step, step, step, kick, step, step, step, etc...); however, to be able to move through traffic more easily and do moves on a whim, players should learn how to run fast while touching the ball forward so that the ball remains close at all times.

5) Dribbling Race

Set up cones in a line, for dribbling through, and additional paired cones, like flags in slalom skiing, in a similar pattern and number on either side.

Have one player stand at each end with a ball. On the coach’s signal, the players dribble through the course toward each other, passing their opponent on the way to the other side. The first one to reach the other side, wins. If someone misses a cone, they must return to complete that cone or else their finish doesn’t count.

Sometimes we hold a mini tournament to determine a dribbling champion. [HINT: a fun and fair way to seed players for brackets of any mini tournament, i.e. dribbling or 1v1, is to use juggling. Each player is asked to juggle. The player who gets the most touches is seeded number 1. Ties have a juggle-off until everyone is seeded.]

5) Obstacle Course

We sometimes hold timed races through on obstacle course. My typical obstacle course consists of:

i) cones, for dribbling through;

ii) golf clubs set across the tops of two spaced apart cones, so that the ball can roll under the golf club while the player jumps over the golf club;

iii) crossing a line (similar to the 3v3 soccer midfield line) and taking a long shot into a goal. If the player misses, he or she still has to collect the ball to continue;

iv) chipping and jumping over a small object like a cooler or kid’s chairs;

v) wall passes against cinder blocks

I set up four cinder blocks set apart, two on the left and two on the right, like this _–_– , set narrow enough so a player can dribble in a straight line through the middle of the cinder blocks, passing the ball against each cinder block. My son showing an example of going through cinder blocks...



Because cinder blocks are small, some players want to dribble right up to them so you might have to place cones so they'll wall pass around the cones; and,

vi) chipping over a tall backstop, into a goal. When the ball goes into the goal, the timing ends.

Each passed cone or dropped golf club adds 5 seconds to the timed total.

Chaos dribbling drill...

This is another fun drill. It teaches keeping the ball close while dribbling through traffic.

Required: All players, the more, the better. Each player should have a ball. Parents can join in as well.

Setup: Make a square small enough to fit everyone in the drill (four cones will work). All players line up along the outside of the square, with all four sides having players.

Drill: When the coach says go, everyone dribbles through the square at the same time, weaving through traffic, to the other side and back again. You try to avoid all other players or balls. The first one back to where he or she started, with their ball, wins.

Variation: Instead of dribbling just once, you can have players dribble back and forth several times.

Hint: Players should keep the ball close, using all their dribbling skills, i.e. inside, outside, brushing, cuts, etc...

Running/throwing/dribbling drill...

This drill is one of the easiest, most fun, and effective drills you can run. Players absolutely love this drill and it teaches them to dribble without looking at the ball and running backwards.

Required: Two players and two balls.

Setup: The two players face each other, somewhat apart. The player who will start running backwards holds his ball while the other player will dribble his ball with his feet towards the backward running player.

Drill: When the player starts backwards, he tosses his ball at the dribbling player (like a basketball pass to the chest), who must catch the ball and toss it back while continuing to dribble after the player running backwards. Once they cross the field, the players run back in their same path and position, except now the player who started backwards is now the dribbler while the other player is only catching and tossing the ball.

This drill is even more fun when the players race against other teammates. I usually switch players around so they run with different teammates.

My sons showing the running/throwing/dribbling drill...

Practicing 3v3 Soccer: Structured Practices

I have six parts to my practices.

1) Dribbling and shooting, our warm-up.
I set up two rows of cones with a goal on each end. The players dribble through the cones and shoot at the goals. For dribbling we do many variations: a) any method, b) right foot only, c) left foot only, d) outside of feet only, e) brushing only, f) backwards, g) over the ball, etc… The key point in dribbling is keeping the ball close. The key point in shooting is looking at your target first before looking down at the ball.

2) Moves
Next I teach 1v1 moves by having them all stand in a line facing me, dribbling across the field and showing the move. I’ve already posted good 1v1 moves, but here are some warm-ups we do.



3) Drills
Here’s where we do simple drills, which I’ll go into more detail in the next post. Some of my favorites are gauntlet, obstacle courses, learning 3v3 plays, and running/throwing/dribbling.

4) 1v1
I make a very small field (like 20 yds x 20 yds), with goals. I throw in a ball, and the players, standing on either side of me, rush in and begin play. The focus is on seeing moves and good defending (no stabbing, but waiting for the player and ball to separate before attacking).

5) Scrimmage, Strategies or Games
Most of the time it is just a 3v3 soccer scrimmage. Before a tournament we focus on plays. For fun days, to change it up, I bring soccer tennis or we play sand soccer (playing on one side of a beach volleyball court), or other games I’ll go into more detail in another post.

6) Sprints - a few sprints after practice. Sometimes I teach proper running techniques, or they wear a harness and pull a weight while running.

As you can tell, my practices can run long, but I keep it fun by bringing many devices that keep practice interesting; the most important of these being goals, backstops and sometimes painting the field.

Having real goals instead of cones or orange flags makes practicing fun. Your players also get used to rebounds off the goal, which doesn’t happen with cones or flags.

A backstop (same as a baseball pitch back), allows players who are waiting in lines or waiting for 1v1 turns to juggle against the backstop. I also use the backstop for chipping over it, wall passes in drills, and a really fun pre-warmup drill for early arriving players, but I'll post that later.

Before tournaments, I come out early and paint actual fields on the grass, painting boxes in front of the goals as well. The fastest way to do this is to already have rope with loops in the correct length. (To make a loop, hold the rope in a loop shape and make a simple overhand knot.) All you need is one side of the field because you duplicate it, and you can use the tiny orange flags from Home Depot to hold the loops in the ground while you spray field paint next to the rope. I do the same with the box, but for circles, I place the end of a looped line in the middle of the circle, held in place by a flag, and with my hand holding the paint can and the rope, I make a circle by keeping the rope tight.

You'll notice I bring other items too, to make my practices fun; but I think that, and trying to teach fancy moves, makes them really like practice. I've often heard new players (who we invited to our practice) tell my players how cool our practices were. One player told me, “I like practicing with you.” A parent told me her son never talked about his other practices, but he always talked about what we did in ours.