What if I told you that the basis of any soccer game is its defense and your Drills for soccer should enable them to overcome the opposing team's defense?

Some of the coaches just teach defense or offence to their players. Correct soccer drills require each player to play defense when the ball is with the opposing team and offense when the ball is with them.

Players should immediately go after the ball once they've lost it. Any player who fails to keep the ball with him should be the one to run after it first. Since he is the closest, it’s imperative that he is able to put a lot of pressure on the opponent who now has the ball. When the opponent with the ball gets under pressure, he is most likely to make a bad pass or lose the ball.

Ensure that in soccer practice, when a player is running behind a opponent who has the ball, the remaining players can back him up. They should try to delay him from entering into their team's goal area.

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The most risky region is the center of the soccer field. Therefore design you drills for soccer in away that the opponent having the ball’s custody is compelled to move in the direction of the touchline. As a result, the player’s strategy to move about in various directions along with his capacity to pass the ball will be impacted.

The dodgiest area where the majority of goals are scored is the arc of concentration. This arc lies in the front of the goal. It begins from the corner post of the goal right through to the corner of the goal box and then squeezes out to the touchline. Therefore, include soccer exercises to train your players on moving the ball outside this area because the chances of your opponent scoring a goal are increased here.

When it comes to protecting, maintaining a balance is crucial to success. Here, the players who are next to the ball play tight. This implies that they should be as close to the ball as possible. Players who are far off from the ball play lose. This means they place themselves at a position which covers all possibilities in a specific area and not just a single player.

Your team will be able to control the game when they have the ball. In order to achieve this, snatch the ball away from your opponent as fast as you can. A number of coaches commit an error of letting their players maneuver the ball. This suggests that the player maneuvers the ball away from the opponent with touching him.

If it so happens that they miss the ball here, they will be back on the ground and opposition would get the opportunity to pounce on your goal.

So include these tips in your drills for soccer so that your players get more adapted to playing a defensive game. Register for our youth soccer coaching community and gain access to knowledge, tips, articles, newsletters, videos from the field of soccer.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Andre Botelho is a recognized expert in youth soccer coaching. He influences well over 35,000 youth coaches each year with his unique coaching philosophy, and makes it really easy to explode your players' skills and make training more fun in record time. To download your free youth soccer coaching guide, visit: Drills for soccer