There are a number of places to get free soccer drills, but how do you determine if they are any good? and how should these free soccer drills be incorporated into a practice session?
Whether you are using free soccer drills or you have paid for a book or online access to soccer drills, there are a number of qualities that you should look for in using any soccer drill, free or otherwise.
Is the drill appropriate for the age of the players?
Is the drill in line with the skill level of the players?
Does the drill involve as many players as possible?
Does the drill have a competitive quality?
Does the drill have any game like qualities?
Is the drill easily modified to progress it to a harder level?
All of the above are very important when choosing soccer drills to use. I know from experience that lack of preparation and the selection of a poor drill can lead to a disastrous practice session which become demoralising for you, the coach and has a detrimental effect on the players attitude, not just for the session in question, but in upcoming practices, as they will not respect what you are trying to achieve and it takes some time to get that respect back.
It is up to you, the coach to answer the questions above, as only you know how technically good your players are, and you should be able to gauge how successful a drill will be. For instance, in is of little use trying to use a drill that incorporates complex movements. on or off the ball, and first time passing for players with limited knowledge of the game and limited technical ability. Equally, having lines of players, waiting their turn to receive the ball from the coach and pass it back to the coach is of limited value for players of any standard.
After coaching youth soccer for a number of years, it has become obvious to me that the number one recipe for success is organisation. Before the very first session of the season, I have already formed a blueprint of the topics to cover for each practice session, which drills to use, and a feel for the type of small sided game that I will use to coach the topic being covered. In addition to that, I will have determined progression of soccer drills to use to ensure that players have an understanding of what they will learn for that session. To make sure that the sessions are successful, I have a repertoire of literally hundreds of soccer drills and small sided games that I use in my sessions, including a large number of free soccer drills that I have found on the internet.
Here are two good examples of free soccer drills that I have found and will illustrate the point
Free Soccer Drill number 1 - The Dribbling square
Mark out a square of approximate 15 yards by 15 yards.
Spread players out along the square so that there are equal numbers of players on each side. eg 4 players on each side of the square
The players stand facing inwards
On the coaches command, all of the players dribble the ball across the square to the opposite side of the square and back again
Free Soccer Drill number 2 - Dribble through cones
Set up 5 cones that are 2 yards apart and 5 yards from a starting cone
Place players in a line behind the starting cones
The first player dribbles to the first cone and then in and out of the cones until the last cone is reached and then returns
The player passes the ball to the next player when they reach the last cone
Which is the best drill to teach dribbling?
Well I suggest to evaluate each drill with the questions above and that should clearly show which that free soccer drill number 1 is far superior.
Why?
It is game like, because of the crowded area, players have to look for space and exploit it, which means they will learn to dribble whilst looking up
Players have to use movements that are more game like to deal with the decisions that they have to make
It can be competitive from either an individual point of view, or a team point of view by making each side of the square a team and having races.
It can be easily modified so that as an example 2 players are stationed in the middle as defenders that can kick a players ball away. The number of times they dribble across the square and back again can be changed.
I actually use free soccer drill number 1 quite a bit as part of my warm ups with players, and make it competitive and fun.
So in summary, I would suggest that as part of your education, you get as many free soccer drills as possible, but use them wisely as I have described above. It is important to evaluate the drills that you use, before you use them, to make sure that they fit in with the topics that you want to cover and can be made fun and competitive and have a large number of players involved.
Whether they are free soccer drills or not makes little difference to the effectiveness that they have when you use them. The effectiveness of all soccer drills, free or paid for comes down to you, the coach, your knowledge and understanding of the game and how you utilise the drills to get the best out of your team.
There are literally thousands of free soccer drills available, some good and some bad, you will need to evaluate them to make sure that they will give you want you want, but even if a particular drill is not so good, you may still be able to modify it so that it satisfies the questions raised above, and you could turn it into a great drill.
Nigel Reed has been involved in soccer during the 60's, 70's and 80's as a player and has been coaching youth soccer in Australia since 2000.
Learn more on How to play soccer and take advantage of the Free Soccer Drills on Nigels website
Good luck with your coaching, unless you play my team of course and remember Practice Makes Permanent
c 2009 Coaching-Youth-Soccer-For-Success
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