soccer

Best Youth Soccer Drills; Shooting

youth soccer drills shootingShooting drill practice is an excellent way to broaden dexterity and awareness skills. Since the games are designed to be fun and work in a team environment, they also bring a heightened attitude towards team comradery. Coaches can adjust the speed, field length and other levels to make this more challenging for the older kids, thereby making a shooting drill game more fun.

Breakaway shooting game; Ages 6-14

Using a series of cones, each player has to dribble the soccer ball to a cone and shoot before he gets to the next cone. If the next player saves the ball, he keeps the ball and runs to the end of his team’s line. If the 1st players shot is wide, the 2nd player gets the ball and goes to the end of the line for his team. After the 1st player shoots, he becomes the goalie.
Continue reading “Best Youth Soccer Drills; Shooting” →

Best Youth Soccer Drills; Dribbling – Part 2

Youth Soccer Drills-11 v 1 Dribbling Through the Gate; Ages 6-14
Use a large field and set up a lot of ‘cone gates’ which are about one yard apart. Pair up the players with one of the two possessing the soccer ball.

When the coach blows the whistle, player will try to dribble the soccer ball through as many of the ‘gates’ as possible and the other player will at the same time, be trying to steal the ball. Time= 30-60 seconds. The player with the ball cannot go through the same gate two times in a row. One point is given for each gate. If the other player steals the ball, he gives it back to attacker. When the time is up, each player will switch positions. The one with the most points wins. This is a great dribbling drill that is a lot of fun.
Continue reading “Best Youth Soccer Drills; Dribbling – Part 2” →

Best Youth Soccer Drills; Dribbling – Part 1

Youth Soccer Drills DribblingMusical Chairs; dribbling drill and fitness; Ages 8-12
Variations on this dribbling drill can include adding different moves and varying the size of the circles. These changes will enhance their fitness levels.

Create one small circular grid and one large circular grid.

Players will have their own soccer ball and will dribble around the small large grid at a decent pace, avoiding each other and maintaining a heads up position. After they have been dribbling for a specified amount of time, call out the word ‘Switch’. When the word is called out, each player must stop their ball, leave it where it is located and run around a cone in the outer circle, then run back into the small circle to a new/different soccer ball. It’s important that this is done quickly and that they go to a completely different soccer ball. The players will then continue dribbling.
Continue reading “Best Youth Soccer Drills; Dribbling – Part 1” →

Best Youth Soccer Drills; Passing – Part 3

Youth Soccer DrillsPassing through the gates: Technique development; ages 6-12
Variations on this passing drill can include adjusting the size of the gates; larger or smaller as well as the distance between the two players.

Using cones, create gates about three yards apart from each other. Split the group into pairs.
Each of the players will take a turn trying to pass the soccer ball in between the gates. Points are scored each time the ball actually goes through the gates without touching any of the cones. Each play should be from three to four minutes.
Continue reading “Best Youth Soccer Drills; Passing – Part 3” →

Best Youth Soccer Drills; Passing – Part 2

Youth-Soccer-Drills-2Soccer passing drills and exercises are a great way to develop agility, movement, decision making and team attitudes. When coaching and working with kids of all ages, there are methodologies of combing skill development with fun while getting their passing down to a science.

Four Corners; Ages 10-14

Make four grids of approximately 5 ft x 5 ft each and about 40 yds apart from each other. There is no ‘out of bounds’ section allocated. There will be two teams, each of from 4-8 players. Variations on this passing drill can include the pass must be a give and go to a team mate player. Continue reading “Best Youth Soccer Drills; Passing – Part 2” →

Best Youth Soccer Drills; Passing – Part 1

youth soccer drillsThe Bank Bank: Passing drill with Pressure; Ages 10-14

Set the game up with two teams, each with 4 to 5 players on an approximate 40×40 grid. You can change the variations on this by sending more than 1 defender in, making the grid smaller or, to have an easier game make the grid a larger size and add an offensive player

Coach projects the soccer balls in team X’s grid. The opposing team will send 1 player to play as a defender. Team X will try to connect four passes in a row without the defender kicking the ball out of bounds or stealing. Continue reading “Best Youth Soccer Drills; Passing – Part 1” →

The Soccer World Cup Winners Throughout History

world-cup-winners

FIFA established their international competition for soccer in 193, with the games being played every four years. There were two exceptions: due to World War II, the 1942 and 1946 games were not held. Whether you all it soccer or football, the World Cup games have been a frenzy of international excitement, comparable only to the Olympics.

There have been nineteen tournaments held and of these, seventy six nations have participated in the games at least one time, with twelve making it to the final match and eight announced as winners. Over the years, the World Cup has made some major transitions from a more subdued game to a complete world championship competition. Different countries vie for the honor of being the host country for the World Cup and it is considered an important national treasure to be selected as host.
Continue reading “The Soccer World Cup Winners Throughout History” →

World Cup Footwear: the Billion Dollar Battle in Brazil

soccer footwearSports footwear is big business, and pretty much dominated by the two behemoths, Adidas and Nike. The two giants are in the midst of a battle to have their names and logos on everything that relates to the World Cup. The winner will appear on uniforms/kits, all the way to electronic scoreboard ads. The quest to be the top brand is an ongoing marketing war between the historic name of Adidas and the newcomer, Nike.
Continue reading “World Cup Footwear: the Billion Dollar Battle in Brazil” →

Brazil Takes Soccer to a Whole New Level: The Art of the Sport

Brazil SoccerIf you watch any news or view it on the internet, it is hard to miss all of the fanfare about the FIFA World Cup in 2014, in Brazil. The country is considered to be one of the top nations in the world for soccer expertise and no wonder; at any given time Brazil has over 10,000 players, on a professional level; complete with playing fields and electronic scoreboards.

Soccer is to Brazil as baseball is the America. There is not just a love for the sport, but a true passion. Soccer was brought to the country by a Scotsman in the 1800’s. Already a popular sport in Britain, he introduced Brazilians to a game with very little in the way of equipment or professional guidance. As more British began living in Brazil, they brought equipment and the kind of experience that helps team and player development.
Continue reading “Brazil Takes Soccer to a Whole New Level: The Art of the Sport” →

Why does Brazil have so Many Good Soccer Players?

brazil soccerBrazil seems to have a unique knack for generating an incredible line of players of excellence when it comes to soccer. There is never a surprise when a new player is chosen for a team and he ends up becoming a star from Brazil. One might wonder what is it about this country, that they can produce so many good soccer players? Well, this isn’t something new, Brazil has actually had a long history in soccer.
Continue reading “Why does Brazil have so Many Good Soccer Players?” →

Golden City Park to Receive Donation of New Electronic Scoreboard

electronic-scoreboard

Ghana, West Africa might be known for their production of cocoa, but they are also renowned for their excellence in football (soccer in the U.S.). Most recently, the Golden City Park was honored to receive a donation of a well needed electronic scoreboard. This donation lit up the field and the faces of their passionate fans.

Ghana is part of the area known as the Gold Coast, a well known area of Africa. The location was originally named for the Empire of Ghana, which reflected back into the ancient past and once encompassed much of West Africa. Ghana takes great pride in being a member of a number of international and national organizations. These include everything from The United Nations, to the South Atlantic Peace and Cooperation Zone, and other well renowned organizations as the Commonwealth of Nations, the Economic Community of West African States and the African Union.
Continue reading “Golden City Park to Receive Donation of New Electronic Scoreboard” →

Blackwood Football Club Adds Wow Factor with New (Soccer) Electronic Scoreboard

Blackwood Football Club

The Blackwood Football Club in Australia has a long history of some of the best football (soccer) games in the country. Always on the cutting edge, they added to that reputation when they installed the very first electronic scoreboard in their League. The scoreboard is an incredible feat of accomplishment, as it just isn’t any scoreboard, but one that offers the highest technologies with the flashiest videos and sponsor ads.

While the first unofficial soccer games in the area were recorded around 1912, the Blackwood Football Club gained its name around the 1930’s. The original team was actually a group of guys from the local railway company. It was their incredible team spirit on the job that cascaded over into a number of outstanding games. Overcoming a variety of challenges, including wartime, the group formed and reformed and eventually became the Blackwood Football Club.
Continue reading “Blackwood Football Club Adds Wow Factor with New (Soccer) Electronic Scoreboard” →

Our First Lady is Getting Kids Involved in Sports

Michelle Obama has a goal to get more of America’s kids involved in sports. Our First Lady is well aware of the nation’s propensity for overweight children and is avidly interested in getting them away from the screens and outside on the fields. Mrs. Obama is serious about this, as she is now partnered with The Partnership for a Healthier America and the U.S. Olympic Committee to start changing the behaviors of America’s kids. She announced the new “Let’s Move!” program at a meeting with athletes from the two dozen Olympic and Paralympic groups.
Continue reading “Our First Lady is Getting Kids Involved in Sports” →