Four Shooting Drills to Improve a Soccer Player’s Performance
Shooting drills are a major part of any soccer practice. The proper drills can enhance every player’s performance. If the practice is truly effective, then your players will learn skills naturally. There are four shooting drills that will improve a soccer player’s performance.
The first drill is the “ arc shooting drill.” Using 10 balls create an arc or half circle, in which the arc’s peak is farthest from the goal and it’s edges closest to the goal. One player starts at one end and works their way all the way down to the other while shooting one ball at a time. Players should try and score all 10 balls as quickly as possible, sprinting from one ball to the next. This drill can be tiring on the lungs as well as quadriceps. For the drill to be a success, coaches should be looking for hustle and accurate shots. This drill is extremely good for increasing a shooters power because it allows multiple reps in a short span of time. It also increases concentration and stamina. This drill helps players stay focused when tired, so that when they are in the last few minutes of the game they can score that goal without worrying about how tired they are.
The next drill is “shooters delight.” A cone should be set up 20-25 yards from the goal, all the players should line up behind the goal post excluding three players who will be passing balls for shots. The passers stand with a ball at distances of about 5 yards, 10 yards, and 15 yards from the goal. The first player in the line at the post sprints out around the cone and back towards the goal and the first player passes the ball out in the middle and the runner takes a one or two touch shot. The shooter continues to run and shoots all three balls. This drill works well with 4-7 players. If there are more than seven players, then try the drill with two runners, and two sets of passers, going at the same goal, but with left and right footed shots set ups.
The third drill is an 8 V. 8 with corner goals. This drill is 30 minutes plus. There should be 7-11 players per team. The 8 V. 8 is played on half a field. Set up 10-yard squares in each corner of the field, and these will act as goals. A goal is scored when the ball is passed into the square and then out to a teammate. Each team can attack any of the four goals. The coach should keep the team balanced in attack and defense. The coach should also keep players from bunching up around one goal. It should teach players to attack the goal that is open. It gives the coach the chance to see if players can recognize where the pressure is. For the players it should be easy to keep possession since the defense has so many goals to defend. This also teaches players to be patient in attack and don’t take unnecessary risks.
The last drill is the “Mac Daddy Shooting Drill.” This game is 30 minutes. There should be two even teams. Team one lines up outside the left goal post, and team two lines up outside the right goal post. A cone should be placed somewhere around the 18-yard mark even with the left post. The coach should have a supply of balls (usually 5) at his feet. On the coaches signal the first player on team one makes a bending run from the end line around the cone on the 18. Also on the signal the first player on team two makes a run behind the goal, around the left post and enters the goal area to be the goalie. As the player from team one rounds the cone and starts toward the goal the coach has played a ball and the player takes a 1st touch shot. As soon as the shot is taken, the next player on each team starts their run so there’s always a new goalie and a new shooter.
Play for 15 minutes, and the game ends when time expires OR the coach runs out of balls to play to the shooter. This means that if a player kicks it over the goal they’ll have to chase down the ball and get it back to the coach in a hurry. At the end of 15 minutes the two teams switch roles and team two gets to shoot while team one defends. Coaches should run the drill from both sides to simulate right side and left side runs. This should encourage left foot and right foot shots.
Tags: playing soccer, soccer drills, soccer player, soccer practice