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by Gary Rue
garyrue@bellsouth.net
 

NOTE:  Gary did not write these exercises and tips with the idea that someone would publish them.  I subscribe to the Soccer-Coach-L e-mail list and Gary is one of the coaches that posts extremely well thought out replies.  These are some of Gary's posts that I collected for use in coaching my own teams.   I approached Gary and he was gracious enough to allow me to publish them here.  If you like what you see or have a question about one of the exercises you can reach Gary at garyrue@bellsouth.net There are 50+ more pages of Gary's posts categorized at the Home Page of Exercises of the Day by Gary Rue. Click here and enjoy.

Practice Tip:   Reward - Don't Punish

       Some coaches have a problem with post competition exercises for the losing player or team. This is conceived (rightly so) as a form of punishment. Having a reason to win is often a good motivator, especially in practice. Punishment is generally not as the players tend to play more "not to lose," than "to win." Perhaps the same results can be achieved with a different approach.

       Before the competition, explain what the post competition exercise will be. Then explain the "reward" for the winning team. It is often beneficial to have the winning team do the same exercise, just with fewer reps. That way, it appears more as a reward than a penalty.

       It is generally not advised to make these reward exercises too intense or fatiguing - they should be a good reminder that there are often rewards that await the best competitor.

Practice Tip - Time It!

       Soccer players sometimes fall into a speed rut - that is, they find a certain speed zone and they have a tough time moving out of it. Unfortunately, there is often another level or two of speed that they can get their bodies to attain. Soccer is played at different speed levels and change of pace is a critical element in a soccer player's tool kit. Many players can run faster than they do. Often, they just don't realize that they are not going at maximum effort in certain situations.

       The coach can use a simple device to encourage the players to run at maximum speed. By using a stopwatch and timing a certain part of an exercise pattern, the coach can help the player discover and establish the importance of maximum speed at given times.

       For example, use a wall pass setup (figure below). Player A dribbles a ball to a certain point and makes a pass to B, who wall passes back to A. Player A can be timed at the time he releases the ball or passes a mark (whichever comes first). The time is stopped when the player crosses another mark (say 10 yards away).

 

• A
    \
    /
  -\- - - - - - - - - - -
    :   \
    :      \   (1)
    :         \
    :           B  (timing area)
    :         /
    :      /   (2)
    :   /
  -:- - - - - - - - - - -
    /
    \
    V
  
  

        In another example (figure below), a wing halfback (A) plays the ball to a checking forward (B) who drops it to a center halfback (C). C plays a long ball to the corner flag for A to run onto. A's run can be timed from some arbitrary line behind B that represents the off-side demarcation (a passive defender could be placed there to represent this off-side line). The end line could be 10-40 yards away for the time. In this exercise, A gets to set up his run by timing his crossing of the off-side line with the playing of the long ball from the center half.

•   A               C
    : \       (2) / /
    :  \          / /
    :   \   (1) / /
    :    \      / /
    :     \    / /
    :      \  / /  (3)
    :      B  /
    :         /
  -: - - - /- - D
    :       /
    :      / timing area
    :     /
  -: - /- - - - -
    V /
  

       It is important that the timed player hear his times immediately and that he  run through the exercise at least three times. The availability of the time will give the player a reason for maximum effort. The coach needs to make the time the player's personal time. It shouldn't be used as a team competition.

        When a player practices at maximum speed, two things occur, the timings of exercise help to carry over to the game. Secondly, the player discovers that
extra gear and learns how to elevate his speed at the right time.

Practice Tip: GK Exchange

       During a inner team scrimmage with two large goals and goalkeepers (GKs), every minute or so the coach should signal for the GKs to exchange goals. Emphasize the need to sprint to recover to their new goal. Now the field players have to decide, do we maintain possession until our new GK gets back or do we attack the unattended goal and risk loss of possession?!
       The GKs are responsible for any scores that occur on their new goal as soon as the coach signals. The GKs should keep their own goal count for any
competitive rewards or punishments associated with the game.

Practice Tip - Station-ary (Circuit Training)

      Circuit training is where different exercises are designed on different areas of the practice field. Small groups of players perform their station exercise and then move on to the next station. This movement from station to station can be timed or after a certain number of repetitions. If there are more stations then there are coaches, then communicating the desired exercise at each station is a problem.

      To overcome this problem, the coach can prepare diagrams or text on 3x5 cards or poster board. When the players get to each station, they can read what they are to do and start performing the exercise.

      For example, a three station footwork circuit is used as an example below. The exercises could be written on a 3x5 card for each station and given to the leader of each group when they get to that station: 

• Speed Ladder
  • 1(foot)-in
  • 2-in
  • 2-in, 1-out lateral forward
  • 2-in, 1-out lateral backwards
  • cross-over step, 1-in, 2-out (diagramed with L1, R2, L3, etc. notation where L=left along with the step sequence number)
    
• Sticks, 2 sections of 6 sticks separated by 10 yards; 18" between sticks
  • run through, 1-in
  • lateral shuffles forward
  • lateral shuffles backwards
  • double leg hops
  • single leg hop; left through section 1, right through section 2
    
• Balls, 5 yards apart in a zigzag formation
  • lateral shuffles forward around balls
  • lateral shuffles backwards around balls
  • scissors move around each ball
  • step over move around each ball
  • step on ball, both feet (i.e., right steps lightly on ball and slides off as the left foot stops on ball)

      After the players complete their cycle, they could do a rest exercise such as sit-ups or dribble a ball around until it's time to move to the next station.

Exercise of the Day--Dribbling Circuit

       Breaking up different exercises into stations can let the players experience different skills training and break up the monotony of skill exercises. One possible circuit of stations to help develop dribbling skills follows.
 

• Station 1--Foundation Move
  
  Set up several "obstacles" in a row at least 15 yards apart. The dribbler dribbles at the obstacle and "passes" the ball to one side, running around the opposite side. The dribbler collects his pass and continues the dribble at the next obstacle. It is recommended that the opposite foot be used to pass the ball on the other side of the next obstacle. Run through a couple of repetitions.
  
• Station 2--Wide Cuts
  
  Place cones in a zigzag setup about 5-7 yards apart. Players are to dribble to the first marker and cut/chop/pull the ball back towards the next marker. Emphasis should be placed on the speed and explosion of the redirection move. In fact, having the player change pace from several different dribbling speeds between the markers is beneficial. The type of redirection move could be a coach's restriction on each rotation. Run through this for a couple of repetitions.
  
• Station 3--Quick Cuts
  
  Place several cones, flags or flex-sticks 2-3 feet apart. Dribblers are to weave between them. The setup could put many markers in a row, or it could be three markers (for a quick right/left weave) followed by 5 yards to the next set of three, etc. Emphasis is on the quick touches needed to
  maneuver between the markers. For variation, change the distance between the individual markers and restrict the part of the foot or the foot to be used. Run through several repetitions.
  
• Station 4--Speed Cuts
  
  Mark two parallel lines separated by 10 yards. Two players with a ball each face each other in the middle with the lines to their left and right. On the signal, they dribble to the same line, cut the ball back at the line and dribble to the other line, cutting the ball back and running past the start marker. Emphasis is put on controlling a ball at speed, in order to quickly reverse direction. Using the second player adds a little competitive impetus to the exercise. 
  Run this exercise both ways.
  
         The coach could separate the team into one to four groups, depending upon how many players there are and how many stations he and assisting coaches can or need to monitor at the same time. Remember that circuit training of this nature is actually conditioning with the ball. Consider rest breaks or exercises between stations or between repetitions if speed is being emphasized more than endurance. Of course the circuit could be run in 2-3 sets. By increasing the number of players per group and/or reducing the number of markers, automatically builds in some rest periods.