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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.

Exercise of the Day - Circle Passing

• I two-touches a return pass to O
• I one-touches a return pass to O
• I chest traps and volleys a hand serve back to O
• I heads a hand serve back to O
• I receives and turns and plays a ball back to another O without a ball
• I (with ball) executes a wall pass with O
• I (with ball) plays a long ball to O, follows his pass and receives a short one-touch return
• I does takeover with O, and the players exchange places
  
  
• Coaching points - the inside player without ball should move around in the middle at slow pace, identify an outside player, then explode in a quick check to the outside player. Calling for ball is a good thing. I also recommend that the player put out an open hand to the foot side he prefers the pass. This is also a signal to keep the ball on the carpet. The outside players should constantly be bouncing and ready to play at the first show from the inside player. Eye contact is important. The checking player may have to stop his run as the other player is beginning to pass. That way, the checking player can adjust to the direction the ball is played.
  
• Variation: split the team in 3 groups; pairs of players from the two groups are on the inside and the other group is on the outside. The two inside players work a 3-man combo with the outside player. Or the second inside player acts as a defender marking the other inside player as he checks to ball.

Exercise of the Day--Around the Barn Passing

• Setup: 4 cones or flags in a   25x25 yard grid. On the starting cone is two players and the ball. There is one player on each of the other cones.
  
• Procedures:
  
  
  E   A*          B
    1    \       2
            \      |
               \   |
                  \V
  
  
  
    3            4
  D              C
  
  
  
• 1. One/Two-touch passing--Player A passes to B between cones 2 and 3 (see diagram), who passes to C between cones 3 and 4. The passer continues on to the next cone. The next player should start their run from their cone as their passing teammate is receiving his pass. The reason for the extra player is because someone needs to be at cone 1 after A dribbles away. Play continues clockwise for a while, then is switched to counterclockwise.
  
• Coaching Points: The goal is to get the passing moving as quickly as
  possible. Work on the passing technique. Try to keep the receiving
  player from making his run too soon.
  
• 2. Pass behind defender--Starting player A (cone 1) dribbles towards cone 2 and passes to player B that has run behind cone 2. B receives and dribbles towards cone 3 and passes to player D, etc. Each passer continues on to the cone he was dribbling towards.
  
• Coaching points: the receiver should start timing his run around the cone to coincide with the pass. The players are to think of each cone as the last defender. The passer is to understand he is making a pass behind the defender to his player running on. Work the series into a one-touch pass when possible, the receiver, may have to recover his run if the passer mis-touches his reception. The receivers run should be open (a wide circle around the cone) to provide the best passing angle.
  
• 3. Drop and spin--Player A passes to B on the A side of cone 2 (see diagram above); B one-touches a return pass to A and spins around cone 2 and receives a return pass from A. Play continues with a pass to C, followed by a drop and spin. A continues on to cone 2, etc.
  
• Coaching points: after return passing, the player should spin away from the cone (back to the cone). The player should make this spin quick but the run should be wide, not a pivot spin. The reason for the wide spin is to open up the body to the pass (better passing angles) and put some space between the attacker and the defender. Watch the players feet on the spin. The first step should be a drop step wide of the other foot with a big hip and shoulder turn. Many players tend to drop step next to the support foot which puts them into a narrow pivot spin. In this type of spin, they have to take several steps to adjust their feet. Along with the spin, the timing and accuracy of the return pass is critical.
  
• Variation: Add a 6th player to cone 3 (see diagram) and have C start a second ball. If you have an odd number of players, then just move the extras to share cones. If you don't want to do that, then adjust your grid to a 25 yard sided hexagon (5 sides).
  
  

"Those who direct, follow the advantages and adjust their formulas."
Sun Tzu, The Art of War

Gary:
           In the around the barn passing, I'm not sure I understand the difference between procedure 1 (1- or 2- touch passing) and procedure 2 (pass behind defender).  What's the difference in the runs the receiver makes?  Is it merely that in 1, the receiver starts his run between the cone and the ball, while in 2, the receiver starts the run on the far side of the cone? Joseph D. Cohen

Practice Tip - Pass and Move

"If we do not want a challenge, distort the opponent's
sense of location." Sun Tzu, The Art of War

Exercise of the Day - Shifting D

• Setup: about 25 yards out from the goal line and about 6 yards out from each goalpost are two attackers. Two Defenders are on top of the penalty area, straight off the goalposts. A ball is served from near the halfway to one of the attackers.
  
• Procedure: The attackers are fairly passive at first. The defenders are to shift to ball, with one defender closing down the ball. The other defender shifts over to support the first defender about 5-7 yards from ball. The second defender must support the first defender in case he is beaten by the first attacker, but he must also stay close enough to his mark in the case of a pass to him. The first attacker is to try to beat the first defender, then he is to play the ball across to the other attacker.
  
• Coaching Points: the coach should watch how quickly and from what angle the defender closes down the attacker. He should also watch the recovery of the other defender into a support role, shifting towards his teammate, but staying close enough to his mark to be able to close down on the pass. One of the key elements in the second defender defense is the constantly looking away from the ball to the off ball side. The second attacker is to watch the defender and move if he feels the defender is not watching him. It will soon be obvious if the defender is not watching.
  
• Progression: increase the attacking pressure, but ask the attackers to stay apart in order to watch for second defender breakdowns.
  
• If you only have one coach, setup the rest of the team in a game while you work with this subgroup.
  

Exercise of the Day - Ab Work

• Without a Ball:
  
• crunches--a concentrated activity for the abs; raise the shoulders off the ground with knees bent; can be done quickly or slowly, with feet on or off the ground
• full bent knee sit-ups--old staple, recently forgotten for crunches; however, this exercise still works the hip flexors and should be reintroduced into the strengthening session
• bicycles--lying on the back, extend one leg as you pull the other knee towards the chest, touching the elbow to the opposite knee
• lateral leg lifts--lying on the back, arms spread bracing the ground, lift the legs straight up in the air, then lower to one side (keeping the L body shape), raise up and lower to the other side
  
  
• With Ball:
  
  (ball between feet)
• crunches, knees bent, ball and feet off the ground
• sitting with hands back as support, raise legs and do figure eight with feet and ball
• same, except bring legs towards chest
• sitting with back and feet off ground, straighten legs and lean back (don't touch ground), then raise up and bend knees towards chest
• lateral leg lifts
  
  (with partner)
• both partners do sit-ups and overhead pass the ball as they come up
• same, except one partner serves on his sit-up and the other heads
  (switch after 5-10)
• sitting with ball between the feet, the players circle their feet and ball around their partner's feet and ball (optional, no hand bracing).
  
• We try to do over a 100 of different types of abdominals every practice.
  Generally we do it in groups of 20-30 with another exercise, such as a stretch or pushups in-between. We also will do ab work, when we finish a
  footwork exercise and we are waiting our to turn for the next round.
  

Exercise of the Day - 1v1 Transition

        Divide an area into three zones. At the high school we used 20x20, but I suspect that 15x15 would be a good average size. A player starts in each zone. The middle zone player has the ball and attacks the defender in one of the end zones. Neither defender can enter the middle zone. When the attacker loses the ball or scores by dribbling over the end line, the defender takes the ball and immediately attacks the defender at the opposite end.

       The attacker can work up some speed on the dribble within the center zone as the defender waits for him. This is an excellent defensive setup to work on slowing down a fast moving dribbler. It is also a good attacking 1v1 setup.

        Because this exercise should be run with high intensity, it is recommended that several extra players be at the ends. The next player in line will step in as the defender of that grid, replacing the attacker.

      _____________________________
      |                |                |                |
      |                |                |                |
XX |     D1       |      .A       |      D2      |XX
      |                |                |                |
      |                |                |                |
      |_________|_________|_________|


        After A attacks D1, D1 will attack D2. One of the X's will replace A and wait for D2 to attack them.

        Progress to adding a second attacker that starts in the middle zone. This second attacker can be a neutral that goes in both directions or trades with another player that is waiting in the middle zone.

        Finally, go to two players in each zone and play 2v2v2.

        If the grids are next to one another, small goals or large goals with GKs could be added at each end, remove the vertical dividing line and play 3v3v3 or 4v4v4 in a transition game.

Practice Tip - You want me to do what?

        You're coaching a 1v1 exercise and you ask the defender to play with his back to the ball; or you have the team doing volley kicks while standing on a broom handle or an old tire; or you have asked a player to jump over a hurdle, crawl under a rope, run around a cone, then receive a long ball and take a shot on goal. The normal reaction to this is, "You want me to do what?"

        Although these are somewhat extreme examples, there are definite reasons for a coach using these techniques. After you have explained WHAT you want your players to do, also tell them WHY they are doing it. They still may not understand the total ramification of your master plan, but at least they will have some idea how all of this relates to the game.

        Any exercise that is not a full field scrimmage may need to have a brief explanation--for example, we are playing keep-away to help us learn to maintain possession during the game. Never assume the players understand why they are doing something. In fact, it you should make the opposite assumption, that they don't have a clue.

Parental Behavior

       My booster president asked me for some newsletter suggestions. I sent her the following on how I expect the parents to act:

Suggestions from the coach:

• Pants shall be worn high enough not to show your underwear at all games.
• Jewelry is allowed, but only if tasteful and does not present a danger to the person sitting next to you.
• Your eating area shall be cleaned after any post-game meal in a restaurant; food fights with the other team's parents are prohibited.
• Only those persons who get above a 90% or above on the yearly referee test may yell at the referee; only those with an IQ of less than 50 may yell at a coach.
• You do not need to genuflect in the presence of a coach; a curtsey or slight bow is all that is necessary.
• There shall be no foul language, birdcalls, peacocking, goosing or ruffling of feathers during games.
• At no time shall you make derogatory comments towards the opposition, as they may be a distant relative.
• Long balls to the opposition are not to be complimented with "oohs" and "aahs" on the length and height of the pass; however, short, precision passes that may lead to a long ball to an open teammate can be applauded.
• And last, but not least, you are mandated to have some fun this season. Everyone else will.