Soccer Stuff is a collection of youth soccer coaching essays written to help educate novice soccer coaches that are trying to learn more about the great game of soccer. Aim Small, Miss Small
As a famous American historical figure, Mel Gibson once said, “Aim small, miss small. What does that have to do with soccer? Quite a bit when it comes to passing.
I can’t get over how may of my U-10s are under the impression that as long as they can slap the ball over in the general direction of their intended target, they’ve made a good pass. Wrong! The sooner that they know the difference, the better. I tell the kids that they should be aiming for the toenail of the big toe on the right foot of their target. Of course there will be times when they will want to “lead” their targets, but you can cover that concept at another time. First things first… The big thing is to constantly let your players know that it is important to make accurate passes. And another thing… Insist that ALL passes be on the ground. If you think about it, soccer is all about time and space. The more time the player has, the better decisions he will be able to make about what to do next. One way to create more time for a player is to give him an easy pass to bring under control. Too many valuable moments are lost attempting to “get a handle” on incoming bouncing passes. I call these bouncing passes “crappy passes.” (I know, politically incorrect) If you make a “crappy pass” in my practice, you do one pushup. After about ten or so pushups, a player begins to make a conscious effort to pass the ball on the ground. If you insist that your players make all their passes on the ground, the more valuable moments your team will have in those critical situations when moments make all the difference. - After first publishing this article, one of our coaches emailed us with these valid comments… |