The following posts have been tagged with "soccer pass to space"...
Soccer Aggressive Receiving
For young soccer teams and most Rec soccer teams it is very important to teach “Passing to Space” and “Aggressive Receiving“. What I mean is that you should use the Dribble Around a Cone & Pass Relay Race Soccer Practice Game to teach receivers that they MUST stay alert, on their toes, and stop the pass, no matter how bad it is…. they MUST assume that every soccer pass will be bad, get in front of it, and NOT let it get past them.
Many players seem to believe that a soccer pass is supposed to hit them in the feet, and they will just stand there flat-footed waiting for the soccer ball, and if it doesn’t come to them perfectly, they just let it go by and say ‘It’s not my fault ‘ it was a bad pass’. That is the wrong attitude. One of the most important things you can do is teach your players that a pass is NOT supposed to be perfect and that they must stay alert, on their toes, and go to the pass, and MOST IMPORTANTLY, do NOT let the pass get past them they MUST do their very best to stop the ball. Teach your players that most passes are to ‘Soccer Space‘ and that the pass is NOT supposed to be perfect.
The reason to teach this is that it is unrealistic to expect most Rec soccer players to be able to make a perfect pass when under pressure… SO, teach your receivers to NOT expect a perfect pass. In fact, teach them to expect a BAD pass and that they MUST be alert and do their very best to stop bad passes. Imagine the benefits of teaching Aggressive Soccer Receiving!
I suggest you give a special patch to encourage and reward this (pick a color or use a Star or Lightning Bolt). If you can teach this it will make a huge impact on your team’s play.
Ideally, your players should be able to both soccer pass to feet and soccer pass to space. But the reality is that young players will have a hard time making accurate soccer passes when under pressure, and so will Rec soccer players. That is a big advantage of teaching this approach and of teaching them to “Pass to Space” it makes it clear that they shouldn’t expect “soccer passes to their feet“. The Dribble Around Cone & Pass Relay Race soccer practice game is the best way to teach Aggressive Soccer Receiving.
Soccer Leading Pass
A pass into open space that “leads” the receiver (i.e., is played to space in front of the receiver). (See “Through Ball“, which is a similar concepts and “Pass to Space“).
Soccer Last Defender
The defender (not counting the goalkeeper) who is closest to the goal you are attacking. (The goalkeeper is usually the actual last defender, but it is easier to teach this concept by referring to the last field player as the “Last Defender”).This is an important concept to teach because you may want your center forward to play within 2 steps of the Last Defender. The “Last Defender” is usually as far as a forward can “push up” without the ball & still be “onside”. You want your forwards to stay 2 steps behind the last Defender so they won’t be as likely to be called offside. It is hard to dribble past the Last Defenders. The best way to break through them is by “through balls”, “give & go’s” or “passing to yourself”. (See “Offside Rule“, “Push Up“, “Through Ball“, “Pass To Yourself” & “Pass To Space“).
Soccer Killer Ball
A pass that is so good that it sets up a goal. Usually a “through ball”, a “long ball”, a “give & go” or a soft “pass to space”.
Soccer Diagonal Through Ball
A “through ball” that is played diagonally instead of straight ahead. If from far out, it might be played toward the far corner. This can be very effective because it is difficult for defenders to handle. This is for U-11 & up. (See “Soccer Through Ball“, “Soccer Pass To Space“, “Soccer Push Up” and “Soccer Stretch The Field“).
Soccer Cross
(aka Cross the Ball, Center The Ball, Cross It, Cross, Crossing Pass or Crossed Ball). A very important term & concept to teach U-10 & older, because “soccer crosses” are a very important way to create scoring opportunities. To “cross the soccer ball” means to kick the ball from the side of the field across the field toward the area in front of the opponent’s goal in order to create a scoring opportunity. A cross is a “square pass” to the area in front of the goal (If a player passes the ball across the field to a teammate out of scoring range, it is not called a “cross”, but is called a “square soccer pass“). A crossed ball is usually a “pass to space” (as opposed to a “pass to feet”). Even at the pro soccer level, the passer usually isn’t passing to a specific person; he’s just concentrating on kicking the soccer ball to the front of the goal (often while on the run) because doing so often creates a scoring opportunity. (This is hard to do. Try kicking the ball sideways while running). A good cross will be to the area in front of the goal & about 7 to 20 steps out from the goal; if it is too close to the goal the goalkeeper will pick it up or catch it & if it is too far out the receiver won’t have a shot. At the high school level and older, a lot of crosses are “soccer air balls” that create the opportunity to score on a “header”. I think it is better to use the term “center the ball” rather than “crossing pass” when giving directions to young players, because if you say “crossing pass”, a young player thinks he should look for someone to “pass” it to. I’ve found it is better to teach your outside F’s to “center the ball” without worrying whether a receiver will get there. Yes, they will sometimes center it when no one is there but it will teach soccer receivers that they must “go to goal” & get in position to receive these “crosses” so they can make a one-touch or two-touch shot. Tell your receivers to stay 3 or 4 steps behind the ball when they run with the dribbler (i.e., the player who will make the cross) so they won’t be called offside & so the ball won’t go behind them. If they are even with the ball they will either have to stop & wait on it or will overrun it & it will go behind them. By staying 3 or 4 steps behind they should be able to slow down & reach the soccer ball but still have forward momentum which will give them power on a one-touch shot. A more important reason to stay 3 to 4 steps back is so the cross doesn’t go behind them. If it does, they have lost the soccer scoring opportunity. If they are behind the ball they will have a chance; if the ball goes behind them, they won’t). Tell them that when they reach the ball they should just block the ball with the inside of their foot & use a very short backswing; if they take a big backswing they will probably mis-kick. Placement is the key, not power. Crosses should go straight across. This is because if the cross is at a forward angle, it is harder for the receiver to kick it (since it is going away from him) & it is easier for defenders to clear it (because it is going toward them) and it is easier for the goalkeeper to catch it. A “Long Corner” is a type of “Cross” to “Center The Ball”. (See “Soccer Finish“, “Soccer Attacking Plan“, “First Soccer Attacker“, “Soccer Rebound“, “Center The Soccer Ball” & “Soccer Creating Space“).
Soccer Center The Ball
(aka “Cross The Ball” or “Center It”). Refers to a soccer attacker kicking or passing the soccer ball to the area in front of the opponent’s soccer goal. Attackers often pass the ball to this space without having a receiver in mind because it can create a scoring opportunity. (This is called “passing to space”). This term is more descriptive of what you want a youth soccer team to do than “cross the ball”. (See “Cross The Soccer Ball“, “Creating Soccer Space“, “First Attacker“, & “Pass to Space“).
Soccer Attacking Plan
For recreational soccer teams ages 10 and older, it is very important to have a simple and realistic soccer attacking plan that players clearly understand & can execute. For example, a simple attacking plan could be to clear the soccer ball away from your Defending Third, have your forwards be positioned to win the ball, and launch a quick attack. This is not as easy as it sounds. How to achieve this is described at SoccerHelp Premium.
(See “Soccer Attacking“, “Center The Soccer Ball“, “Clear the Soccer Ball “, “Soccer Counterattack“, “Defending Deep“, “Finish“, “First Attacker“, “Formations“, “Pass To Space“, “Push Up“, “Rebound“, “Shift & Sag“, “Styles of Play“, “Support” and “Win The Ball“).
Soccer Attacking
(aka “Offense”). When a soccer team has the soccer ball they are generally referred to as “attacking”, no matter where the ball is on the soccer field. There are 2 different styles of soccer attacking: a direct soccer attack and an “indirect soccer attack. A direct attack tries to move the ball quickly into scoring range by using mostly forward soccer passes, through balls and breakaways. An indirect attack is slower and uses a lot of sideways or backward passes while searching for a weakness in the defense. Unless your team is very skilled and has excellent passing ability a direct soccer attack will work best. (See “Styles of Play” for more details). Creating soccer space is a very important part of attacking. There are 2 different ways to create space. One relies on the ballhandler (i.e., the soccer player “onball”) to create opportunities. The other way to create space is by movement off the soccer ball & relies on movement by players other than the ballhandler (i.e., players “off-the-ball”) to create space & to create opportunities. (See “Soccer Attacking Plan“, “Soccer Attacking Third“, “Create“, “Soccer Dribbling“, “Go To Soccer Goal“, “Soccer Kick-Off“, “Pass To Space“, “Shift & Sag – Soccer“, “Strength On The Ball“, “Through Ball“, “Push Up“, “Build An Attack From The Back“, “Center The Ball“, “Coaching Rules“, “Commit The Defender“, “Counterattack“, “Creating Space“, “Cross The Ball“, “Defending to Win“, “Direct Attack“, “Finish“, “First Attacker“, “Soccer Formations“, “Soccer Goal Kick“, “Movement Off The Soccer Ball“, “Soccer Possession Style“, “Rebound“, “Release“, “Spread The Soccer Field“, “Styles of Soccer Play“, “Soccer Support“, “Switch The Soccer Play“, “Soccer – When to Dribble/When to Pass“, “Width In Soccer Attack“, “Win The Soccer Ball“.