The following posts have been tagged with "soccer pass"...
Soccer Toe-Kick
Generally to be avoided in soccer because it is easy to mis-kick the ball with the toe (the inside of foot or instep is much larger & more reliable). However, if near the goal or to steal the ball, a “toe-poke” (as opposed to a kick) is perfectly acceptable in soccer. (See “Soccer Drive” & “Soccer Pass“).
Soccer Shoot
See “Drive“, “Pass“, “Chip“, “Flick Pass” & “Toe Kick“.
Soccer Pass To Yourself
(aka “Pop It”). As soccer players get older & better, it becomes very difficult for an attacker to dribble past a defender & passing becomes very important. By U-12, your attack won’t work very well unless your soccer team can “pass”, “pass to space” & “pass to yourself”. One way to beat a defender is to “pass the ball to yourself” by passing the soccer ball to open space behind the defender & then beating him to it. The passer has the advantages of knowing where he is passing it & of forward momentum, while the defender must turn around and gain momentum. This is one way to get through the last line of defenders if they have “pushed up” & in that case is like passing a “through ball” to yourself. This works best if the attacker is faster than the defender. I tell attackers to “pop the ball” past the defender & ideally to chip it or kick an “airball” if they can, since an airball is hardest for a defender to block with his foot. Since they can run faster without dribbling than they can if they are dribbling, I tell them to pop it as far as they can while still beating the defender to it. For example, if they are on the right or left side, they can pop it farther than if they are in the center, because if they kick it too far down the center the goalkeeper will get it. If the defender is faster than the attacker, the attacker won’t be able to pop it very far or the defender will beat him to the soccer ball. Second Attackers and Third Attackers must move up with the soccer ball to support the First Attacker. If a defender gets the soccer ball, the attackers must pressure the defender to try to win back the soccer ball. If they can cause a turnover, they may have a scoring opportunity. (See “Through Ball“, “Hopped Pass“, “Creating Space“, “Verbal Signals“, “First Attacker” & “Pass“). How to teach “Passing to Space” and “Aggressive Receiving” are explained in SoccerHelp Premium.
Soccer Pass
A pass is a kick, or a ball played with the head, chest or thigh, that is intended to be received by a soccer teammate. Like in basketball, passing is preferable to dribbling because the soccer ball can be moved more quickly & can better be kept away from the other soccer team. By U-12, it is critical for a soccer team to be able to attack by passing. (See “Pass To Feet“, “Push Pass“, “Hopped Pass“, “Toe-Kick“, “Flick Pass“, “Pass To Space“, and “When To Dribble“). I strongly recommend you teach “Passing to Space” and “Aggressive Receiving” — Passing to Space is easier for beginning soccer players and will result in much better soccer ball movement, better soccer ball possession, use of Open Space and “field vision”. Aggressive Receiving is a better way to teach receiving and will result in a big improvement in your soccer players and their ability to retain the soccer ball.
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“).