The following posts have been tagged with "soccer trailer"...

Soccer Verbal Signals


You should encourage your soccer players to talk to each other on the soccer field. There are some typical soccer terms that are used in certain circumstances. Some of these are:

  • “Soccer Man On” (See “Man On”)
  • “Soccer Time” – Means a defender is not nearby & the ballhandler has time to dribble or look for a pass. (i.e., don’t rush a play).
  • “Soccer Keeper” – The goalkeeper might yell this to let teammates know they should move aside & let him have the ball (i.e., so he can pick it up or catch a shot)
  • “Back” or “Drop” – Would be yelled by a “trailer” to let a teammate with the ball know that he has support behind him & can play the ball backward if needed.
  • “Soccer Carry” – Continue to dribble the ball.
  • “Pop It” – “Pass To Yourself”.
  • “Send it” – Send a Through Soccer Ball.
  • “Switch” – (See “Switch”)

    • The most useful of the above in Soccer is “Keeper”. It’s hard to teach these. Perhaps the best thing is to introduce them by U-10 or U-12 & encourage talking in general. Small-sided games encourage talking & are another reason they are so beneficial. (See “Show For The Ball”).

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    Soccer Triangles


    Like basketball, triangles are an important part of attacking soccer. This means that at least 2 soccer teammates should always be supporting the soccer ballhandler & one of these should be a “trailer”.

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    Soccer Trailer


    On the attack in soccer, the player behind the soccer ballhandler should move up & stay open for a backward soccer pass. Having a trailer is also a big advantage if you lose the soccer ball, because he is in a good position to defend. A “trailer” is also used in basketball. (See “First Attacker“).

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    Soccer Support


    You want to have “support” on both offense & defense. “Support”
    refers to having teammates who are properly positioned near the ball (i.e., within passing range on offense and within 5 – 10 steps of the First Defender on defense):

    A.  On Offense, there should always be 2 or more teammates within passing range (7-15 steps, depending on age) who are open for a pass. One of these can be following the ballhandler (a “trailer”). The key concepts are “First Atacker”, “Second Attacker”, and “Third Attacker”. (See “First Attacker”, “Push Up”, “Support Distance & Relative Position”, “Attacking”, “Attacking Tips” in Chapter 1, & Chapter 2, “How To Teach Offense & Defense”).
    B.  On Defense there are 3 key concepts:
    1. “First Defender” – The player closest to the ball must challenge the ball & try to slow down the attack or block a shot, and
  • “Second Defenders” – The second closest player must be the Second Defender and back up the First Defender and stay between the ball and the goal. The Second Defender should stay about 5-7 steps behind the First Defender and should become the First Defender if the ballhandler gets by the initial First Defender. (In this case, the initial defender should drop back to help the defender who was backing him up).
  • “Shift & Sag” – As soon as the ball is lost, your team should quickly “transition” from offense to defense; the closest player should become the “First Defender” the next two closest should become the “Second Defenders” & all the rest should “shift & sag”. What this means is to shift so they are generally between the ball & the goal & sag back to create multiple layers of defenders (which is called “Depth”). There are 2 rules that you can use to teach your players how to “shift & sag” on defense:

    • The left & right players (e.g., the LMF & RMF or LFB & RFB) should not go past the center of the field.
  • Don’t go past a teammate unless it is an emergency & never go past two teammates. These rules apply to defense but not offense because more creativity is allowed on offense. (See “Shift & Sag“, “Shape“, “Depth“, “Cover“, “Width In Defense“, “Support Distance & Relative Position“, “Zone Defense“, “Defense” & “Flat Defense“).

    • C.  All players should shift toward the ball whether on offense or defense. Ideally, there should be multiple layers of support on both offense & defense.

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    Soccer Drop


    Refers to a ball left by the soccer ballhandler for a trailing teammate (i.e., instead of passing backward, the ballhandler “drops” the ball & then makes a run, knowing his soccer teammate is running onto the ball). Can also refer to a soft back pass that the trailer runs onto. This is an alternative to a back pass & is only used when the ballhandler is certain his teammate will get the ball if he drops it. (See “Soccer Trailer” & “Soccer Back Pass“).

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