Brandon Soccer League

Dutch-Style Counter Attacking

There is such an emphasis on everyone trying to play a short passing game that many youth players cannot play an accurate long ball. But the best players can hit 40, 50 or 60 yard passes, says David Clarke.


Putting the pressure on

If you want your team to make a statement during a game you can practise playing a quick long ball to put the opposition on their heels and get your team back into their half of the field.


Making long passes work

And I’m not talking about a hoof upfield over the heads of the opposition and a charge after it. A long pass well executed can be a clever way of counter attacking against your opponents. If you look at the great players and great teams in soccer you will see some wonderful long passes that catch opponents out. The great brazilian teams and the Dutch ones that can play short, short then a defence splitting long pass. It is a great skill to have in any players armoury.


Get the ball to your wingers

Practise with your defenders playing a long pass up to one of your midfielders so he can pass it outside to his winger who can run on and cross it into the box. Make sure all your players know their roles in this one. It has to be swift and deadly. That means it needs players running into the box to put away the cross.

How to coach it

Tell your players to use their long kicking technique for crossing the ball to the back post as well as for passing. Once your players have perfected this they can begin to use them in match situations.

How to Pull Defences Apart

There have been countless examples in the closing stages of the European Champions League and already in Euro 2008 of an attacking team crossing the ball to the back post for a player to lay it back into the penalty area to create goal scoring chances, says David Clarke.


Teams must make chances to score goals

Your team is never going to win any games if they don’t score goals. It is one of the main aims of the game of soccer. And the more chances you make in a match the more goals you are going to score.


From the training ground to the pitch

I was working on this drill in training during the last week and saw the success of it in the match we played on Saturday. My players were knocking the ball across the goal and the player coming in was taking away defenders from the middle of the penalty area so when the ball was knocked back our striker had a great chance to score goals. He scored three.

IF YOU PRACTICE IT YOU WILL SEE THE BENEFIT ON MATCH DAYS.

Key coaching tips

Work on the timing of runs and the quality of passes.

Carve Your Way to Goal

Get your wingers to practice playing one-twos with their midfield team-mates so they can carve a way to goal and leave a few defenders behind on match days. Sometimes it’s better than dribbling, says David Clarke.

How to get around a solid defence

When your wingers are hitting a brick wall every time they try to dribble their way to goal, tell them to try playing quick one-twos to get around a solid defence. There is nothing more frustrating for your team if they are constantly losing the ball when your players are trying to dribble around defenders. This way they can beat them without losing the ball.


Use a zonal system

Mark your training pitch into three zones, and have two attackers/passers in the first zone, and put a defender in zone 2 and a defender in zone 3.

How to change the elements

What to watch out for

Key coaching tips

Accurate passing is crucial to beating players using this method; timing of passing is crucial; timing of run is crucial.

Make Your Own Playmaker

Small-sided games can be used to develop skills that make players stand out in matches, says David Clarke.

A skilful player causes excitement

We all have favourite players that cause a stir of excitement when they get the ball because we know that something will happen - a defence splitting pass, a clever one-two, a flick or a spin. It’s the playmaker in action. For anyone old enough to remember the great teams of the 70s and 80s every team had a playmaker who got the crowds on their feet.

The Only Time to Dive

The first goal that really made me sit up and think soccer was the best game in the world was a diving header. Back in 1972 Leeds United beat Arsenal in the FA Cup final when Alan Clarke scored with one, says David Clarke.

Using the body to head the ball

The diving header is a technique which uses the head to direct the ball, but involves the player’s whole body. Usually only used by attacking players - but can be used defending the penalty area - the diving header requires the player to dive towards the ball, with both feet off the ground in order to make contact with the ball.

Head the ball low and on-target

Tell your players to look in the direction in which the ball needs to go and to keep their head over the ball. In this way the player can keep the ball’s trajectory low and accurate.

Be brave and anticipate well

Tell your players they need to be brave, well balanced and use good anticipation. Players famed for their diving headers are fearless when diving in amongst flying boots to poach a goal in the six-yard box.

A diving header beats a thrusting foot

Tell your players when the ball is out of reach, they shouldn’t jump towards it with one foot in front, because they will only have a single foot to support the jump, since the other one will be stretched out front. This won’t give them much of an advantage, whereas with a diving header, they can use both feet to propel themselves towards the incoming ball.

It gives your players an advantage

The advantage of a diving header is that it allows a player to get to the ball first and to get on the end of crosses which would otherwise be unreachable. If the ball is low or dropping, but cannot be kicked, a diving header is a good option.

Key coaching tips: Get a player to lie on the ground so your players can practice diving across to gain distance and balance.

Those coaches who like to put a name to a skill will be interested to know the Portuguese and Spanish words for the technique. In Portugal they refer to it as the peixinho (“little fish”) and in Spain the palomita (“little dove”).

The Secret to Beating Defenders

Quick footed attackers look great when they run at defenders and leave them tackling thin air. You can teach your players how to do this and give them the confidence to go on match winning runs, says David Clarke.


A joy to watch

Watching a player run at and beat the opposition is great for coaches. I, like you, want to see my players take the initiative and run with the ball. You will often hear the parents of your players shouting “get rid of it” or “pass the ball” but they soon shut up when they see your players regularly going past opponents and setting up goal scoring chances.


Watch which foot your opponent uses

Beating players is an art, but you can help your team by telling them how to do it. They have to watch which leg the opponent is using and where his balance is to take advantage of the situation.

Tacklers often jump straight in and make it easy to go around them but the clever ones wait and jockey until they can make the tackle.

Use this technique