| September 10, 2009 |
Back to Newsletter Archive Soccer Drills Back to SoccerHelp Home PageSoccerHelp Newsletter Check out the New Soccer Practice Plans Note From David. Do you scrimmage at soccer practice? If you have a travel soccer team and occasionally scrimmage against good competition, it makes sense. But if you have a Rec team, it isn’t a very good way to practice. Scrimmaging isn’t an efficient way for Rec coaches to practice because players don’t get enough touches on the ball, players tend to repeat the same bad habits, and the best players tend to dominate and the weak players (who need the most touches on the ball) tend to get the fewest touches on the ball. If you scrimmage by dividing your team in half so part of your players are playing against others on your team, you need to be sure your players are playing as they would in a real match, and not goofing off or playing at 75% of speed – if players practice slow, they will play slow. Soccer Practice Games are more efficient and effective because players get a lot more touches on the ball and you can practice the skills your players need to practice. Some coaches are skeptical about this, but if you try it, you will see that I’m right. Think about college and professional coaches. They rarely scrimmage at practice, and if they do it is usually a “situational scrimmage”. In addition, I found that scrimmaging reduced my player’s “hunger” for a real soccer match, and that my players played harder in a real match if we hadn’t scrimmaged that week. I hope you are having the most fun season ever. My Favorite Motivational Coaching Quotes 300 Soccer Testimonials David at SoccerHelp Coupons for Premium Members We've added coupons especially for Premium Members. They are re-usable and can be used for patches and DVDs. See Coupons for Premium Members
Soccer Practice Plans on Premium
Soccer Practice Plans on Basic Scrimmaging at Soccer Practice
A Better Way to Scrimmage
Keep the Soccer Field Short
Small Sided Scrimmage Without a Goalie
Why scrimmaging isn’t a good way to practice soccerRead about SoccerHelp Premium. Premium now has over 1,500 pages, 5,000 internal links, 70 copyrighted soccer drills that are soccer Practice Games, over 300 pages about soccer Formations (4v4, 5v5, 6v6, 7v7, 8v8, 9v9 and 11v11) and soccer Positions, and a soccer Forum where Members can ask questions to Members and David at SoccerHelp. Over 10,000 coaches have joined SoccerHelp Premium.
SoccerHelp Tips Scrimmaging at Soccer Practice (The following is from the Premium Forum. The links are to SoccerHelp Premium. If you're a Premium Member, you should only have to log-in once as long as you leave a link open) (Below is my reply to a letter from a Rec coach who was scrimmaging on an oversized field). Hi, This is David at SoccerHelp. Here's an idea for how to easily create a smaller field and to increase the fun. Use 4 cones to make 2 sets of "Goals" (5 to 7 steps apart) and put a "Scoring Cone" in front of each goal, about 7 to10 steps from the goal (so you need a total of at least 6 cones, but more if you want to make sidelines). The rules are:
A Better Way to Scrimmage
Keep the Soccer Field Short
Small Sided Scrimmage Without a Goalie
Why scrimmaging isn’t a good way to practice soccerThese are basically the rules from the "Small Sided Scrimmage Without a Goalie" practice game. This game is easy to set up and fun. It forces players and teams to work the ball in for a shot instead of taking long shots and since there isn't a Goalie it forces all players to learn to defend and to block shots with their body. It's a great way to see who is a natural, brave defender. The shorter fields are more fun and you get a lot more transitions, so it's valuable in teaching transitions. I would MUCH rather play with cones as described above on a short "field" than on too large a field. You might want to put out a few cones to mark sidelines to keep teams from just kicking the ball away and so you can get some practice in Throw-ins... this will make your scrimmage more realistic and avoid those situations that can occur when a kid takes off to an area that would clearly be out of bounds with another kid chasing him and everyone else stands there watching for several minutes. That's cute once, but quickly gets tiresome, and it breaks the flow of the game. Also, the sidelines prevent players from just kicking the ball away without being penalized for it. If you scrimmage by dividing your team in half so part of your players are playing against others on your team, you need to be sure your players are playing as they would in a real match, and not goofing off or playing at 75% of speed – if players practice slow, they will play slow. For those reading this, let me point out that there are several articles about soccer scrimmaging on Premium, but as you know, scrimmaging isn’t an efficient way to Rec coaches to practice because players don’t get enough touches on the ball, players tend to repeat the same bad habits, and the best players tend to dominate and the weak players (who need the most touches on the ball) tend to get the fewest touches on the ball. Practice Games are more efficient and effective. David at SoccerHelp
- No Goalies
- Goals only count if the shot was "Clearly" taken within an imaginary line defined by the Scoring Cone (if you aren't sure it was inside the Scoring Cone, no goal is scored)
- Goals only count if they were inside the cones that substitute for the Goal posts
- Goals only count if the shot was roughly head height or lower (about 6' or lower), OR you can even require that the shots be on the ground if you want
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Read about SoccerHelp Premium. Premium now has over 1,500 pages, 5,000 internal links, 70 copyrighted soccer drills that are soccer Practice Games, over 300 pages about soccer Formations (4v4, 5v5, 6v6, 7v7, 8v8, 9v9 and 11v11) and soccer Positions, and a soccer Forum where Members can ask questions to Members and David at SoccerHelp. Over 10,000 coaches have joined SoccerHelp Premium.
Soccer Coaching DVD's I Recommend: (The links go to the Detailed Review of the DVD) For U-4, U-6 Coaches: Coach Doug SoccerHelp Method of Coaching Ages 3, 4, 5 & 6 DVD For How To Teach Skills: Soccer Success One On One Coaching (Basic and Intermediate Skills) DVD, Mia Hamm Soccer Secrets DVD, England Skills Uncovered DVD, Training Girls and Women To Win 3-DVD Set For Motivation, Fun and Foot Skills (experienced and travel players age 9 and older): GOL! (Brazilian Soccer Foot Skills and Ball Control Training) DVD For Rec Girls: Mia Hamm Soccer Secrets DVD For Moves: Coerver Play Great Soccer 2-DVD Set, GOL! (Brazilian Soccer Foot Skills and Ball Control Training) DVD, SoccerHelp Foot Skills and Soccer Moves Training Program (Motor Memory Training and Aerobic Workout) DVD For Travel Team Players: GOL! (Brazilian Soccer Foot Skills and Ball Control Training) DVD, Coerver Play Great Soccer 2-DVD Set, England Skills Uncovered DVD, Training Girls and Women To Win 3-DVD Set, SoccerHelp Foot Skills and Soccer Moves Training Program (Motor Memory Training and Aerobic Workout) DVD.
