Soccer Playing Tip: Attacking 1 v 1

A couple of weeks ago, I talked about the importance of winning your individual battles/matchups and how doing so help you stand apart from other players and help your team win games. That week, I looked at things from the defensive side of the ball (you can read that article by clicking here). This week, I want to shift our perspective to the attacking side of the ball and teach you how to win your 1 v 1 attacking matchups.

First things first is knowing when to attack and when to maintain possession for your team. Attacking 1 v 1 is a risk, but it’s a risk that pays dividends if it pays off as it leads to high-quality scoring chances. My general rule of thumb is this:

If you can read the numbers on the back of the closest defender, then you have the right to go forward.

If this is the case, it means you are already beyond the closest defender and can likely attack open space and isolate one of the defenders. This means moving smartly before you get the ball to put yourself in a dangerous position when you receive it.

Now, once you do receive the ball, here’s how you win your matchup:

1.       Drive with speed. Speed kills in soccer and is lethal in 1 v 1 situations. Particularly if you have an outside back isolated, being able to get that player moving backwards puts you at a significant competitive advantage when you are attacking 1 v 1.

2.       Push the ball past the defender. This is where a scissor or shoulder fake may come in handy to get the defender off-balance, but at the end of the day, we are trying to get both the ball and our body beyond the defender so that they are no longer involved in the play, or are forced to pull you down and concede a free-kick.

3.       Take a big touch into the open space and change your pace. Once you are past the defender, you cannot let them back into the play. If you drove with speed, they are already on their heels, if you put them off balance, then you are already past them with them facing the wrong direction, so now you just have to make it a footrace to the ball that you can easily win.

There you have it. Your step-by-step guide to winning your attacking matchups. Move proactively to put yourself into a dangerous position when you receive the ball, drive with speed to get the defender on their heels, get them off balance and push the ball past them, then take a big touch to make it a footrace that you will win.

Soccer Playing Tip: How to Defend 1 v 1

A key to differentiating yourself from other players and making an impact on the soccer field is to win your individual battles/matchups. These mini-1-v-1-battles occur throughout the duration of a soccer match, and are often the difference between winning and losing. Strong team play will keep you competitive in the game, but winning your individual battles is what actually leads to wins on gameday. So, with that in mind, here’s my tip to winning your matchup defensively:

Make the game as hard as possible on the other player.

That’s it.

It’s nothing extraordinary or innovative, but doing this play after play for the duration of the game ensures that you will win a higher percentage of the battle’s vs your opposition. Here’s how you do so defensively:

1.       Always force the player to their weaker foot. 90% of the population is right-sided, meaning, it’s a very safe assumption that the player’s weaker foot will be their left. Forcing them to their weak foot will kill the game for most players, and even if they are skilled enough, and confident enough to beat you, the chances of them actually completing a play on their weak foot are slim to none. Sure, they may beat you, but if they do so on their left, they are either going to dribble out of bounds, take a heavy touch that your teammate can win, or hit a cross over the goal, all positive outcomes and nothing dangerous for your team.

2.       Play physically. This is an attribute that can separate you from the pack: get your hands on the opposition. Any time they run across your space, get in their way, put your hand on their chest, or bump them off their path. Play in, play out, with no exceptions. Doing this allows you to control them. It wears them down and frustrates them to no end, to the point where their head will either be out of the game, or they will hesitate to make the runs they would usually make.

3.       Make them play backwards. Defending 1 v 1 (and as a team) is not about winning the ball, it’s about controlling where the opposition has the ball and what they can do with it. By cutting off passing lanes, and staying between the defender and your goal, you can make them play backwards, and if they are passing the ball backwards, towards their own net and away from yours, you’ve won your battle because that is going to make it much harder on them to score.

BONUS TIP: If for some reason the player does beat you, that doesn’t mean the play is over, it simply means they got past you. Your job then, becomes to react positively and do whatever you can to recover. If the ball is past you but the player is not, it may mean planting yourself between the player and the ball and winning the footrace to it. If the player and the ball get past you, it probably means sprinting as hard as you can to occupy space centrally to protect your net and cover for your teammate who is now in the 1 v 1 matchup; the play isn’t over just because you get beat and those that react positively and recover still have a chance to win that individual battle.

Try implementing these tips into your training. How you practice is how you play, so building these habits over the next month is going to make a tremendous difference when you get out on the field for your games.

Soccer Training Tip: Practice at Game Speed

One of the keys to having success on gameday is practicing like you want to play. This starts with the coach by choosing exercises that actually translate to the game, but it then trickles down to the players to practice at game speed. While this seems apparently obvious, it happens far less than you think.

In my 10 years of coaching, I’ve had very few players who bring the “game-like” intensity on their own without needing to be pushed, and I’ve been there too. Unsurprisingly, these players have been the ones who have had the best careers because every time they step on the field to practice, they aren’t just going through the motions, they are actually preparing themselves for what’s going to happen in the game.

At the highest level, practices often become faster and more intense than the game itself. Bill Walton once said that when he played for John Wooden, the game was actually significantly slower than what they had been doing at practice.

So my challenge to you is this: if you want to become the best player you can be, come to training with a new mentality. Come out with the intention to practice at game speed. Move hard off the ball, talk relentlessly, play firm passes, defend like an animal; play at practice like you want to play in the game. Do this for one season, and I promise you you’re going to get noticed, you’re going to improve, and you’re going to do better on gameday.

If you want help developing skills like this that will take your game to the next level and the coaching to accelerate the process, then check out our Soccer Academies. Our academies are the perfect complement to your school training as we help you maximize your potential and become an impactful player on the field.

Practice like this:

Soccer Playing Tip: Check Your Shoulder

A fundamental skill in sports is the ability to analyze situations and make decisions quickly. In soccer, we must be constantly aware of what’s going on around us so that we can make the right decision when we receive the ball and positively impact the game. You can develop this habit by checking your shoulder every time you receive the ball, as demonstrated below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1A-X_4WXTM

When you check your shoulder, you are looking to see where the pressure is coming from and quickly calculating how long it will take for it to arrive. Your goal then becomes to take your first touch away from pressure, as Mihailo does in this video, and either maintain possession or progress the ball forward.

Building this habit will allow you to become a much smarter player who makes good decisions under pressure. Start implementing this in practice. Anytime you receive the ball, check your shoulder while it’s on it’s way to you. Over time, this will become habitual and will make you into a much better player.

If you want help developing skills like this that will take your game to the next level, we have a few spots left in our summer soccer academies. Our academies are the perfect complement to your school training as we help you prepare for your fall season, stand out at practice, and contribute on gameday.

Soccer Playing Tip: How to Score More Goals

Are you an attacker who’s struggling to put the ball in the back of the net? Do you feel like you are letting your team down because you just can’t seem to finish when you have your chances? Do you simply wish to score more goals or not squander your opportunity with the ball in front of net when it comes? If the answer to any of these questions are, “yes,” then I’m going to let you in on a secret that is going to dramatically increase your chances of scoring a goal and dramatically reduce your chances of missing in front of net.

ALWAYS FINISH TO THE FAR POCKET, ON THE GROUND, WITH THE INSIDE OF YOUR FOOT

That’s it.

Now when I say finishing, I mean any chance you have inside the 18-yard box. As we creep outside the 18-yard box, we start shooting rather than finishing and our form changes.

Habitually finishing to the far pocket, on the ground, with the inside of your foot does a couple of things. First and foremost, it takes the decision making out of the finish, reducing the risk, anxiety, or panic that you may feel in front of net; you do not even have to think about where you are going to put the ball, because you know you are aiming for the far pocket. Next, it’s where you have the greatest likelihood of having success. Goalkeepers are taught to cover their front post, meaning they leave a pretty large hole towards the back pocket. You may not score every time, but it’s where your odds are highest to do so, and the goalkeepers odds are the lowest to save it. Lastly, keeping the ball on the ground, and using the inside of your foot reducing the likelihood of missing the net.

You may not score every time, but your chances go up dramatically if you follow this principle.

To see for yourself, take a peek at a few of my guys goals from this season and notice where they’re aiming and how they’re finishing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_azildwla7Q

If you want help developing skills like this that will take your game to the next level, we have a few spots left in our summer soccer academies. Our academies are the perfect complement to your school training as we help you prepare for your fall season, stand out at practice, and contribute on gameday.

Soccer Playing Tip: Off the Ball Movement

In all team sports, movement is a precursor to receiving the ball. It’s no coincidence that the players who move the most are the ones who find themselves with the ball on their feet most often, and teams that move the most are the ones who are the hardest to play against.

It’s not enough though to just move hard, you also have to move smart so you can receive the ball with time and space to make a positive play for your team. For my attackers, that means moving into dangerous positions where you have the ability to advance the play forward. You want to receive the ball in a position where you have the time and space to put the opposition under pressure, either by driving at them with the ball, or playing a penetrating pass that causes chaos of the defenders. In his prime, Kevin De Bruyne did this better than anyone I’ve ever seen. Every time he receives the ball, it’s in a position that the defense has to react to, but it’s because he’s proactively moving to put himself in these dangerous positions.   

For my defenders, you must move to become an easy passing option for your teammate with the ball. This means making yourself the easiest possible passing option for your teammate so your team can maintain possession. Often this means getting underneath the player on the ball, but it also might mean leaving your comfort zone and stepping into unfamiliar areas on the field when necessary to become an outlet option.

Because soccer isn’t black and white, this is certainly an oversimplification, but the fundamental principles hold true: You must move if you want the ball, and you must move smartly in order to help your team.

If you want help developing skills like this that will take your game to the next level and the coaching to accelerate the process, we have a few spots left in our summer soccer academies. Our academies are the perfect complement to your school training as we help you maximize your potential and become an impactful player this fall.