Andre Botelho’s Soccer Coaching Blog

Passing is the art of moving the ball from one player to another by kicking it. In order that the pass is effective and to the intended player, the kick should be effective and accurate. You must instruct the players to keep the following points in mind when teaching passing and kicking techniques:

1. The players must pass or kick the ball to the feet of the other player. If this isn’t the case, the opposition will be able to take the possession of the ball.
2. The body of the player must be positioned over the ball with the knee pointing downwards towards the ball.
3. The player must plant his or her foot next to the ball with the same foot pointing in the direction in which the ball must be hit.
4. Hold the ankle of the foot passing/kicking the ball rigid and let the leg follow-through on the kick.

All players have a specific area of their foot from where they can make accurate kicks. Its generally located on the laces of the shoe although, it may vary slightly from player to player. You can help the players find this exact spot by this simple exercise.

Make them sit on the ground with their feet in front of them about 6 to 12 inches out from their body. Their sitting position should be comfortable so that they can raise their leg, feet and foot straight up. Then instruct them to hold the ball above their head, drop it straight down towards their laces and raise their foot in a manner that it meets the ball. As soon as the ball hits the sweet spot, it will go back without any spin or rotation. If the ball spins or rotates, it means that they have not hit their sweet spot as they say.

They should keep repeating this exercise till they are able to strike the ball and have it go straight up and down without any spin or rotation. Ask the players and observe too that they do use their toe to kick the ball. The players can never hit the ball accurately using their toe.

There are several drills that help the kids develop effective passing skills but the ones below are specially suited to development of passing and kicking skills.

Soccer Golf

Equipment: This drill requires that you have cones and a ball for each player.

Execution: Put the plastic cones around the field at different distances. Mark the cones as 1,2,3,4 etc and let the players know which cone is what. Then instruct the players to hit the ball at the cones. The cones here act as holes. Only one player must attempt to hit the cone at a time.

The key here is accuracy. Every hit taken by a player is taken as 1 count. The players should keep track of their scores and in the end, the player with the lowest score wins.

A great way to motivate the younger players is that when anyone hits the cone in the first attempt, shout his name and complement him on his good strike. This will boost his confidence and also inspire others to do the same.

This is a great drill that teaches accuracy, maximizes touches on the ball, and effectively striking the ball.

Knock Down

Equipment: This drill too requires cones and a cone for every 2 players.

Execution: Place the cones in 2 parallel lines along with each player. The players should stand behind the cone. Designate the two lines as Team A and Team B respectively. It is up to you to decide as to how much should the distance be between the cones but it is recommended that you must start with closer cones and then increase the distance as the players improve their performance.

Here’s what the players should concentrate on; hit the cones on the opposition’s side by kicking the ball repeatedly. The cones that fall must be kept as it is till the game finishes and then in the end, the team that manages to bring down the opposition’s cones first wins.

This drill is a great teacher of accuracy and passing techniques.

Through Goal

Equipment: This drill too requires cones and a cone for every 2 players.

Execution: You must set up 2 cones approximately 3 feet apart, and which act as a goal. Instruct one of the players to stand on each side of the cone facing the opening of the cones/goal. The players then pass the ball to each other by putting it between the cones.

Keep varying the distance of the players to the cones as in the previous drill. This drill is very effective in teaching as to how the players must move the ball.

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Yours in soccer,

Andre Botelho

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