Looking Good

I have to say the girls were playing some good looking soccer this weekend. We had only one practice in the last 2 weeks. In that practice, we worked on back passes and for some reason that really seemed to drive home what I was trying to teach them.

I can’t explain how awesome the player spacing and movement looked. They weren’t getting any direction from the sideline. We had all five field players up pressuring the other team. They were all moving and adjusting and not bunching. We had players passing to the top of the opponent’s penalty box and other players arriving simultaneously to take a shot on the goal. We had one back pass that came out of the corner and moved the ball right around the defense to the top of the box. It was fun to watch.

Of course, we still missed a lot of opportunities in the match which could be attributed to either players missing practices or just a lack of technical skill. But these things are just a matter of time.

We’ll continue to work on the back pass scenario. The way we practice it is:

• Setup with a forward and 2 or 3 backs providing cover.
• The forward starts with the ball.
• The coach pressures the forward forcing a back pass (the back pass “decision” is a bit contrived, but it works)
• If the forward passes to the back to her right (facing backward), she then moves square out to her right.
• The coach follows the ball and applies pressure to the back.
• The back then touches the ball to her left (facing forward) away from the pressure and passes the ball to the space even further to the left of the forward.
• After making the pass, the back “goes” to the top of the opponent’s penalty box.
• Make sure the remaining back(s) are covering and not getting up field and leaving us defenseless.
  
• The forward touches the ball even closer to the sideline away from the pressure while turning up field. She then crosses (passes) the ball to the top of the box.
  

That’s what we worked on. I think by giving the players a target on the field (the top of the box), it helped both the passer and the “goer”. Just the concept of taking the first touch away from the pressure before making a pass is quite a step of progress for the less experienced girls. It also highlighted some opportunities for improving left foot performance. I’m a little worried that by providing a fixed target, that they are missing the point that this technique can apply in different parts of the field. I’ll have to keep an eye out for that.

-Bill