Attacking Sessions

This is the complete session on Improving Ball Control, click on the links to access the Coaches Chalkboard sessions and the downloadable PDF.

To be able to pass first time, players will need to try and think one step ahead. They will have to visualise where they are going to pass, before they receive the ball. Other factors that will influence their decisions will be the weight, speed and accuracy of the pass they are receiving and the early support and communication of the receiving players.

One important football coaching skill is how to create space for yourself on the pitch. In this video, the football coach works with young players to show them some simple moves on how they can create space for themselves and lose their marker.

Who is the best creative player? A number of England players, such as Ashley Cole and Michael Carrick talk about how football is changing and players are becoming quicker and more creative. A leading England football coach explains that as the game has changed, players need to be able to be able to retain possession, be able to pass quickly and effectively over a range of distances, but particularly over short distances. As a result, football coaches need to understand how to encourage young players to think creatively. The Football Association Youth Award coaching course trains coaches to do this.

James Milner talks about how he has grown up playing football and how young football players should be coached differently to adults. Young players think differently and learn differently. A good football coach understands this and coaches players in a way that is suitable for the age, ability and needs of the players. The Football Association Youth Award coaching course helps train football coaches to do this.

This is the fifth part of the topic that I presented at the recent Football Coaching in Porto, Portugal. This involves progressions and challenges when coaching players.