Things You'll Need:
- One size three soccer ball for each player
- One good pair of soccer shoes
- One assistant coach to help
- A good stretch of lawn
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Step 1
Explain to your players that you will be showing them the proper way to pass a soccer ball, but before you do, you need to show them the wrong way, and why it is wrong. As you stand behind the ball, with your right side to the team, plant your left foot near the ball and kick it with your toe to your assistant coach.
Left footed coaches: show your left side and kick with your left foot.
As you kick, be sure to lift the ball high enough into the air so that your assistant coach must expend lots of energy heading or chasing a high or wide pass. New players usually need to see this poor pass performed several, and as many as a dozen times before they can comfortably see why a toe pass is not the best way to do it. -
Step 2
Assuming most players are right footed and know the basic shape of an L, have each player stand with his right foot on the right side of his own ball, with the toes pointing toward a target or the goal. Have him place his left foot on the near side of the ball, with the arch facing the ball and the toes pointing to the left. In this way, each player should have made an L with both feet.
Reverse the feet for left footed players. You will notice that right footed players are kicking with left feet first, and left footers are kicking right first. This serves two purposes:
- It is often easier for the weak side to teach the dominant side a new task than for the dominant side to teach the weak side.
- Learning weak side first encourages players to develop both sides for effective use in games. Besides, how much fun will it to watch opposing coaches’ wonder at a team full of left footed kickers? -
Step 3
Compare the game of soccer to golf. Ask if any players have parents who play golf. Then ask if they know why there are so many clubs in their golf bags. Chances are, one of the players will say that each club has a different use. Explain that the putter is used to send the ball along the grass, straight to the hole, and that is what we will be practicing today.
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Step 4
Have each player take a step to the right (or left for right footed kickers) and swing the kicking leg a few times through the top of the grass to get the feel of the putter pass. Many players will balk at this task, saying it does not feel right. Explain to them that it is natural to feel this way at first. Then remind them that “Perfect practice makes perfect!”
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Step 5
Pair your players up, matching one experienced player ten feet across from one new player. Have each newer player pass the ball using the weak side first. Now, watch the fun begin. You will notice that, by the end of this drill, the passing patterns have evolved from random scatterings to fairly accurate passes. The passes also stay on the grass. Be sure to quickly encourage perfect practice and correct improper technique.
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Step 6
Have your players switch to passing with the strong or dominant leg. While encouraging perfect practice and correcting improper form, notice that strong side passes begin more accurately in this drill, and improve as it progresses.
