Things You'll Need:
- Cones
- Balls
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Step 1
Make sure that the crosses are accurate. There are a lot of goal chances that go missing because the cross was hit too far, too hard, at a bad angle, or even straight into the defender. The accuracy of the cross is the single most important factor in the odds of scoring from a cross.
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Step 2
Shoot within two touches. Most goals from crosses have been observed to have been scored from one touch or two touches in the penalty area. Remarkably, most goals from crosses are scored low with the foot, as opposed to being scored from headers. This would suggest that crosses should preferably be low and hard, requiring only redirection towards the goal from the receiver.
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Step 3
Cross early to the back of the defense. There is often a trend, especially in youth soccer, to have wingers dribble the ball to the end line, and then cross it into the box. However, at the top levels, this only allows defenders to recover into the box and ready themselves for defensive headers. Early crosses to the back of the defense, however, force the defenders to turn and face their own goal, as well as allowing attackers to make runs behind defenders to get the shot on goal.
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Step 4
Get players into the positions that maximize chances. There are two schools of thought on where players should be positioned in the box when the ball is crossed in. Some prefer the goal to be "framed," in that one player runs towards the near post, one to the back post, and one to the top of the box or penalty mark. Others prefer the runs to be made into the "Second Six Yard" zone, which is the area between the top of the 6 yard box and the penalty mark. This is a difficult area for keepers to deal with for crosses and causes a lot of defensive confusion. The choice on what philosophy to take is one for the coach to make based on the individual players.
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Step 5
Whatever the outcome of the first ball into the box, capitalize on the second ball. This means that if the cross initially fails to result in a goal, the ball may still be bouncing around in the box. A lot of teams switch off mentally in these instances. However, alert players will "crash" around this ball and send it towards the goal as fast as possible. This "second ball" is one of the most important factors in whether teams score and win games or not.
