If your players can make space inside a crowded penalty area to receive the ball, they will also have time to take a shot at goal.
Forwards must be able to score in a variety of situations and they need to be able to score with one touch using a shot on either foot, a volley or a header. Forwards may have time to take a touch before shooting but this touch must be excellent and close to their body so they don’t give the ball away and can strike it with their second touch. Recreating a crowded penalty box where players have little space to move and little time to receive the ball is essential to developing your players in this way.
Warm up | Session | Development | Game Situation | Warm Down |
---|---|---|---|---|
10 minutes | 15 minutes | 15 minutes | 15 minutes | 5 minutes |
Mark out an area with a six-yard box near each goal, which has a forward in it, and eight players on the edge of the area, as shown in the top picture.
Each forward receives four serves from the outside players near to him. The aim is to score from as many serves as possible.
Servers are free to use different types of serve. These can be low, lofted, driven, curled, fast or slow passes. The only rule is that the ball must enter the player’s square.
The forward must get a shot on goal using just one touch and try to score as many times as possible from the four serves.
After all serves have been completed, the forward must have scored more than the forward in the opposite square to be declared the winner.
Now the forward becomes a server and a server becomes a forward. The remaining servers rotate positions to a new angle and improve their passing accuracy.
To progress, the serves now come from the opposite end of the pitch.
The forward is facing away from goal and must control the serve then shoot with his second touch.
The forward does not have to take two touches and may be able to swivel and volley or head first time from the longer pass.
This is all down to the forward’s ability to improvise and score.
Mark out an area with a goal at each end and play a small-sided game between two teams.
Each team has three players and a goalkeeper. Four neutral servers (N) go on the corners of the pitch and are restricted to one touch only.
To score a goal, a team must have used one of the outside neutral players during the build-up play.
In the first game, players must score using a first-time shot. In the second game, players can score using two touches if needed.
After a few minutes, the player on each team scoring the most goals is allowed to stay in the game and is declared the Top Scorer. The remaining two players swap with two neutrals.
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