Good Shooting Drills for Novice Girls

[Twenty26Six]

I'm coaching a girls JV high school team with no powerful or technically gifted shooters.

What are some good exercises that create a significant amount of repetitions and encourage shooting only[as opposed to passing and dribbling]?

Also, note this. I do not have two full-size goals at my disposal. I have 5ft tall coaching sticks and one immobile full-size goal, but that is it.

I have approx. 15-18 girls on any given day.

I've done a lot of different things thus far. But, it's not creating the desired effect. So, I'm curious as to what you guys are doing. And, if they are similar activities, what is your personal spin on those activities?

Thanks, in advance.

[Twenty26Six]

Note: It's not so much the issue of not knowing what exercises to use. I've got a decent array of them to use. It's more or less that the girs aren't taking to the exercises in the manner higher-level girls [or boys] normally would.

So, please, explain in detail - if you could - what you're doing within the exercises.

:)

[loghyr]

Also, note this. I do not have two full-size goals at my disposal. I have 5ft tall coaching sticks and one immobile full-size goal, but that is it.


Are they competitive in drills with each other?

Find the edge of where you want them to shoot. Put cones or those sticks out to form a box. Put 3 cones 10ft away, going towards the center. Line the girls up behind the cones.

When you shout start, the first 3 have to dribble to the box. First one to make a goal from the box wins that round. Let them decide whether or not to count rebounds. Make sure there is no goalie!

Keep the waves going. You can move the box, the start, etc.

[rca2]

What I used with younger novices to improve tactical speed in shooting around the penalty area:

A keeper in a full size goal. Two lines of shooters, left side and right side of the goal. Starting about 5 yards outside the penalty area. I served a ball by hand somewhere and the first player in line would run onto the ball and first time strike a shot on goal. Then I served a ball to the other line. Alternating back and forth. I would give the keeper barely enough time to recover between shots. I had assistants recovering the balls and feeding me a steady supply (which I managed with my feet). I started out serving from the center of the area and later moved out to serve from one side then the other so the balls would come from all directions.

This works the keeper hard too. Mimics rebound situations. My idea was to get the players used to shooting without pause inside the penalty area. (And to get the keeper focused on the next save without worrying about what happened on the last one. The obvious impossibility of the keepers task--stopping every shot--helps build confidence from the concentrating on the successes.) Power really doesn't matter in close. Tactical speed and shooting on frame are what I was looking for. I adjusted the difficulty of the serve based on the ability of the individual player, from slowly rolling balls on the ground to bouncing balls as they progressed in skill.

I hesitate to describe this drill because I am sure there are much better available. But the simplicity of the drill worked for my situation. The girls lost their fear of failure and learned to quickly take a shot on first opportunity inside the box. The drill works best if fast flowing. I would rather work two goals at the same time with your number of players, but you don't have two goals. You could try three lines, but the limiting factor is still the time you give the keeper to recover in between shots. If you removed the keeper, you could increase the pace by using three or four lines as long as you had a steady supply of balls to serve. As the girls advanced, you can gradually replace this with a more conventional shooting drill with players passing the balls normally, which starts working in other parts of the game besides just shooting.

[Twenty26Six]

What I used with younger novices to improve tactical speed in shooting around the penalty area:
...
which starts working in other parts of the game besides just shooting.

I like that RCA.

Thanks guys, keep the ideas coming. I've got inside the head of a couple girls today and they've got it. Hopefully, I can get more and more as the month ends.

To go back on what Loghyr talked about: The girls _are_ competitive in exercises, but _only_ in exercises with concrete rules.

They do well, in one-v-one, dribbling over an end-line, etc. But, if you put them in any situation that requires a longer vision of the field, they become passive or frustrated. I'm trying to fight it, but I need to do more shooting "lines" and increase pace to counteract boredom or hesitation.

To reiterate, my objective is to find fluid games that help striking power with the instep.

[loghyr]

To reiterate, my objective is to find fluid games that help striking power with the instep.

My son's coach tries a variant of what rca2 was doing.

He has all of the ball and is kneeling right outside the 18. Two players are with him, and 2 are nearby to shag balls. The rest are behind the goal to shag balls.

When he starts, he simply supplies slow rollers across the 18, tossing and not kicking. The 1st kid runs out and had to strike the ball. As soon as he connects, another ball comes out. He has to get circle back behind the coach. While he is doing that, the 2nd kid is striking the 2nd ball. He runs them to death this way.

You can have a goalie, but mainly they are the first ball shagger.

The pace keeps them from fretting about what they are doing wrong and if they get in a rhythm, it is great for them.

[loghyr]

They do well, in one-v-one, dribbling over an end-line, etc. But, if you put them in any situation that requires a longer vision of the field, they become passive or frustrated. I'm trying to fight it, but I need to do more shooting "lines" and increase pace to counteract boredom or hesitation.

Are you talking about vision anywhere on the field or just in the attacking third?

Are you talking shots from distance?

I.e., I'm wondering how finishing relates to vision...

[Twenty26Six]

Are you talking about vision anywhere on the field or just in the attacking third?

Are you talking shots from distance?

I.e., I'm wondering how finishing relates to vision...

Shooting from distance requires an ability to recognize the opportunity for shots - then the technique to execute the shot.

The girls I am with have a) never been taught proper instep shooting technique and b) subsequently never EVER think to shoot from outside the 18. Well, I shouldn't say EVER. They can mock up a flighted ball towards goal, but that's hardly a shot.

[ranova]

Here is a post by GoYouRedDevils (he coaches a lot of different levels) about favorite drills that I have copied for my own use:

"Two things I really like:

1v1 Cone Soccer - At this age I keep the kids focused on the idea of being able to "Keep the Ball" during this rather than learning a ton of "Beat Them" moves. To that effect, I have them train for about 10 minutes doing a series of intensive but simple touches. After that, I have them grab a quick drink, and come back with a partner and a ball. Each pair will grab a set of cones that I have laid out already - 15 yards apart. Each player has a cone to attack, and one to defend. Play 90 second games, no boundries, no stoppages whatsoever, even if a player scores he or she may keep the ball and continue attacking. A point is scored by shooting, passing, or dribbling the ball into your opponent's cone. At the end of the game, have the kids switch partners to play someone new - play 3 to 4 rounds. In between rounds you can teach short lessons about defensive stance, tackling, shielding and turning, ect. The kids love this game as it is challenging, but at its core just alot of touches on the ball.

4v4 plus a target player - We have all probably used this one for older kids, but if you want a game that is a great teacher all by itself, this is the one. 4v4 small goal game with a target player that is free to roam the field, but not allowed to score. The condition is, after a team wins possesion, they can't score till they make a pass to this player.

Variation 1 - Use wide target players that have to stay in "safe" zones outside the field of play along the sidelines to teach your team to look for wide outlets.

Variation 2 - Use sweeper/keepers as the target players, forcing deep defenders to get comfortable under pressure by playing the ball early, and helping the team in possesion get used to thinking in terms of more than just one direction of play. Also a good way to teach kids how to play a drop pass and then open up.

Variation 3 - Pick the kid who just does not get as involved as you like in the attack and make him/her the only one allowed to score for either team. I have even used this with older kids as punishment of a sneaky sort... having to sprint up and down a 40 x 60 field for 10 to 15 minutes with teammates screaming at them to hurry up will usually cure even the most dedicated of smartasses. With the little ones, on a 30 x 40 field, it can be a great way to bring a kid out of his shell or to reward a kid who likes to shoot.

I think both of these activities are adaptable to alot of situations, and can be set up easily for a wide variety of teachable moments."

On the US Soccer website they have a video clip of the National team doing a finishing drill using two full sided goals and keepers that is a variation on the 4v4 drill. That clip helps me visulize how variations on the 4v4 can be adapted to different situations. For outside shooting you need to have sufficient space and restrictions that force shots to be taken at the range you choose. At ussoccer.com under coaching education, videos, video network, gallery 1, look at the video 6v6 mnt training and the finishing drill video.

Good Luck.

[loghyr]

Shooting from distance requires an ability to recognize the opportunity for shots - then the technique to execute the shot.


So I would work on them independently. I'd first work on proper technique. Use the drill rca2 suggested.

I've seen a coach line up 6 balls in front of the goal (about a ball length apart). The player starts on the right and quickly shoots each one. They are not allowed to back up. They basically shoot, shuffle right, repeat. The emphasis is not on a wind up, but on technique. And you can start from the left. With a normal goal, you could have 2 of these going at once.

And in later practice, I'd work on shooting from distance. Another thing I've tried:

Empty goal, start the player at 5 yards from the half. They run up to a cone and shoot from there. You can have two lines going and treat it as an extension of the earlier drill. You can add pressure by reminding them to hustle.

When they get warmed up, you can add a goalie for some real pressure. Get some more rounds in here.

And then you add a defender who starts at the half. They can either be right behind the defender, or about 5 yards to either side. You can keep the cone or ditch it. It doesn't matter who is faster, the one with the ball has to make the right choice.

Or you could put the defender on the other side of the field at the 18. And you can keep on adding pressure either by more defenders or randomly telling which one of 5/6 to defend.

The point is that you progressively add pressure to get to a game-like situation. You remind the girls that they can handle the drill without pressure, i.e., the open goal. And now they have to recognize when to make the shot.