Where To Aim When Shooting

Welcome to the FineSoccer Kids Newsletter. Today's newsletter deals with where to aim when shooting.

The first thing to think about when you have the opportunity to shoot is to take a chance and hit the shot. You don't need to hit the perfect shot to score but you do need to hit a shot to score.

Also, as a general rule, you want to shoot the ball low. The two reasons for this include it being more difficult for the keeper to save a low shot as opposed to a high shot and also because while it's easy to hit shot too high so that it goes over the goal, it's not possible to hit a shot too low so it goes under the goal.

Once you decide to shoot and decide to shoot low, the next decision is where to aim. People talk about shooting toward the corner but to be more specific, it's best to aim for the back post. If you try to shoot just inside the post, and slightly miss, the ball misses the goal completely. If the shooter aims for the back post, it will still almost always beat the keeper and allows for some room for error.

Even if the shooter misses his or her target slightly, the ball is still on goalkeeping. By giving yourself a margin for error, it greatly increases the probability of scoring.

Any questions, comments or suggestions should be sent to Lawrence@finesoccer.com or they can be posted on the FineSoccer Forum

Speed and Agility Drill

Drill

Click the link to view this drill from Manchester United.

Speed and Agility Drill, Part 2

Drill

Click here to see part two of the speed and agility drill.

Retaining Possession

See diagram to the right for this positional game 10 v 5

Organization

- Five on blue and five on red play with five on white always joining the team in possession.
- Rotate after a couple of minutes
- Play on retaining ball possession

Progression

- First free game, later two touches
- Passing around 10x is one point
- Count number of losses of ball possession
- The 5-some can score by dribbling the ball outside of the area

Variation

- Big goal with goalie in which the 5-some can score once they have won the ball
- May also play 5 against 5 with 5 neutrals on the flanks