Help me be a better soccer player

Cafe Society
1

As most American kids do, I played some little league soccer when I was in elementary school. At the real competitive ages like High School and College, I focused my athletic activities on baseball and basketball. Soccer was essentially forgotten and about the only “practice” I got was the odd hackeysack or soccer ball juggling session.

But in recent years I’ve gotten very much in to (watching) professional soccer. I’ve followed the last several World Cups quite closely and play a hell of a lot of FIFA and Winning Eleven soccer video games.

Even more recently, like within the last few weeks, as part of an attempt at more exercise, I’ve been playing in local pickup games a couple times a week around town. One of the games is just a little pickup game with cones for goals. The other is a much more organized, full pitch, fullsize goal, 11 v 11 game. It’s a lot of fun but I very quickly realize how much a disadvantage I have not having played organized, competitive soccer as most of the other players have. And also the lack of structured coaching and what people would usually term “fundamentals”.

So here’s the thing: I know the rules of soccer just fine. I know about offsides, formations, direct and indirect free kicks, and all of what you might consider the technical details. I also have decent kick power/control for an amateur and can juggle the ball by myself anywhere from 10-20 taps in a row. Essentially I can fake it pretty well.

But when I’m in an organized game I often find myself out of position or blowing defense. Receiving the ball on offense I lack confidence with no solid dribbling skills and somewhat of a panic under pressure. The better players seem to move really well and always seem to be in a good position to make something happen. I also hear teammates yelling things out like “Settle!”, “Time!”, “Square!”, “X”, “Outside!”, “Line!”, etc. which of course I can kind of figure out by context, but have never actually learned what these terms mean.

Well, that’s a long post with way to much backstory, but there it is. Any advice for someone like me? Common strategies? Fundamentals? Definition of terms?

I’ll take what you got. I still have fun out there, but I’d like to be better.

2

I’d recommend getting a basic book of soccer strategy/tactics fundamentals. These are what for way too long American youth soccer has never bothered to teach to kids in soccer leagues. You’d be surprised how many high school players have never heard the term “wall pass,” or been taught what a true “overlapping run” is.

Good soccer requires understanding the four fundamental concepts behind offense, and the related fundamental concepts behind defense. For offense they are:

  1. Penetration
  2. Depth (support)
  3. Mobility
  4. Width

The defense counters with:

  1. Delay
  2. Support
  3. Balance
  4. Concentration

So the first goal of the offensive player is to move the ball forward to the opponent’s goal. The first goal of the defensive player is to keep that from happening. Which is why, in good soccer, you don’t see defenders immediately attempting to strip the offensive player of the ball as he dribbles forward; the offensive player, if skilled, can quite often avoid such an attempt, and get around the defender. If the defender has no support, then it’s off to the races!

Once you know the basic tactical scheme for each side of the ball, you can begin to work on specific tactics that are used to forward either scheme. For example, there are well-defined 2 v 1 tactics that offensive players can use to get around an obstructing defender. After a while, they become quite automatic to the players (the aformentioned “wall pass” is one of them; it’s similar to a basketball give and go). Similarly, there are 2 v 2 tactics, 3 v 2 tactics, etc. Defenders have similar tactics to use in various localized situations.

Of course, the main goal boils down to the offensive players attempting to play the ball into “space” (field that has no defender in it) that is closer to the goal than it currently is. The defense is attempting to concentrate the play around the ball, limiting the options of the offense to get the ball to space. If you are not “on the ball” you should be attempting to find useful space that the defense has left open, and make your way to it, hoping that this will result in one of two things: the ball comes to you, or a defender comes your way, opening space elsewhere. As a defender, you try to take space away when you notice it exists, then you try to concentrate the defense around the ball, with the ultimate goal of taking the ball away.

Practice these concepts with others, to gain a true confidence over and across from the ball. I recommend a lot of 3 on 3 barrel soccer (one goal, consisting of two barrels in the middle of the field, with the ball scoring if it goes through either way, for either team). Games like that, by the way, are what you see professional soccer teams using to warm up before games. :slight_smile:

As for the terms you mention:

Settle: to trap the ball down and possess it at your feet

Time!: no defender is near you, you have time to decide what to do with the ball. The opposite signal is usually “Man on!”

Square: Pass the ball across the field to a teammate who is “square” with you to the end line.

Outside: Presumably meaning send the ball toward the side of the field, not the center.

X: Not sure what you mean by this. If you mean “cross”, well then that’s easy, it means a pass from the wing to the area in front of goal, by the offense. If it means the letter X, then I’ve not heard it before.

Others you might hear:

Pull out!: Fullbacks should move rapidly away from goal, to force the other team to retreat while you have the ball, in order to put them offside if they don’t and regain possession.

Back: Pass to a supporting teammate behind you. Similar is “support!”

Others can add more: I have to go to dinner. :slight_smile:

3

Great post, thank you! I’ll take any more advice like it.

4

I was never much of a player, but it’s pretty standard than anyone who is used to a soccer ball can keep it in the air for a couple of hundred taps. One thing to try if you are on your own is to practice next to a wall (like the side of a house) and punt the ball off the wall every so often. Practice trapping the ball using the various parts of your body as it rebounds at you.

A good training game to play is some variant of “three and in”. You’ll need (at least) five people and some sort of goal. Two defenders, two attackers, and a goalie. The defenders can defend in any legal fashion, but the attackers can only shoot at goal using the head or on a full volley. Once you score three you take a turn in goal, and the outfield positions rotate. Variations of this are legion.

As to getting good positional sense, especially on a full size pitch with 22 players, that just comes with playing with the same team for a while, and everyone in the team being on the same page that DSYoungEsq describes.

5

If you want to stop panicking under pressure, you need more confidence in your ball-handling skills. Juggling the ball is nice and fancy, but if you can’t dribble and make quick, accurate passes, juggling won’t help much.

To get more confident in your foot skills, I second the use of a wall or maybe a kick-back goal. Pass with your instep, laces, even do some toe-pokes to see what happens.

Keep a ball at your feet as much as possible, sitting around the house, outside in the yard, etc. Not just juggling but rolling with your feet and passing to yourself. In short “be one with the ball”.

The rest will come. If you do not have a good foundation, you won’t have that confidence.

Wall passing will also help you settle the ball.

I coach many a first-year player and that is all I basically practice until they can make a pass, then I move on to fakes and feints with the ball. There are some online videos to teach different moves. It have my team practice those too. Step over, Cruyff, soul-turn, Maradona’s, etc (you can look up the vid’s online).

And DSY is correct that as a defender (no matter what “position” you are playing) it is more important to stop forward progress of the ball than it is to come up with the ball. Think of it as a basketball guard. Crouch a little and get in their way. Make them take a hard shot or do something they weren’t planning to do. Coming up with the ball is secondary.

The person with the ball is not always the most important person on the field, it is usually the person who is position to receive the pass or clean up a goal opportunity. Everyone wants to run after the person with the ball; generally leaving someone wide open.

I cannot stress enough that you need a good foundation passing, trapping, dribbling.

Here is a good site to start http://www.dprsports.com/drills.htm

I coach traveling and high school JV soccer. I have only played at rec level and when I’m coaching.

6

I’d like to start this off with “I’ve never played Soccer, but I help coach Kindergartners”. :rolleyes:

I don’t know how old you are, but you seem to have a lack of confidence in yourself.

Tell yourself, “I know what I’m doing, and I am a good player” when you face the other team. Also, keep in mind, they are JUST LIKE YOU* and NO BETTER! You can face them one-on-one. Don’t doubt your skills.

I can’t begin to tell you how to excercise self confidence, but it will come.

Practice your skills and eventually you will learn you are better than most (but never all) and you will do well.

Focus on your position. If you are a defense person, remember your objective. You don’t run down the field to score. You stay in reserve to defend. Mind your own area. Don’t get suckered into “cluster-ball” and leave your area undefended for an easy shot on goal.

*They very likely have doubts in thier own ability and are just as apprehensive (for lack of better word) than you. Go for it! One of you is going to win, why not you?

Its sport. When it is no longer enjoyable (on whatever level for you), its time to move on.

7

Thank’s Gato that’s good advice (good advice from everyone else too).

8

That’s the crux of the matter right there - often it’s the player who is dragging a defender or two out of position who allows someone else to score. I’ve no idea how to train for this though, other than to play a lot.

9

I used to walk older players through it. You stop the game at an opportune minute, everyone freezes. Then you start asking the offensive players to look around and explain how to proceed to goal. Then you take an offensive player and move him/her in a way to create space by dragging a defender with them. Comprehension begins to dawn on the faces of the players. The defenders don’t like it, because they don’t know what to do about it, so I show them how achieving balance, support and then concentration makes it difficult for the offense to do it.

My favorite question to players who haven’t worked with me is: how many defenders are on the field for your team? The answer, of course, is either 11 or 0, depending on who has the ball. Teaching the fullbacks and the goal keeper to be offensive players when their team is in possession is part of the fun; teaching the strikers to act as the first defenders when the ball is turned over is even more fun. :slight_smile:

10

That must be satisfying when somebody actually starts to get it. I’m not sure how it happens when growing up with the game - there’s a point when it stops being all about chasing the ball and becomes something more subtle. That’s also the point where it’s very obvious who the really good players are (or are going to be) - it’s not about size and physicality, just something about judging space and movement I guess.

Occasionally I see kids playing in the park, and it’s usually just kick and rush stuff, but there’s the odd time you see a youngster doing something outrageous - taking a ball over the shoulder, trapping it on the run, turning two men inside out and chipping the keeper. I always think “Go on son, keep that up and play for Scotland” , but few of them ever will.

11

Well I’ve been playing a lot (3 games per week) and I’ve been trying to use the advice I’ve gotten here and I think it’s been helpful. I do feel like I’m improving.

Does anyone have any advice on drills or practice routines I could do alone?