If not for our current national health crisis, our club would be starting tryouts for next season tonight. This has me thinking about you all and hoping that everyone is doing well.
It has also made me wonder how everyone is keeping up on, and improving, their touches/skills during this time. Our skills this week may be new or may be review for our players, but I encourage everyone to continue practicing them!
One of the things I find myself repeating often is that the key to improving ball mastery is getting touches on the ball. These skills I’ve been sharing are all focused on getting as many touches as possible! As I tell players, if a skill seems difficult, slow it down and concentrate on the movements and touches. If it seems easy, speed it up and then practice it in combination with other skills. (This is where creativity thrives!)
For our extras, I’ve included a World Cup game from 2014 that is fairly one-sided after half. I’ve also included some other extras that I got from the Oregon Youth Soccer Association’s Technical Director. The first few are great learning resources; the videos are some fun compilations.
Enjoy!
Here are this week’s skills…
For our younger/less-experienced players:
For more experienced/advanced players:
Full game to view…
Let’s go to the World Cup for this week’s match: Netherlands vs Spain in Brazil 2014. Not only is there some great soccer to watch, there’s one of the most iconic modern-era goals scored (which some crazy memorialized with a tattoo)! I hope you enjoy!
Interesting videos to watch…
- Aspen Institute Webinar: How to play during the crisis
- Free Positive Coaching Alliance Course for Athletes (geared more for older gradeschool and up, I believe)
- Join the Positive Coaching Alliance as they welcome Portland Thorns Head Coach Mark Parsons! The conversation will take place Friday, May 8th @ 3:00PM Pacific Time over a private Zoom conference. Click here to add your name to the list.
Fun videos to watch…
- Top 10 Outstanding Curved Free Kicks
- Top 20 Free Kicks Ever in Football History
- Legendary Free Kick Goals
Don’t forget about the juggling challenge, and remember to take a look at our previous posts for some more skills challenges and ideas.