This is not a drill. Well, it’s an article about drills, to improve your football training techniques. If you’re playing football for the love of the game, to improve your fitness, or to improve your skills, why not take it to the next level. There are many things you can do beyond a warm-up that can improve your game and your fitness. Here are our top 7 football training techniques you should be thinking about to improve your game.
Dribbling Drills
Starting off with some dribbling drills is a great way to warm up. Whether you set out some cones or obstacles to work around or work out a dribbling drill around your team-mates, it’s a great way to improve your coordination and get your head into the game. These drills will help you keep close control of the ball which will prepare you for the match ahead. Remember to take small steps, use both sides of your feet and keep the ball within playing distance.
Shooting Drills
Practising shooting from different positions and in different scenarios is a great way to prepare for the game. It’s important to know how to shoot while running, in a dead ball situation, drive shots, and making the ball curl and bend. Practising each of these will help you understand your strongest shooting position. Use fellow team-mates to put on the pressure and mimic what could happen in the game.
Crossing Drills
In a high-pressure game of football, crossing is crucial. You need to get the ball to your teammate and create beautiful crosses to stop your opponents from intercepting the ball. This is an important drill for wingers, who will be running the pitch and making a lot of these important decisions. Think about how to make opportunities for your teammates to score goals. Practice with your teammates to work on high-pressure situations. Sprints from one side of the pitch to another is an important warm-up and drill for most players, but particularly important for wingers who will be running up and down the pitch for most of the game.
Turning Drills
Making sure you have a few different turns under your belt is important. It can help you keep the ball longer, throw off your opponents and score more goals (They look impressive to the spectators too!). Find turns that work for you and your position. Do your research, practice, get tips from fellow players and use your turns wisely. Whether it’s the Cruyff turn, the dummy turn, or cutting the ball… you decide which turns work for you and which will help you protect the ball the most.
Tackling Drills
When your team loses the ball, you need to be able to win it back. Practising tackling is very important and learning to do so in a safe, swift and professional manner is imperative. Make sure you practice your slide tackles, block tackles and poke tackles. Use fellow players for your tackling drill to practice real situations. Even if you don’t always gain re-possession of the ball, tackles can help you rearrange the direction of the ball and buy your team time.
Heading Drills
Sometimes, you’ve got to use your head in football. Not just to think about your next move, but to take possession of the ball or stop a goal. Heading the ball takes coordination, so practising this is important. Get into teams of three and work between catching, heading and throwing the ball without it touching the floor. This will make you think about when you need to head the ball, concentrate on not dropping it and working with your teammates to keep the drill flowing.
Passing Drills
Passing can be a bit of an art in football. Working on this with your team can really help the flow of the game. Work on short and long passes as well as side foot passing. This will really help your judgement and timing. Kicking the ball to each other in quick succession will help you work on your judgement and learn not to keep to the ball longer than necessary. Passing more quickly will help your team keep possession and ultimately score goals.
Creating drills to work on each of these elements will improve your game, technique and also give you a fantastic warm up before the game. Keep practising and working with your team and you will find your skills improving week after week.
If you’re looking to get a 5 a side team together (or more) why not contact us to find out how we can help. Our indoor soccer dome is in a great location in Dublin with fantastic local transport links, so getting to us is easy!
