Football coaching tips to get young players shooting more accurately
Getting players to concentrate on accuracy rather than power is one of the first problems any football coach faces. Young players believe scoring involves blasting the ball into the net but often a shot hit with less power, but on target, will get the goal.
Use these football coaching tips if you want to improve your players' shooting accuracy rather than shooting power. Obviously you want your players to strike the ball firmly, but that will come naturally as players become more accurate.
I've noticed that when the U8s go for power, they miss the target by a long way. They need to start with simple accuracy football drills.
When you use the drills below, you can switch between kicking the ball when it is stationary and when it is rolling. It does make a difference – it's easier to get power from a rolling ball, but harder to be accurate with it.
Simple football drills for starters
In diagram 1, split your group into pairs. Use a ball and four cones to make a channel on the pitch that is two yards wide and 15 yards long.
Player A must try to get the ball past B, and vice versa, keeping the ball in the tramlines. If the ball goes out over the side of the tramlines, a point is lost, if the ball goes past the player inside the end two cones, a point is won.
In diagram 2, players are shooting at a target 12 yards from goal. Tell the players to shoot between the poles or between the poles and the goalpost. If they miss the target, they are out. Play until someone wins. If no one is getting out, then simply make the target smaller.
In diagram 3, the players are striking a ball moving across them sideways at a goal guarded by a goalkeeper. Player A is the attacker and B, C and D servers, all serving varying types of passes to A, who must try and hit the ball first time into the goal.
Make sure you rotate the attacker regularly – try after two passes from each of the servers.
To progress, each server should make a different type of pass. B serves up a lob to volley, C a pass to shoot first time or control and shoot and D a chest-high serve, to control and shoot.
Click the link to subscribe to Soccer Coach Weekly and get more soccer coaching games, drills and advice delivered direct to your inbox.
Click the link for football coaching tips to get players scoring more goals.