Football drill to show how to score in 1v1s against the keeper
He should have scored! When a player is through on goal with only the keeper to beat, it can be nerve-racking because they are expected to score. However, there are two ways the football coach can do to help a player handle that expectation: 1) Encourage them to be calm. 2) Equip them with the right techniques for the job.
It’s in the head
You can help a hesitant and indecisive player by teaching them the "3 Be's":
- Be confident – Tell them the odds are in their favor – after all, they’ve got the whole goal to aim at and only one person in the way!
- Be relaxed – Inform them that staying calm will allow them to think clearly about which solution to use and help them execute it.
- Be positive – Instruct players to look at the keeper’s position,
then make up their mind on what they’re going to do – and stick to it.
Attack at pace
Once a player is in the space behind the defence they should move quickly towards the goal by playing the ball well out of the feet. This will:
- Give them a chance to get their head up to observe the keeper's position.
- Make it hard for the advancing keeper to get to the ball if your player dribbles around them.
- Prevent defenders from catching up.
What now?
As they approach the goal, your player has two options: dribble around the goalkeeper or shoot past them.
Do…
- Commit the keeper.
- Keep the ball under control.
- Try a trick – like a stepover – to wrong-foot the goalkeeper.
- Play the ball outside the keeper’s reach and hit the target.
But don’t...
- Dribble too close to the keeper
- Play the ball too wide – this can make the angle to goal too narrow
- Knock the ball too far ahead – this can result in chasing after the ball to keep it in play.
If a player chooses to shoot, they should check there’s space – either side of the keeper will do – to ‘sidefoot pass’ the ball into the net for accuracy.
To increase the amount of goal to aim at players can:
- Try altering the angle just prior to taking the shot
- Feint to shoot – this can unbalance the keeper and create extra space to aim at.
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