What if I told you that 50% of soccer coaching drills should focus on enhancing the trapping skills of your players? You would probably dismiss it as a fancy. But you know what! According to a study, in addition to dribbling and passing, trapping too plays a vital role in helping teams win matches.
The ability to capture the ball and retain it for a considerable time is called trapping. These are soccer exercises that permit the use of chest, thighs and feet while doing so.
Players must be familiar with the job of trapping the ball. Failing to do so would mean that they can never be in command of the game since this is imperative. Below mentioned methods can be used to teach trapping skills to the players.
Engaging the feet: Firstly, train your players in using their feet to deal with the ball which is a basic skill. Kids soccer drills should predominantly include practicing the kids on use of the inside of their foot. The fact that the inside area of the foot is large makes it easy for the players to hold the ball.
If the players are advanced and mature, teach them to use the instep or top of the foot as well as the whole foot in trapping the ball during the soccer coaching drills. Guide the players to use their shin or ankle as the best bet to hold the ball if the ball is leaping too much.
Thigh Movement: To control high-speed and bouncy ball, thigh can be used very efficiently. Instruct the players to get in front of the ball, stand on one feet and rise the other thigh to stop the ball. Practice the skill of retaining the ball with you after it meets your thigh by learning to bring down your knee so the will plunge and settle close to you.
This exercise of dropping the knee needs to be done repetitively so that the players master the art of first stopping the ball using the knee and then drop it so that the ball trickles down the feet.
Use the Chest: Just like the thigh, chest too has a vital role to play in trapping the ball flying high in the air. Train the players to confront the ball head on by taking their chest out in full force in order to control the ball. This will have the effect of breaking the ball’s speed and tumbling it down immediately.
Nevertheless, soccer training drills should be careful not to expose young players too much to this skill. It is very typical of them to use their hands while trying to stop the ball with the chest. This can prove to be dangerous as the kids might develop a habit of using their hands while tackling the ball.
Now its time to start putting these soccer coaching drills into action. Ensure that the players increasingly practice these. If you wish to learn a great deal of such tips and tricks, subscribe to our youth soccer coaching community.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Andre Botelho is known online as “The Expert Youth Soccer Coach” and his free ebooks and reports have been downloaded more than 100,000 times. Learn how to skyrocket your players’ skills and make training fun in record time. Download your free ebook at: http://www.soccerdrillstips.com – Youth Soccer Training Drills.
Tags: drills soccer, soccer coaching drills, soccer drill, soccer drills, soccer drills youth, soccer practice drills, soccer training drills, soccer youth drills, teaching soccer, youth soccer drills