Honestly speaking, standard soccer coaching drills that do not include free drills will not be sufficient to envisage something useful coming up from the enthusiastic team members. It’s your duty as a coach to see that these drills are a part of the training sessions.

Be in charge of your body: This is the key thing to master in soccer. When the player is in command of his body in the middle of the field while handling the ball, he is an advantage over the opponent as well as the situation. So how do you ensure that each player has this basic skill? Include this motivating game in your soccer drills for the trainees to play. Just tell all your players to identify something that can be used as their tail like a t-shirt or a hand towel to begin with. Now each one has to catch hold of others tail and defend theirs. Note that this game does not use the ball at all in the initial few weeks. Only after the players realize the meaning of this activity, replace the tails with the ball. As is evident, these soccer coaching drills polish their skills in protecting the ball while at the same time exercising greater control over the body.

Keeping the ball in the air: This drill will eventually help your team grow into multifaceted professionals. Stand in the center and direct your team members to make a circle around you. Then pass the ball to players one by one and make them pass the same to each other or to you in return. The objective is to keep the ball in the air and not allow it to touch the ground at any time. This activity restricts your players from using their hands at any point in time. Involve only your head, feet or knees. To start with, this exercise can be done in large batches but with time, you can introduce smaller batches as well. The benefits of such soccer exercises are many; for example, they learn to focus, coordinate, and also kick the ball effectively.

Respond and react: One of the many useful soccer training drills to teach the players to react immediately and with force. Instruct the players to stand apart from each other with their backs to each other. Choose a player and tell him to stand in the center of the circle. This player will take a player’s name randomly and kick the ball at him. The concerned player will then respond fast, turn, and manage the ball as best as he can.

To wrap it up, these soccer coaching drills teach the players several new skills and also be in control of their mind and body. Soccer demands a great deal of involvement from the mind as well as body. So, you should use these exercises to help your players make the best use of both. By joining our youth soccer coaching community, you will gain access to a lot of useful knowledge and tips. This will not just make you richer in knowledge but also allow you to impart it to your kids in the best possible way.

Andre Botelho is the author of “The Expert Youth Soccer Coaching Guide” and he’s a recognized expert in the subject of youth soccer coaching. Learn how to explode your players’ skills and make training fun in less than 29 days! Download your free soccer drills guide at: http://www.soccerdrillstips.com – Coaching Youth Soccer Drills.