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Technique
training (6): Passing and shooting
Someone
who reads through 'the learning plan for the ideal football
player' (a book by Wiel Coerver from the 1980's) will not
understand why there are still people in 2009 who say the Coerver
Method is just a bunch of passing and shooting. Other beautiful
one-liners are: "There is more to football then technique"
and "The Coerver Method doesn't work in a match", like a
basic positioning game does!
By: Michel
Hordijk
Who
reads more of the Coerver learning plan then just the first couple
of pages will be able to conclude it has it all, technique,
flexibility, strength, endurance, tactics, mental qualities,
offense and defense etc. Besides this the goal of the Method is
not to merely make a player technically skilled, but to create
players who are able to turn every situation during a match to
their own advantage. That's why I don't like using the term
technical training, technique training sessions are like any other
training session: football sessions.
Diversity
Also
on a technical level the Coerver Method is far from single minded,
every asset is being discussed in the learning plan. Basic
movements, dribbling, pushing, speedy footwork, feints, passing
and shooting, receiving and carrying a ball, heading, even
sliding. In this article I will focus on the technique of
shooting, because in my opinion this asset has had to little
emphasis in the past. Which is unfortunate, because this is what
started the Coerver Method. When Mr. Coerver started to work with
the talented goalkeeper Jan van Beeveren daily he noticed after a
while he had gotten much better because of the number of kicks he
made with his left and right foot. This triggered the notation
that every averagely talented player should be able to learn every
movement through practice and this became one of the foundations
for the Coerver Method.
The
technique of kicking
Similar
to teaching, improving and trying to perfect feints and passing
movements, practice and talent are also important when improving
the shooting technique. I have improved my technique over the
years by practicing with my brother Patrick. There is still a
great difference in the level of shooting, and we can therefore
not ignore the importance of natural talent. The point for every
player and coach is to reach their "top", because you
won't know what you will ever be able to achieve before you have
practiced it intensively. And with this I mean years, not weeks or
months. I'm always trying to improve the weaker foot of FC Utrecht
U15 selection. In just a short period of time their weaker foot
has improve tremendously. I try to let them search for their own
top when I ask them what they think they will be able to achieve
when they train their weaker foot for say 2 to 3 years. It works,
because when we do a finishing exercise I see them use their
weaker foot far more then before. And I do enjoy seeing the balls
go in the top corner of the goal with their weaker foot.
Analyzing
When
you as a coach are guiding the development of the shooting
technique it is vital to be a good observer. Unfortunately most
youth coaches must come to the conclusion that passes and shots
often lack speed and direction. Concluding this is not an art,
anyone can notice a bad pass or shot. The real art is in observing
very specific aspects of a shot or pass; the balance of the body,
the placing of the standing foot, the use of the foot (this can
vary with different shots or passes), the effort the players put's
in a ball and so on. If you as a coach are able to analyze these
aspects, only then you will be able to coach the player. On the
other hand it is also an art not to over do this; a player will
not be able to develop the feel for it when he has to think about
10 different details. Passing and shooting is a matter of feeling.
Allow the player to search for that feeling. The players will
notice themselves where on the ball, at which speed and with what
part of the foot they should hit the ball to get the desired shot
or pass. Also in the development of the passing and shooting
technique it is imperative the player wants, explores and improves
himself.
Misunderstandings
I
don't recommend to give too much detailed information and advices
but it is even worse to give the wrong kind of advice. I regularly
hear coaches use the phrase: 'swing through' after a shot or a
pass. But especially when playing a long distance ball you should
try to kick from the ankle, lock it and not
swing through. Just look at David Beckham, or in the early days
Ronald Koeman. They would pass a ball over 50 meters without
swinging through. I'll put it even better, if they would swing
through they wouldn't even come close to a pass across 50 meters,
especially not with the precision they get now. Swinging through
is used for a shot on goal, a pass with the inside of the foot or
instep kick over a short distance whether or not through the air.
Another misunderstanding is that the last step before kicking is
meant to be short, but whether this step is short or long doesn't
really matter. Its the steps before this that must be short
because they will enable you to make the right choice at the last
moment for the position your standing foot and the position of the
foot you use to kick.
Consequent
repetitions
When
it comes to passing and shooting their are numerous exercises to
train the kicking technique. I try to implement this in every
training session even when the focus is on something else. This is
logically followed by the fact that receiving the ball becomes a
often returning item. Because if a ball is player it should be
received and handled properly to be able to make a follow up
action.
Developing
the kicking technique
The
basics of the technique can be improved in 3 ways, first by
improving the sense for the ball which is especially important for
the young players. It isn't necessary to only train passing or
shooting, as developing a sense or feel for the ball can also be
improved by other games like juggling, dribbling with left and
right and so on.
Second is to isolate kicking technique and
focusing on just 1 at the time. I think this is being
underestimated in modern day football and happens far to little.
Repeating technique in football, whether it be receiving, feints.
sliding or kicking, is still not done enough. While for example a
volleyball player will train a smash let say 100 times per
training session to get it right. We don't see this enough in
football.
And finally there are a lot of exercises where
players learn the technique through playing a game. A very simple
method is to make the players hit the bar or the post. Check the
exercises below for some great examples!
Repetition
A
final aspect on which I would like to focus is the importance of
telling the players that there idols in professional football
aren't only excelling in the 1 on 1 situation but they are also
excelling because of their passing technique. Just look at Wesley
Sneijder and the way he uses both feet, the free kicks from for
example Ronaldinho or the beautiful passes which Steven Gerrard
delivers. These players have also worked very hard and they also
know that nothing comes for free. Perfecting a kicking technique
is no different than anything else in life: practice makes
perfect!
EXERCISES
Finishing
exercise
Organization
-
The coach crosses the ball from the endline into the penalty box
- The players must finish with 1 touch
- When a player
misses the goal he's out, when he shoots over the goal or the ball
is stopped by the goalkeeper he will have to go on goal
- The
goalkeeper will join the back of the queue of players
- When
a goalkeeper is beaten twice in a row he's out, the first player
in line will then become goalkeeper and has to take position in
the goal as quickly as possible
- Eventually there will be 1
champion
Finishing
after 1 touch
Organization
-
The ball is passed with the left foot from position A to position
B
- At position B the ball will be received in the run and
finished with the second touch
- The ball is then passed with
the right foot from position C to position D
- Rotation
system A-B-C-D
Coaching
-
First touch is crucial
- Pass into the run
- Shoot with
feeling
Variation
-
Add a defender at the edge of the penalty area and play 1v1 on the
big goal
Passing
Organization
-
Player A passes the ball low to player B, who kick the ball with 1
touch over player A to player C
- Player C wallpasses with 1
touch to A, who receives the ball and drops it in the middle
-
A and C change positions, and C passes to A who opens to B, who
wall passes to C
- This exercise is continuous
Coaching
-
Precision
- Feeling
- Concentration
- Two-footed
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