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Soccer Shooting Drills

Thursday, January 21st, 2010


Goals are the salt and pepper of soccer and they can only be scored by either shooting, or heading the ball. Heading the ball is an unnatural process, whereas kicking the ball is quite a natural “need” that humans have, deep down. How many times have you walked on the street and instinctively kicked a leaf, or some small rock, just for the heck of it?

Now, how many times have you walked on the street and started hitting your head against solid objects? I hope not a lot. So heading is a lot harder to train, because we have to fight against our own natural fear of hitting our head against an object. That’s why soccer shooting drills are so much more diverse and common in training sessions. Let’s take a look at the different types of shooting drills.

-Soccer Shooting Drills – Static Positions

Static position soccer shooting drills refer to the player’s position, not the ball (although in the case of free kicks, both the ball and the player are static). Free kicks are very helpful for your players in training their shot accuracy and usually they are used for just that, instead of being a means to get your shot power trained. You could try having all your players execute free kicks, or just select a handful that you noticed are better at this role and form them as specialists in free kicks.

The other way you can practice soccer shooting drills in a static position is by having one player in the center, receiving passes from the sides and shooting, without moving towards the ball. This simulates a match scenario that occurs quite often, with a striker or a central midfielder having to shoot the ball with a single touch from a static position, because he has no space to move around, or no time to do so.

-Soccer Shooting Drills – Dynamic Positions

There’s a wider array of soccer drills for shooting that can be practiced from dynamic positions, than from static ones. One of the most popular is the run-and-shoot: have your players positioned in a line at the center of the pitch and send a keeper in the goal. Now, have each player sprint with the ball at his feet up to a certain point that you decide (place a cone as a visual marker), then cannon a shot to goal from there.

If you want to practice long range shots, you’ll obviously have them shooting for far away, whereas if you want more finishing accuracy, you will have your players shoot from the edge of the box, or even inside it.

A slight variation of the run and shoot soccer drill is the wall-and-shoot. Basically, you’ll have the same setup, with the players at half court and a goalkeeper guarding the net of one of the goals, but you will also have a player somewhere near the penalty area, who will act as a wall passer for your incoming players. So a player will sprint with the ball, when he is close to the wall passer he initiates a one-two and shoots the ball in full-on sprint, as soon as he receives it back.

After a while, the above mentioned soccer drills for shooting tend to get repetitive, so you might want to dig up some more, or simply create variations of these. You can work around the dynamic position ones and create new drills of your own.

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Five Ways to Brighten Your Home or Garden Using Patio Furniture

Tuesday, January 19th, 2010
You would like a good set of patio furniture, but you’re afraid you wouldn’t use it enough? Hopefully, you aren’t thinking of a purchase from one of the mass discount retail chains. Oh, it’s not a bad idea if you just want to dole out money for something that will break in a month and not look very pleasing to the rest of your living quarters. However, if you don’t like throwing your money away on cheapness, you may wish to consider higher quality patio furniture that uses the best nature has to offer to create the best relaxation has to offer.

Here are five ways you can get the most “bang” for your buck. Keep in mind, there could be many more, but that’s up to you. If there is a shortage, feel free to make use of this information, and you will be relaxing in no time with patio furniture that gives you peace of mind and pocketbook.

1. Go all out: Did you know that if you really wanted to furnish a whole room using elegant, classy patio furniture, you could find matching sets just as you would with traditional furniture. Most of the time, people leave patio furniture out of their living rooms because they fear there just aren’t enough choices to pull off the right look. This couldn’t be further from the truth! Patio furniture comes in love seats, sofas, chairs, ottomans, and even coffee tables, just like any other kind of furniture. And it can be a lot less of a headache to maneuver when the inevitable urge to rearrange kicks in.

2. Piecemeal: Maybe you like the idea of patio furniture in your home, but you want a little more versatility. In other words, you don’t want to be a “one-trick pony.” Never fear. Patio furniture can be bought by the piece as well. It can be the perfect complement to your traditional furniture. You may even catch the kids fighting over who gets to sit in the wicker chair.

3. Dine out: Patio furniture was made for the outdoor barbecue. Entertain guests during the summer with the finest quality pieces that will have your guests refusing to come inside.

4. Dine in: Sure, you knew patio furniture was perfect for cookouts, but did you know it’s also ideal for dinner guests? Not every piece will seem appropriate, but the same could be said of traditional dining room sets. Just pick the look that works for you. But make sure, if you purchase, to select something that will hold up over time. Iron patio furniture makes a great choice for the inside dining area.

5. Curling up: Sometimes it’s nice curling up with a good book and shutting out the rest of the world. If you have a sitting room, this could be the perfect place for your patio furniture. Escape. Relax. Get carried away. Enjoy the trip.

Patio furniture goes beyond cheap materials and cheaper durability. If you choose wisely, then you can enjoy its benefits and value for years to come.

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Top 5 – Soccer Dribbling Moves

Wednesday, December 9th, 2009


Ah, the soccer dribble. The salt and pepper of the game, the move that makes fans go wild, club shirts sell and defenders cry. It’s no wonder that some of the players that are considered today’s best are great dribblers. Just look at the likes of Ronaldinho, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka, Zlatan Ibrahimovici or Lionel Messi. They all built their careers and image as spectacular soccer players on a few dribbling moves. Today, we’ll cover some of the soccer dribbling moves that were branded by these players. Feel free to try and copy them :)

> Cruyff’s Soccer Dribbling Move

This move, branded by Holland’s superstar, Johan Cruyff is quite easy to reproduce but that doesn’t mean it’s less effective. Actually, it’s one of the most effective moves to perform at the edge of the box, or inside it faking a shot, or even on the wings, faking a cross. I’m sure that many of Cruyff’s former adversaries will acknowledge this move’s effectiveness. Here’s how you do it:

1. Push the ball slightly forward, as if you are preparing to take a kick

2. Plant your base foot (not the one you’re fake kicking with) just a tad ahead of the ball

3. When your fake kicking foot reaches the ball, instead of shooting, cut it under your body, behind your base leg

> Zizou’s 360 Soccer Dribbling Move

One of the soccer dribbling drills that’s probably easiest to get a hold on from a technical point of view. However, knowing how to perform a 360 is not the hard part, knowing WHEN to perform it is. Here’s how to get it done:

1. Push the ball slightly forward, giving your direct opponent the impression he can reach it

2. Extend your left foot and place your sole on top of the ball

3. Push onto the ball, hovering in mid air for a second

4. Place your left foot on the ground and pull the ball under you with the right foot

> Ronaldinho’s Elastico Soccer Dribbling Move

Ronaldinho has some of the best soccer dribbling skills in today’s game and this move that was branded by him only goes to show that. It’s a rather difficult soccer dribbling move to master, but if you can get it done right, it’s a killer. Defenders will rue the day they met an attacker that can pull off a quality Elastico, because it’s very hard to defend yourself from its quick change of direction. Here’s how it goes:

1. With the ball close to you, push it slightly forward and sideways with the outside of your foot

2. Quickly cut it in the opposite direction using the same foot, but with its inside

> Puskas’ V Soccer Dribbling Move

This soccer dribble is called the V-move because you “draw” a V on the ground using the ball. Puskas used it intensely while he was playing for Real Madrid, so this move is usually attributed to him, although a lot of players use it occasionally nowadays. The basic principles behind it:

1. When an opponent is close to you, quickly pull the ball back

2. Place your base foot ahead and sideways of the ball

3. Push the ball in a sideways direction opposite of your base foot, drawing a V with the help of the imaginary line you pulled the ball backwards on

> Ronaldo’s Stepover Soccer Dribbling Move

This one’s slightly funny, because it can be attested with equal rights to two players that are named Ronaldo: Ronaldo Nazario da Lima, the Brazilian striker and Cristiano Ronaldo, the Portuguese winger. Both players make intense use of this move, although it’s the Brazilian that was first renowned for it. The stepover is not easy to master, but a few days of soccer dribbling drills should get you going:

1. With the ball close to you, move your leg over the ball, simulating that you would move it sideways

2. Plant your hovering feet next to the ball

3. Now you can either perform a double stepover, using your other leg as explained above, or you could cut the ball with this leg and accelerate past your opponent.

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