u18 Shooting and Finishing

The standing foot should be next to the ball. Toes of the kicking foot should point downwards and the ball should be struck at the midpoint with the laces. The shooting knee should be over the top of the ball at the point of contact to ensure the shot is not lifted over the crossbar. Begin shooting practice by having players shoot unopposed from 10 to 15 yards out. Emphasize finishing in the corners to make it difficult for the goalkeeper. Unopposed practice shooting using a rolling ball, a bouncing ball and on the volley. Also include one-time shots into the repetitions of your players. Set the drill up so two groups are shooting, one from a couple of yards outside the left goal post, and one from a couple of yards outside the right. Have the players switch lines after each shot. In drills such as this you should try and have no more than 3 or 4 players in a line. Any more leads to waiting between repetitions and is dead practice time. One way to ensure this is to use 2 or 3 goals and to simultaneously run 3 groups doing the same drill.

Repeat the drills with defensive pressure. Have the defender stand centrally and pressure the attacker 1 second after the pass is played to her. The defensive pressure allows you to enforce the following coaching points;

• A sense of urgency and developing the ability to get shots on goal quickly.
• Taking a first touch away from defensive pressure before shooting.
• Using the foot furthest from defender to shoot.

Finally attack 2 v 1 using the 18 yard box as your area. Have 4 feeders spread evenly around the 18. Number them 1 through 4 and call numbers out. When 1 is called by you as coach feeder number 1 feeds the ball in and the attackers play 2 v 1. Emphasize the need to shoot when you receive the ball in the penalty area and have the opportunity. Coach the off the ball runner to get open and get themselves into a good shooting position. When one player shoots the other should follow in for a rebound goal.