Good morning Coaches, just some thoughts on finishing, cheers TC

Finishing and scoring goals.

It was interesting to observe many of the goals that were scored this past weekend at Reach 11 during the State cup.

The players were aged 14 thru 18 so everything was evaluated on a full size field with full size goals. What stood out for me was the number of goals that were scored due to attacking players reacting first in the box. In other words there were lots of scrappy goals!!!

It is important to try to recreate this environment or these type of situations during practice if you want your team to score more goals!

As Coaches we must be careful when selecting shooting practices that we do not ignore how goals that are scored as the majority of goals are simply not pretty, but often down to the player who reacts and anticipates the fastest.

In addition I noticed few goal attempts were made from players receiving the ball in the penalty with their back to goal and turning and shooting.

We still had our fair share of goals scored from breakaways and a handful of goals scored from long range.
However, I felt overall the technique for long range shooting was generally unsuccessful due to players not assessing the right technique to use. Many players would strike the ball with their laces but did not always select the right technique/surface in the given situation, very few attempts were made where players guided the ball towards goal using a different surface besides the laces.

Many shots were blocked due to the predictability of the shot, (obvious back lift before shooting). A fake or feint just before shooting would have created more of a shooting window plus tends to freeze the defender. As coaches we talk about using the Laces to shoot but as we all know as the players mature and the game develops a little more sophistication, our players need to be encouraged to attempt bending the ball past the keeper using more of the instep and joint of the big toe as I call it. (Top flight players tend to use this technique in and around the penalty area)

There was one Goal that did catch my eye in the Sereno verses Cisco 93 Boys game<1strong> which demonstrated a lot of skill and included a finish with the outside of the foot.

The ball was switched from right to left to a player just outside the penalty area. The attacker quickly brought the ball down under control, dribbled with his right foot (3 or 4 touches) and used the outside of his right foot to strike the ball as he was running in stride, he placed the ball into the far corner (far post). There was very little back lift, the technique was executed at speed with confidence and beat the goal keeper with more disguise than power.

Just some thoughts as you plan shooting practices for your players .

Tony C

Tony Colavecchia
AYSA Director of Coaching
11029 N.24th Ave .Suite 806
Phoenix AZ 85029
e-mail aysadoc@aol.com
cell # 602 791 5827
office #602 433 9202
fax #602 433 9221