Elevate Your Soccer IQ
Take your soccer training beyond the pitch with BGTV – an all-access video network that focuses on developing how you view the game.
Take your soccer training beyond the pitch with BGTV – an all-access video network that focuses on developing how you view the game.
Defenders, let’s check out this play here that we see happening a lot.. what should you do, what’s the right move?
Let’s check out these two videos & go over how to improve defensive clearances with the head.
Let’s focus on the defensive side of the ball while watching this clip.. what could we do better in this situation?
We got an awesome skill check to watch this week!
Deep runs don’t need to occur at midfield, they can happen much closer to the goal, lets watch it happen in this play.
Let’s watch this 1v1 defensive situtation and see what the defending player does so well.
No matter what position you play on the field, reading the game is so important, understanding what might happen, what will happen and how do I take advantage of that.
Movement is what creates goals, especially in the offensive third of the field.
Let’s watch these goals & see what they all have in common to help them score.
Let’s watch Luis Suárez make this incredible goal by making double movements in the box.
Let’s watch this fantastic goal by Minnesota against Seattle!
Let’s watch this attacking midfielder and see what her reaction led to.
Let’s watch this attacking midfielder, second striker & see what she does so well to evade pressure, open up the field & lead a counter attack.
Let’s watch two similar goals & go trough what lead to these goals being made & the similarities In both.
Let’s see an outside back & defensive mid do really great against a winger.
Let's see how your movements can help you get open and in return create a big chance for your team to score.
Let's watch how to create space & make your team mate open for a great pass and a big chance to score.
Let's watch this center midfielder beat her defender.
Find Your Pockets, Be Patient and Be Persistent. Let's watch some key ways to be an efficient Attacking midfielder.
Let's watch this attacking midfielder take the game by the horns and create his own chance at scoring.
Let's watch and learn how to perfect this key move; this touch is important for everyone in all positions to learn and practice.
Checking away from the ball then checking to it is a simple movement — but it works very well to create space even at the highest level of the game.
The little details that make up this goal the entire team earned couldn’t be done better if it was scripted.
When a team moves forward like this, there’s little the defense can do. Watch this again and again and see what the player in the position you play does.
Look at your foot placement — if you’re flat footed, you need to be behind the attacker and block their run. If you’re facing the sideline, you’re ready to drop back.
When you get a yellow and you think it was a bad call, getting angry and frustrated is natural. But you have to stay aware of the line in the sand when the ref will be ok with you complaining and when you’ll get a red card for it.
Successful team defending requires everyone doing their part and strong communication (both verbal and nonverbal) to make sure the other team doesn’t overload and create chances. An example here.
This one is pretty straightforward — watch the player in your position and see what she does. Everyone did their job exactly as they should have.
When the other team is going for the cross, your job defending against it is to make the other player’s job more difficult. If you can block the cross, force them to play a less than perfect ball. If you’re marking a striker going near post, step in front of them to slow them down.
Two common things CAMs can do to be consistently great: finding the pocket between the CBs and the the CDM, then play empathetically so that your teammate has an easy pass to get you the ball. Do those two things consistently and the other team is going to have a tough time containing you.
When you have the ball, the first man is the one passing it. The second man is the one receiving it. The third man is the outlet to the teammate receiving the pass. Making the run as the third man creates so many opportunities and drives defenses crazy.
CMs have a lot of responsibility in the middle of the park — they have to be able to support their teammates and be an outlet. Here’s a great example of a CM in the middle of their decision-making process and helping his teammates every step of the way.
Look at how the CM and RW combine for this play. The CM takes space, the RW looks for the ball behind the defense, and a small feint of a pass unbalances the defense for a perfect throughball.
Controlling your emotions is one of the most important aspects of the game. When your emotions control you, it hurts your team.
Sometimes refs miss calls, sometimes they don’t but you think they did. Keep playing and be careful about picking fights with the ref.
Does it feel like your team isn’t passing you the ball enough? Time to go get it yourself and create your own chances.
If a defender sees you, as a CAM, making a run, they are going to think you are looking for a footrace with them. This creates a lot of space behind you. See how it works in this play.
As a CAM, you should do this all day: create a pocket, pass the ball to your striker (or winger), then make a run. If you do this again and again, you’re going to get a lot of G+A in every game.
On offense you want to create space (whereas on defense you want to shrink space). This is a great chance created by the winger pinching into the middle of the field and playing as a CM to create a great chance on goal.
When resetting the attack, we commonly expect to switch fields to the weak side as that’s where the space is. But a well timed (meaning after the defense has started switching sides) line-breaking pass back to the strong side leads to some great goal scoring opportunities.
‘Stand them up’ is often the best 1 v 1 defense. You don’t have to win the ball, just don’t let them by you to create a good chance. Textbook examples that will kill the other team’s opportunities every time.
It’s a simple movement — when you as the CAM receive the ball, cutting in front of the CDM chasing you down creates a lot of space to work with. But this play doesn’t stop there.
Wingers and Outside Backs love the cutback cross as it’s hard to defend. A good defensive midfielder can neutralize it — they just have to anticipate the play a few seconds before the ball is played.
A soccer field is large, and good defenders will do everything they can to make it smaller. As an Attacking Mid, your job is to find the pocket of space the defenders create and use it to your advantage.
A well timed move by a CDM can take pressure off of the OB and the CB at the same time, allowing them to focus on a single threat rather than multiple, and stop an attack in its tracks.
CDMs don’t need to be fancy — what they need is good positioning. Here’s a great example of one of the best CDMs to play in MLS and how he moved off the ball quickly and smoothly to ensure there was no chance of a counterattack.
This is the kind of work that coaches love.
As a CM, receiving the ball while shielding it from the defender and turning upfield is one of the most effective turns you can learn.
See one of the best all time at it in action and learn to make this instinctual. You’ll drive every coach your team plays against mad if you do.
Pushing forward as a DM is a good way to overload the other team…but it leaves you open for a strong counterattack. Tracking back to fill in space is one of the most important runs a DM will make in a game.
Legendary Liverpool coach Bill Shankly once said, “If you're not sure what to do with the ball, just pop it in the net and we'll discuss your options afterwards.”
Sometimes, as players, we overcomplicate things. Sometimes, just committing to crash the box is the right move.
Unsung heroes are still heroes. This is a great example of how a Center Mid stops a counter attack in its tracks. Absolutely amazing play.
When defending, focus on shrinking space — if you are going to press, you create space behind you.
Center Mids are constantly operating with little to no space. Finding a way to switch fields keeps the defense pinned back, creating more space to work with for the rest of the game.