Real Madrid vs Atlético Madrid

La Ciudad of Two Tales

The UEFA Champions League finalists have been determined. Two teams from the same city – Madrid – will be facing each other on May 28 in another city – Milan – to decide who will be crowned the champion of the most coveted club soccer competition in the world. Real Madrid, one of the sport’s richest clubs, always features a star-studded roster and is always one of the favorites to reach the final, and once there, to win it. Two years ago they won the competition for the 10th time, which is a record.

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Juggling

Learning to juggle with both feet (training your less dominant foot)

One of our fans wanted to know how he could improve juggling with his less dominant foot. If you too are struggling with this, we hope this post helps. Please let us know how it goes or if you have any other questions.

Juggling consists of two things: ball control and balance. Using both feet actually helps maintain your balance as it is more natural for the body to stay balanced when both feet are used. For example, it is easier to stay balanced when you walk then when you skip on just one foot.

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Ball Control & Shooting

Week 6 Soccer Practice Drills for U10, U11 & U12 Teams

Drill 1 – Dribbling – 5 minutes

  • Dribble the ball anywhere within the field of play
  • Use the entire space
    • Do not let players bunch up
  • Keep the ball close to you while running
    • Can the players run and keep the ball under control
    • Players who are walking should be urged to run
    • Players who are running too fast should be urged to slow down in order to stay under control
  • Have the players perform some moves on your command
    • Stepover, Inside-out, Outside-in, Stop-and-go, Cruyff, Inside-inside (go here to find videos showing these moves)
  • Make sure the players are using both feet equally
  • Make sure the players keep their head up while dribbling
    • Safety – to see where they are going
    • Technique – to see where they could pass the ball to

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Ball Control & Shooting

Week 6 Soccer Practice Drills for U7, U8 & U9 Teams

Drill 1 – Slalom and Finish the Run – 10 minutes

Drill 1 comprises 5 mini drills

Setup

Slalom with last cone 10 yards away setup

  • Set up 2 lines of cones
  • The 2 lines are about 10 steps apart from each other
  • The cones on the line are 3 to 5 steps apart
    • The last cone on line 1, as well as the first cone on line 2, are about 10 steps away from the previous cone
  • Split the players into two groups
    • One group goes to the beginning of line 1 and the other group to the beginning of group 2
      • The two lines are facing each other, so the beginning of the line will actually be on the opposite side
    • Every player has a ball

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Ball Control & Shooting

Week 6 Soccer Practice Drills for U4, U5 & U6 Teams

Setup

Field Setup

  • Each player has a ball
  • Set down cones to make a 40×30 steps field for 10 players – larger if more players
    • Anything can be a cone (an article of clothing, a water bottle, any marker)
    • Set cones every ten steps
  • Do not set up any goals
    • If there are goals, players will shoot on them and not listen to you
  • Demonstrate each drill / game before starting it

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Overcoming-The-Odds

Overcoming the Odds – Will Leicester City FC Win the Barclay’s Premier League?

Several weeks ago we provided some tips on how to pick a game to watch with your kid, and one of the things we talked about were the underdog stories. We mentioned the exciting prospect of Leicester City Football Club (the foxes) winning Barclay’s Premier League as the underdog fairy tale story of the year that could write the pages of sports history, be turned into books and movies, and is already influencing rock bands.

Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do. – Pele

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Breaking-It-Down

10 seconds of pro soccer action broken down into important fundamentals we teach

Earlier this week Atletico Madrid beat Bayern Munich 1-0 in a UEFA Champions League semi-final first leg. The only goal of the game – and now the difference that Bayern has to surmount in their return leg in Munich – came early in the 1st half after a surging dribble through the heart of Bayern’s defense.

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Dribbling And Control

Week 5 Soccer Practice Drills for U4, U5 & U6 Teams

Setup

Field Setup

  • Each player has a ball
  • Set down cones to make a 40×30 steps field for 10 players – larger if more players
    • Anything can be a cone (an article of clothing, a water bottle, any marker)
    • Set cones every ten steps
  • Do not set up any goals
    • If there are goals, players will shoot on them and not listen to you
  • Demonstrate each drill / game before starting it

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Dribbling And Control

Week 5 Soccer Practice Drills for U7, U8 & U9 Teams

Setup

Setup 2 Boxes

 

  • Each player has a ball
  • Set down cones to make a 50×40 steps field for 12 players – larger if more players
    • Anything can be a cone (an article of clothing, a water bottle, any marker)
    • Set cones every ten steps
  • Within that field, set down cones to make 2 boxes (about 20×20 steps)
    • Set a cone in the center of each box
  • Do not set up any goals
    • If there are goals, players will shoot on them and not listen to you
  • Demonstrate each drill / game before starting it

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