The golden rule of free kicks
In a U10 game, a player is offsides. It happens all the time because 9 year olds, like the rest of us have difficulty understanding (or accurately calling) an offsides infraction. The other team gets a free kick. The coach calls out a player to take the free kick and then has most of the team move up the field. The player taking the free kick gives it a big run up and kicks the ball as hard as possible. Most of the time, it goes directly to someone on the other team and immediately, the team which, moments before had the advantage, is now in scramble mode. They just ran up the field for the free kick and now they run back down the field to chase the other team and try to prevent a goal.
Does that sound like a familiar scenario? I see this regularly every week. In addition to free kicks, it happens on throw-ins, goal kicks and almost every time the goalkeeper gets the ball. There is a rush to get the ball down the field as quickly as possible. Next time you watch a game, count how many times the goalkeeper treats the ball like a hot potato and tries to get it out of his hands before he gets burned. She is not looking for a spot on the field to play the ball or a player to play the ball to. All she is thinking is "I have to get this ball away from my goal as fast as possible."
The fix for it is so simple, I cannot understand why coaches and players don't figure it out. Our teams have uniforms and one team is in one color and the other team is in a different color. The golden rule of free kicks is to give the ball to someone on your team. It's not more complicated than that, give the ball to someone who is wearing the same color as you.
We try to make this easier to figure out in multiple ways. The new FIFA rules allow the goal kick to be passed to someone on your team standing in the penalty area. In U10, there is a build-out line and the defending team must stay behind the build out line until the ball is put in play. Also, in U10, we have eliminated punting in order to foster goalkeeper distribution by throw or pass. On a free kick, the defending team has to be at least 10 yards from the ball.
The simplest way to play the ball to a teammate is to have one standing next to the ball. The teammate responsible for taking the kick just plays the ball to the player standing next to the ball. If you want to get more complicated, give the player two options, one on the right and one on the left a few yards away and have her choose the best option. This is especially important for your goalkeeper in distribution. His goal in attack is to make sure that 100% of the time he throws or passes (or punts) the ball, that it goes to one of his teammates. As a coach, you can use that as one of your goals for the goalkeepers each game. That way, the keepers know it is important and they will more often try to play a playable ball to a teammate.
The ONLY time you should take a free kick is if you are trying to score directly or are within shooting range of the goal. We see this all the time at the professional level. Watch an Atlanta United game and you will see that they get the ball back in play quickly unless the ball is in the final third and they can get players up the field who have a reasonable chance of scoring on a header.
If your team adopts this principle, you will find that they possess the ball more often and that it fits better into a possession-based philosophy than randomly whacking the ball up the field and hoping for the best.
BOTTOM LINE? Always strive to give the ball to someone on your own team, regardless of the situation. I know it sounds obvious, but we often don't make that clear to our players.
Does that sound like a familiar scenario? I see this regularly every week. In addition to free kicks, it happens on throw-ins, goal kicks and almost every time the goalkeeper gets the ball. There is a rush to get the ball down the field as quickly as possible. Next time you watch a game, count how many times the goalkeeper treats the ball like a hot potato and tries to get it out of his hands before he gets burned. She is not looking for a spot on the field to play the ball or a player to play the ball to. All she is thinking is "I have to get this ball away from my goal as fast as possible."
The fix for it is so simple, I cannot understand why coaches and players don't figure it out. Our teams have uniforms and one team is in one color and the other team is in a different color. The golden rule of free kicks is to give the ball to someone on your team. It's not more complicated than that, give the ball to someone who is wearing the same color as you.
We try to make this easier to figure out in multiple ways. The new FIFA rules allow the goal kick to be passed to someone on your team standing in the penalty area. In U10, there is a build-out line and the defending team must stay behind the build out line until the ball is put in play. Also, in U10, we have eliminated punting in order to foster goalkeeper distribution by throw or pass. On a free kick, the defending team has to be at least 10 yards from the ball.
The simplest way to play the ball to a teammate is to have one standing next to the ball. The teammate responsible for taking the kick just plays the ball to the player standing next to the ball. If you want to get more complicated, give the player two options, one on the right and one on the left a few yards away and have her choose the best option. This is especially important for your goalkeeper in distribution. His goal in attack is to make sure that 100% of the time he throws or passes (or punts) the ball, that it goes to one of his teammates. As a coach, you can use that as one of your goals for the goalkeepers each game. That way, the keepers know it is important and they will more often try to play a playable ball to a teammate.
The ONLY time you should take a free kick is if you are trying to score directly or are within shooting range of the goal. We see this all the time at the professional level. Watch an Atlanta United game and you will see that they get the ball back in play quickly unless the ball is in the final third and they can get players up the field who have a reasonable chance of scoring on a header.
If your team adopts this principle, you will find that they possess the ball more often and that it fits better into a possession-based philosophy than randomly whacking the ball up the field and hoping for the best.
BOTTOM LINE? Always strive to give the ball to someone on your own team, regardless of the situation. I know it sounds obvious, but we often don't make that clear to our players.
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