Helpful Tips to Get Your Players to Finish Their Shots

(Especially for Younger Players)

     I am coaching two boys teams. A U6 (4+goalie) and a U7 (7+goalie). All the teams (including mine) play pretty much bunch-ball, which is fine and we are good at it. My problem is that when we get a break-away and a scoring opportunity, my kids will get close to the goal and shoot it, but won't follow-up. Sometimes the ball wasn't kicked hard enough to make it into the goal, or the goalie muffs the stop, or it bounces off a
post/player/goalie. In the meantime my players are standing there watching the ball either go in or not, and the goalie gets another try to make a save or defense to get the ball out. We've missed several scoring opportunities this way.
     I don't need them to kick the ball harder because often times they are kicking the ball as hard as they can (several of my U6 players are actually only 4 years old anyway). What I want to prevent is the "kick the ball and stand there watching it go into the goal". I want them to kick it towards/in the goal and keep running to follow it in to "make sure it goes in". Yesterday, I used 1/2 my practice with my U6 team, to scrimmage the boys and they were doing the old "kick and watch" but this time after the goalie got the ball, I stopped play and talked with them. After a few times I think I got through to one player as when he kicked the ball to the goal, the goalie fell on it, bobbled it and he did try to kick it again.
     Any other drills I can use or other suggestions, otherwise I will continue with this method and it should get through to more of them as I stop play and remind them what/where they should be.

Tom Langland (from the Soccer-Coach-L E-mail List 9/25/2002)

• At this age I played a game where the teammates raced the ball to goal. I
  also told the shooter to try and catch the ball after he shot it. I also made a rule that if the shooter was standing still the goal would not count. After they got that I made a new rule that all players had to be running toward the goal for it to count as a point. It seemed to work to get the thought that you have to keep running.
  Kenneth Dodson

• I have a Karl Dewazien (FUNdamental Soccer) video in which he suggests having the kids shoot in practice and then, even if the shot goes in the goal, run to the goal line and slap it with their hands, then run backwards back to place. This, according to him, makes a link in the kids' minds between shooting and running forward (to look for rebounds, etc.) and between these two things and getting back on defense in a way that allows you to keep an eye on what the other team is doing.
  Mike O'Leary

• Have a coach or assistant coach or parent be the keeper and have them
  deliberately parry all shots back into play (just in front of the goal) during any shooting drills and allow the player shooting a limited number of seconds (count out loud) to complete his follow-up. Have them keep score. You can also do this during practice games. Don't have your regular keepers do it because it teaches bad habits.
  Ken Gamble

• Tom, I set the little ones up about ten yards out. Roll one ball for them to dribble and shoot. After they shoot the first I quickly roll out a second one in front of them almost in the mouth of the goal. I just call it picking up the garbage. The idea is to get them using forward motion. Another game that also helps with passing and talking is to make a circle big enough for them to pass across. They call out a team mates name pass the ball then run around the outside of the circle behind the receiver. It gets them to move after they pass/kick the ball. (Ken's note - check out the Power and Finesse game posted on this website.)
      One game my girls love is "egg Hunt". Two players: Put a dozen balls
  scattered around the field have them start with the closes ball kick it at the goal and moving forward shoot the balls as they get closer. They keep going until the balls are in the goal or other side of the cone. At this age you can probable use three balls a piece. Time them and let them know how they are doing. They will also learn to work together. One issue I had with the boys was they were always competing against one another. With this game it's not Tommy vs. Jeffy but a team. This game will work for a few years with different variations.
  Richard Twiss

•    I think this is fairly common among the little ones. At least it was a
  problem for all the ones I coached.
     One method that worked for me was playing scrimmages in practice where a condition was that goals don't count unless the player and the ball both go in the net. It helps to get them in the habit of following up every shot, even if it looks like it is going in. Here on the coast with wet grass and the occasional goalmouth moat, follow up is imperative since water will stop a lot of balls that would otherwise have rippled the twine.
  Good luck,
  Robin Day