Hey,

Hope I can find someone on here that knows abit about soccer training!

I alwayls find that when I get into the final third of the pitch (attacking area) I have problems with Controlling and keeping the ball.

I aslo think my balance is a little off? Any exercises for any of these yet?

And aybe something for beating players e.g. taking it around the, doing little tricks!

Any help would be great!

Hi

It sounds like you panic when you get the ball in an attacking zone - as you're under pressure from defenders and need to make snap decisions.

There is a simple way to fix this, which, if your coach was worth his salt, should have noticed and fixed by now - put 15 cones down in a straight line like this:

o.....o......o......o etc etc with 2feet distance between them, practice dribbling between them, however, the important point to learn here is to keep your head UP, do NOT keep looking down at the ball - also, do this exercise barefoot - it vastly improves your control of the ball. Start it slowly and build it up to full pace. The important thing though is to keep the head up - that way you are always looking for the pass, and also can see the defender coming earlier and thus do not panic as much

BTW i dont mean DONT look at the ball EVER but try to keep the head up as much as possible.

Balance - simple balance beam exercises, and also by keeping your head up while dribbling the ball will help this because you're not leaning over the ball and off balance as you will be by looking at the ball.

Beating a player - the easiest way to beat a player (and hardest to defend) is to change direction and speed at the same time - if you've isolated the defender 1v1 - then slow down (not to jogging, maybe to 3/4 pace, and then as he approaches push the ball either side of him (change your direction by roughly 10 degrees or so... if you get my meaning?) and sprint instantly - the change of speed and direction will mean you will get the ball past him - its up to you to have the ability to get that ball back, if not, then win the foul by going over their outstretched leg

There are lots of fancy dan tricks but if you're running at pace, none of them are effective. If stationary, or moving slowly, a Cruyff Turn (google it!) is very effective, but only when outwide.

Any further questions, fire away Good luck too

Thanks alot man!!

Ill try that the next time im playing now!

If I got any more things I think I could improve on, ill let you know!

Cheers dude!

As someone who's played football my entire life, I feel I can help here...

It is perfectly natural for your touch to be a bit off in the final 3rd. It's more crowded, there's less space to run into etc. This is why attacking players cost so much more. The most expensive players of all time (Zidane, Figo, Ronaldo etc.) were all attackers.

Sure, you can work on your touch as much as you want. Good practice makes perfect. But if you're naturally not very good at it, then you're always going to struggle. I'll put it this way- I'm quite an attack minded player. I've played in defence comfortably in the past but it's going forward from midfield where I've always been at my best. Without wishing to sound too big-headed, I do have this reputation of taking the ball past several people in the final third after a bit of a run. And I can tell you, I do not even think about what I'm doing. It just happens.

Take a look at football being played at the highest level, say Barcelona playing someone at home. Even the likes of Messi, Ronaldinho, Eto'o, Deco etc. will often mess it up in the final third!

And don't worry about fancy tricks. There are only a handful of players in the world who can actually use them effectively without them just being another party piece (Zidane, Ronaldinho etc.). As the guy above said, change of pace and direction is often enough.

What level are you playing at? Feel free to ask more...

Theres no reason Jet, for the touch to be worse when in the final third than anywhere else - the player is showing signs of panic - and players who do so are the ones who demonstrate the "weaker final third touch".

Plus the change of speed/direction will get you past the big defender who will just want to put his boot through you as you run, which is EXACTLY how I played the game for years. If someone put the ball past me, they didn't get past me, and you have to be wary of that, a fancy trick will only look good for the cameras, but at any level you'll usually find yourself booted up in the air.

Plus, when in the final third, a lot of players only think of themselves, trying to beat players every time, rather than just pass the ball. If you look up, you'll see where the passes are, as a defender its so easy to defend against someone who just keeps their head down because you know all they're going to do is run, if you are against someone who plays with their head up, you have to allow for the chance they're going to play a 1-2 around you and you're beaten and out of the game.

FYI Jet Black - attacking players cost more because they grab the glory, and then are associated with being "better" than the other players, hence their value goes up. example - is Robbie Keane a better player than Olof Mellberg? Is he f**k! MEllberg - £5.5m transfer fees, Keane well in excess of £20m in his career.

Jet - what level do you play at?

i love soccer, im a freshman and im leading my jv team in goals, if you are looking for moves try this web site Dribbling Moves with Video Clips of each Move as for i would say just go out there and shot. good luck

Hey guys great posts here making alot of sense. Ive just started for a team and in training im usually midfield just behind the strikers a play maker and someone who can hold the ball up and i played it quite well i set up some nice goals.

Im mainly in the attcking area of the pitch and nerves just go away eventually i mean im with new people and i dont want to look bad and **** up, on the occasion i do thats because of pressure but i think you need to play up front get a feel for what its like and just think calm try look for someone who is open listen for the shouting but just think youre playing in youre normal position. It will come to you eventually.

Hope this helped a little bit .

lol a player who plays "in the hole" is a player who can't be arsed to do his fair share of the dogwork in defence.

very suprised to see an englishman playing there - its not a role that gets taught through any grass roots coaching.

you notice the difference between the british "in the hole" players and continental ones when you play them even at u14 or so level - because they actually develop that position, whereas through the English FA's coaching procedures, its just a midfielder who is slightly more creative than his others, but is far lazier...

that link is great thankyou fit_4_life
and as chrissmith said that you have to practice more( dribbling )
if you could improve your self (i mean dribbling well),you would be star
good luck man

Were you talking to me there?? Whats "in the hole?"

If you were talking to me, No im not lazy i track back and help the defence. Its a lazy position?? Its midfield, midfield is one of the most tiring positions there. Because youre expected to go up and go down. Where as strikers are up, defence are down.

In the hole is the position behind the strikers, but ahead of midfield.

A good midfielder doesnt run that much - they are in the right place at the right time.

That all depends on formation and how youre teammates play. But its kinda a narrowminded thing to say that they are lazy because there not and they make goals which win games. They also score them

I've never, ever met a British "in the hole" player who is not lazy.

I've played professionally, internationally upto U20 standard as well, I do some scouting work at the moment for a Premiership side.

I've never ever seen a player playing that role who isn't lazy.

The reason they play that role is because they don't want to do the defensive work - on the continent they pick a player to play that role along with 3 defensive midfielders, who all look to find this individual when they have hold of the ball.

You're 16 right? There is no way on gods green earth you should be playing in that position - because it will fundamentally destroy 80% of your game. It will only develop the side to your game where you (personally) are in possession - which is about 5% of the time.

The rest of your game is out of the window.

I'd seriously reccomend switching positions - I say that as a scout, rather than anything else, because I know what people like me look for in a player.

Oh youre a scout? Wicked some decent advice then. To be honest with you i dont know what position i am. In training i played defence for my first and i sucked mainly coz i got injured and i was ill so i couldnt run at all. Im just playing around the field atm seeing what im best at. I kinda thought left mid as i am left footed i got an advantage. But i played "in the hole" just to see what it was like and i liked it, i made some nice threw balls and held it up. But i dno. The way i want to play is to score a nice goal on the occasion but not hog. Which i dont im never selfish with the ball if someone shouts and its a good shout i will pass without a doubt. But please tell me youre thoughts.

P.S Youre spot on about the "dont want to do the defensive work" i am like that partially only because of fear ill **** up and do a stupid mistake which i dont want as i want to take my game to high levels and i want ppl to notice me. But i guess i gotta try everything. Any tips are appreciated mate!