Heading is another one of my strengths and I will need a practise to maintain this skill as well. For this, I would use a training practise called “Over and under.” Two players stand about 5 metres away from each other. One stands with their legs apart, holding the ball ready to throw it to the other. This player then shouts over or under and throws the ball to the opposite player. In order to get points, the player heading has to head wherever he is told to. When the player throwing shouts over, the person heading has to head the ball over the first player’s head. When under is shouted, then the player must head the ball through the other’s legs. This will help maintain this skill because you are using two different techniques that you would use in a match situations. The “over” header focuses more on the defensive side of heading as the player needs to get height and distance in order to score. The “under” header focuses on the attacking side as the headers need to be accurate and controlled in order to score by keeping the low, as far away from the goal keeper as possible.
To improve weaknesses I will need to think of practises which contain progression so I can develop these and improve.
As I identified, crossing is one of my weaknesses which I need to develop and improve. To do this I suggest a drill called “box in.” Four players are needed for the practise. The first and second player both stand outside the area while the third acts as an attacker and the fourth goes in goal. The first player plays a one two with the second. Once he has received the ball from the second, he then crosses the ball into the box trying to pick out the attacker. The player crossing has to look up to see where the attacker is as well as seeing the position of the keeper. He also has to think about the type of cross he will play in order for the ball to reach the attacker. This will help to develop the skill because you are doing exactly what is needed in a match, as in a match it is important to look where players are as well as crossing the ball accurately. Once the player has mastered this, a defender or two can be added to encourage progression. This would improve the skill further as the defenders aim to intercept the cross meaning the cross has to be even more accurate than before in order for it to reach its target. It will need to clear the defenders head and drop onto the attacker, so the accuracy and type of cross has to be thought about before the ball is played. The player needs to think about whether to drive a cross if the area is congested and is looking for a lucky deflection or if he is specifically aiming the cross for one player, in which that case a lofted cross is needed.
Another weakness of mine was dribbling. To improve this I suggest a practise called “markers.” Two players are needed one to attack and one to defend. The game is played inside of the penalty area and the aim is to stop the ball on the goal line by stepping on it. The defender starts with the ball and begins the practise by passing it to the attacker. The defender may challenge for the ball as soon as the attacker has received it. If the ball goes out of the area, then the players switch roles and the drill starts again. This helps to develop the skill as the area where the attacker is allowed to dribble is very small. This means the attacker has to not only keep close control of the ball while running he also has to dribble past the defender without getting tackled in order to score as shooting is not an option. To add progression you could add more defenders making it harder for the attacker to score. You can also add a rule where if the attacker dribbles past the defender twice before scoring, two goals are awarded. This encourages the attacker to take on the defender more than once, meaning the skill will be further developed. It also reflects a real game, as there is more than one defender in a real match, and they may also recover and try to tackle you again as the defender wouldn’t just give up after he had been taken on; he would try to tackle you again.
The other weakness I identified was tackling. For this I suggest a drill where two players are needed, again an attacker and a defender. The attacker begins with the ball and has to try and keep possession for 2 minutes. The object of the defender is to try and tackle them, preventing them from keeping possession. If the attacker keeps possession for 2 minutes, he scored 5 points, however if he is tackled the defender scores 5. In order for the defender to get extra points, he has to tackle the other player within 20 seconds. If he succeeds he gets 5 extra points, however if he fouls the attacker he loses 5 points. The person, who has the most points after three tries, wins. This will help to develop my tackling as it practises the timing of the tackle as well as the technique. If the technique is poor and he gives a foul away, points are deducted, therefore this rule helps you think about the way you will tackle the opposition in order to not commit a foul. The 20 seconds bonus also encourages the player to tackle quickly and this would further improve this skill as you have to perform it under pressure, as in a real game you don’t have a lot of time to tackle someone. To add progression, more attackers can be added so they can pass to each other. This will make it harder for the defender to tackle as their will be more people trying to keep it away from him, and the 20 seconds bonus becomes virtually impossible. For further progression the 20 seconds limit and be reduce to 10.