A major part of soccer coaching is encouraging and motivating your players to get the best possible performance. Use these soccer coaching tips to make sure your praise and criticism at half-time really hits the spot.

Team-building skills

It's a good tip to have only you, the soccer coach, and one other person involved at the half-time chat. Half-time team talks should, ideally, be short. The team should be sat down, quiet, given a drink and told one or two main points that they can take in. Praise your players for something they are doing right. Then point out the things they are doing wrong and how they can put it right.  This is the central point of the half-time talk. Use your whole body and not just your mouth. Positive body language is crucial.

Key soccer coaching tip: Encourage, encourage, encourage!

Praise/criticism

Pick up one or two things your players have done very well before you remind them about the things they haven’t. Don’t get on their backs but give them something to think about.

Play your game

So you’re losing 2-0 to a side you should be beating. Your players are all talking about the tall kid who’s constantly pushing. The skilful boy on the wing is worrying your defender......

Quieten them down, tell them to forget the opposition and to focus on what they do best, week in and week out. Point out that if they keep passing the ball, shielding it, throwing it, the chances will come and they will get back into the game.

Remind your players to enjoy having the ball, and tell them there’s only half a match left to play. Tell them to “play your game” which will instill the confidence and teamwork your coaching has developed.

Pitch and weather conditions: coaching tips to solve problems at half-time

Problem: Rain – wet pitch

Solution: A wet ball means faster movement. Tell your team to keep their passing simple, and not to put too much weight on one leg. Goalies and defenders must clear their lines into touch.

Problem: Wind blowing into faces

Solution: Tell your players to keep the ball down and pass to feet. Tell them long balls into the wind do not work. Your goalie must kick to the side - make sure he/she knows that. If your team has played with the wind behind them in the first half beware of complacency as the other team will be raring to go having struggled into the wind.

Problem: Long grass

Solution: The ball will stick so your players need to keep their passes crisp. The bounce from goal kicks will be poor so be aware of this and be first to it.

Tips to give players just before they go back on the pitch: Pick one or two points

Remind players to be aware of their surroundings.

Anticipate where the ball is going.

Be aware of teammates' positions.

Close down and mark the opposition players.

Tell dribblers to dribble and shooters to shoot.

Encourage your goalie, don’t criticise - leave that for later.

Summing up

Make the speech clear and effective. Don’t cover all the points mentioned here, but make two or three points you want to get across. Don’t be tempted with “and another thing”...

Footwork is the fundamental technique required for all skills. At Beast Mode Soccer, every client does AT LEAST 1000 a touches before we even get into the main meat of the session. The following is Phase 1, which will provide you or your team 100's of touches in less than 20 minutes.
Phase 1

Inside Roll -- Roll the ball across your body from outside to inside with the

inside and sole of the foot and stop the ball with the inside of the other foot- 50

reps

Outside Roll -- Roll the ball across your body from inside to outside with the

outside and sole of the foot and stop the ball with the inside of the same foot- 50

reps

Side to Side Push-Pull -- Tap ball back and forth with inside of feet, push ball

forward with one foot and pull it back the sole of the opposite foot- 50 reps

Side to Side Step-On -- Roll ball to outside with the sole by stepping lightly on

the ball, then tap ball back to the inside with the inside of the foot- 50

Side to Side Front Roll --Tap ball back and forth with inside of feet, push ball

slightly forward then pull the ball across your body with the front part of the

sole- 50 reps

Pull Instep Push -- Push ball forward and pull it back with the sole, then tap ball forward with the instep of the same foot- 50 reps

Pull & Take with Outside of Foot -- Push the ball forward and pull the ball

back with the sole then push the ball diagonally forward with the outside of the

foot- 50 reps

Inside chop -- Push ball forward, move past ball and turn toward ball and take

it with the inside of the foot in the opposite direction- 50 reps

Outside chop -- Push ball forward, move past ball and turn toward ball while

taking it with the outside of the foot in the opposite direction- 50 reps

Cruyff -- Push the ball forward, fake kick with inside of foot, but instead pull ball

behind the standing leg and change directions- 50 reps

Step over Turn -- Push ball forward, step over ball with one foot, turn toward

ball and take it in the opposite direction- 50 reps

Pull Backs -- Roll the sole of one foot forward over the ball and to the outside

so the ball stops against your heel. Dribble opposite direction- 50 reps

Scissors -- Starting with the ball to one side, step over or in front of ball so that

the ball ends up on the other side of you. Take the ball in the opposite direction

with the outside of the other foot and then stop ball with the sole of the first

foot- 50 reps

Any questions? Email us at [email protected] 

Watch Ronaldo, Beckham, Roberto Carlos... there is nothing more satisfying than bending the ball from free-kicks over the wall into the back of the net. Get yourself down to the soccer field, so that at the next soccer training session you can show your free-kick takers how it's done.

Soccer coaching tips to bend the ball

Your players will love these soccer drills. They will be able to change the direction of the ball mid-flight. Get your players to perform this skill from a free-kick. It’s easiest to do when the ball is stationary.

Soccer coaches – try this yourself

1. Positioning: Put a ball on the edge of the area, as in the diagram below. Approach the ball at an angle running across the direction of the goal, in a relaxed movement, not too fast.

2. Contact: If you hit the ball straight it would head for the corner flag. Instead, hit the ball with the inside of your big toe, just where your toe ends and your foot begins. The impact will roll the ball along the inside of your foot. Your foot meets the ball in the bottom corner. Always use bottom left or right depending on which foot you use.

3. Movement: Your standing leg should not move and should still be pointing at an angle away from the target. Swing your kicking leg in towards the goal, without bending it. Now you’re doing exactly what David Beckham, Ronaldinho and Frank Lampard do day-in and day-out on the soccer training pitch.

4. Ball flight: Because you are hitting the ball from underneath, there will be sufficient lift to take the ball up and over the wall. As your foot comes across and around, you create ball spin which makes the ball bend and dip. You can get extra height by leaning your shoulders back.

The SMART way to bend free-kicks:

SPECIFIC

MEASURABLE

AGREED

REALISTIC

TIMED

The SPECIFIC target for your player is to bend free-kicks into the goal.

Make it MEASURABLE by telling your players you want them to successfully bend five out of ten free-kicks.

AGREE with them that this is to happen during the training drill.

Is five REALISTIC? It depends on the player.

Make it TIMED by agreeing it should happen over three training drill sessions.

Tailor this SMART session to your individual players and get them to tell you if they reach the drill target.