Although the holiday is more about giving than receiving, I have decided to make my first post based on receiving the ball. Soccer is built on a strong foundation of dribble, pass, receive, shoot.
Receiving is an essential part of a players makeup. When a ball is passed, redirected, or blindly kicked in your direction; do you have the ability to control the ball in a manner that allows you to make a positive play?
The key to receiving or also known as “trapping” is to place the ball in a space that allows you to avoid defensive pressure and make a positive play on the game. When you play pass with a friend or teammate you usually simply stop the ball in front of you when receiving. This is the most basic of all receiving techniques. This type of receiving should be the first technique you teach your youngest players when you decide to venture here. Start by teaching them to stop a ball dead from every passing angle, all passing weights, ball heights, and with EVERY part of their foot and body. I want my U9 players to be able to deal with a ball falling straight down to them with their chest, thigh, and multiple surfaces of their foot. I also want them to deal with a pass on the ground with every surface of their foot. This type of diversity when it come to the most simple of receiving techniques will allow you to later teach receiving the ball into different spaces as to avoid pressure with much more effectiveness.
Key areas that players should be comfortable receiving with:
Inside foot, outside foot, sole of the foot, top of the foot, thigh, chest, head.
Key variations of passes they should be comfortable receiving:
Ball falling horizontally, ball in the air traveling vertically, bouncing ball, ball kicked straight to them from all angles, ball kicked into space away from them at all angles, slow passes, fast passes, ball from the air that are spinning.
Make them very good and comfortable stopping a ball with their entire body and they will surely learn more quickly how to escape pressure and maintain possession.
DEC
About the Author:
Mikey Varas is a Senior Coach for the prestigious Burlingame Soccer Club located in Burlingame, California, USA. Son of an emphatic Chilean soccer enthusiast, Mikey began playing competitive soccer at the tender age of 9 years old, and later became a promising talent while playing for the 3-time State Cup Finalist and nationally ranked World United Futbol Club in Los Altos, CA. After a year of playing professionally in Chile, Mikey returned home to become a well-respected youth coach dedicated to realizing his dream to expose American Youth Soccer players to the wonderful soccer passion he enjoyed in South America.