long shot, one timer, header

an easy to explain, fun game for U8 - U10s that works on on heading and shooting skills

submitted by titanscoach - a regular on the footy4kids soccer coaching forums

He says:

"This is my U9s favourite game to play at end of football practice.  It is definitely a "warm down" type of activity but the kids love it and whenever I announce we are going to do it they cheer.  Strange because it is basically a line drill and uses elimination which are two things I try to avoid... but the kids love it so that is what matters most."

Work with a normal sized goal and penalty area (marked by lines or cones);

Two teams (X and Y) line up by cones, (shown as small triangles in the diagram above);

Two goalkeepers are chosen, one from each team.

Procedure

Player from team Y dribbles and has a shot on goal from beyond the penalty area (marked by cones);

The player then moves towards coach C1 who passes a ball for a one-time shot on goal;

The player then moves towards coach C2 who serves a ball for the player to head towards the goal.

Rules

If you...

1. score 0 goals, wait on the end of the line to be freed (see 3 and 4, below);

2. score 1 goal and stay in the game;

3. score two goals and free up a team mate who is waiting on the end line;

4. score two goals and free all of your team mates.

The team that last the longest wins!

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