Soccer Defense Skills Drill Training – Part 2

Tackling techniques and skills are important to acquire good defensive skills. These techniques are sometimes more difficult for meeker players who need to learn more aggressive actions. Players who are practicing tackling should also remember that when they attempt to tackle the ball near midfield they should be sure to have a backup player close by.

Learning defensive skills also means that players must go for the ball and not the defensive player. Players learn to keep their eyes on the ball and look for an opportunity to steal it. However, purposefully fouling a player or becoming too aggressive isn’t a skill that should be taught to young players.

Playing a good defense is not only an individual skill but also a method of training the team to act as one. When the team maintains a compact shape across the field while playing defense it enables better defensive play. A benefit of the compact formation is that the challenging player will get immediate defensive support. Players are available to track opponents making forward runs and can best defend their goal.

Defensive drills are designed to help players learn means of defending the goal and stealing the ball but an integral part of learning these skills is having fast foot speed and the ability to juggle and tackle the ball. Learning these skills using youth soccer training aids will only help to improve the defensive and offensive skills.

Resources:

SoccerXpert: Soccer Defending Drills

http://www.soccerxpert.com/soccer-defending-drills.aspx

Athletes Acceleration: Defensive Soccer Skills

http://www.athletesacceleration.com/defensivesoccerskills.html

ProfessionalSoccerCoaching.com: Defending Soccer Drills

http://www.professionalsoccercoaching.com/defending-soccer-drills.html

Soccer Training Guide: Three Useful Drills for Improving Your Defense

http://www.soccer-training-guide.com/defensive-soccer-drills.html#.UYz3CcrHaKI

National Soccer Coaches Association of America: Soccer Drills

http://www.nscaa.com/education/resources/soccer-drills