Soccer Drills - Seniors
Challenge your players during every session
Every player likes to be challenged in their training sessions. This is best done by including small competitions in your soccer drills. This will not only work for junior players but also for senior players, no matter whether they are amateurs or pros.
We, at planet.training, got you covered if you want to improve those skills. We have thousands of soccer drills for any skill! You can directly start coaching with these four exercises or try hundreds of Premium Exercises and public drills in our soccer database.
Shooting Drill – Precision from distance
Set Up:
Place two big goals next to eachother, with a distance of at least 15m in between. Two poles on each goal line divide the goal in thirds. Put another pole 25m in front of the two goals. 3 cones, behind the pole, mark the shooting area (see drawing). The players will then line up at station 1 and 2.
Execution:
The first player of each station starts dribbling towards the pole at the same time, after the coach has given the start signal. Both players try to get around the pole as tight as possible (Consider the player coming from the other side). As soon as the players have passed the pole, the coach will give a signal on where to shoot the ball. The goal shot must take place inside the shooting area. S1 will use the right foot and S2 the left.
Count the goals – Who has the highest score after 5 rounds at each station?
2 +2 versus 2 - Majority in a small sided game
Set Up:
Set up a field of approx. 30m x 20m - One big goal on each end of the field. Three teams of 2 - One goalkeeper per goal. Place balls near goalkeeper for a quick pass, in case ball goes out of bounce.
Execution:
In this drill your players will learn to play a fast, yet controlled majority game, to take advantage of the situation. Team A (Blue) plays a free 2vs2 against Team B (Yellow). Neutral Team C (white) will always support the ball possessing team in their attack - After a goal Team C joins the attack around midfield.
Played with offside rule. After change of ball possession the neutral team C has to transition quickly as well. Because of the small sided game setting, this drill will get quite exhausting. Use little breaks where players can catch their breath to coach them up.
ELEVATE YOUR GAME
Through Pass - 3+2 versus 3
Set Up:
Divide a field of approx. 25m x 15m into three zones of each 25m x 5m. Divide players into groups of 5 (blue team) and 3 players (orange team). The blue team has three players in one endzone and two in the other. The orange team has all three players in the middle zone as defenders. The group of three blue players has the ball prior to the start of the exercise.
Execution:
The blue team tries to consistently pass the ball from one endzone to the other, without the defenders gaining possession of the ball. 5 successful passes (from one side to the other) equal a point for the blue team. Gaining possession of the ball equals a point for the defending team. Play until 7 points, then put in new defenders.
This exercise aims to improve your team's through passes. Players have to constantly try to get open behind the defenders before being able to receive a pass. The ball possessing group of players has to maintain a quick and wide passing game, to create gaps in the defensive scheme.
Reaction game – quick pass & direct shot on goal
Set Up:
Set up a field of approx. 40m x 20m. One big goal and a goalkeeper on both ends of the field. Set up two stations opposite of each other, near the halfway line – Set up a cone goal as an orientation mark approx. 5m in front of stations. Divide team into two groups and make them line up at the two stations. One ball at one of the two cone goal – a lot of balls near the goalkeepers.
Execution:
The exercise starts with the two front players running towards the cone goal. They then start passing the ball to each other continuously. Both goalkeepers are in possession of a ball. On the Coach’s signal “Go!” the two players stop the passing game and move towards the goal on their right side. The goalkeeper now passes the ball to them – vary passing angles to increase difficulty! The player tries to take a volley shot at the goal. As soon as both players have shot their ball the next players start moving towards the cone goals.
For variations click the link.
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Register nowWithout passing and dribbling there is no scoring
Scoring and winning is the ultimate goal of any football game. Whether a volley shot, bicycle kick, header or instep drive. Any technique can be improved by practicing it during your soccer training sessions. However, without an effective passing game or a perfect dribbling, there would not even be a chance to score. Therefore, coaches should always combine several skills in their session plans. Shots on the goal are perfect for engaging in small-field games or passing drills. To make sure that your next session plan is created even faster, there are a lot of other drill examples and variations on our other exercise pages.
