Quick Shooting Drills

Now that you know when to shoot the soccer ball and how to shoot, here are a few quick drills to help you learn how to score goals.

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Remember, don’t forget about the fundamentals of shooting: keep your ankle locked, hit the center of the ball, keep your knee over the ball, keep your head down, and turn your hips towards where you’re aiming.

Also, don’t try to kill the ball when shooting with power, otherwise you’re more apt to hit the ball over the goal rather than into the back of the net. Shoot with power but don’t over do it.

The key when doing any shooting drills is not to hit a dead ball and doing some sort of movement or running before taking a shot. This way the drill becomes much more realistic. Since in a game you rarely have a ball played to without having to fight off a defender or sprint past a player before taking the shot.

Shots from the top of the goal box.
Have a forward post up on the top of the box and form about twenty feet away of shooters. Have them play the ball into the forward, who lays the ball off to the right or left for his or her teammates to take a first time shot on goal. Then have the line move to the side, so you’re hitting the ball with the inside and outside of your feet (both right and left) and move the line accordingly. That way, you’re coming on to the ball from the side and the forward may just be laying the ball back to the oncoming shooter.

Beat defender and shoot.
Line players up along the side of the goal and then form another line at the top of the box. The players along the side of the goal play the ball with pace to the players at the top of the box, who then have three touches to get a shot off before the charging player closes them down.

Play combinations at the top of the box.
Have players run throuth overlaps, give and goes, dribble exchanges, and crosses that all lead to shots. Try to hit a moving ball and make the drills game-like. Much like with patterns, set up a few short combinations that lead to shots.

Shooting under pressure.
Have a defender play the ball to the shooter from behind, about ten yards away from the shooter. Then, once this player has passed or played the ball to the shooter he or she closes (chases) down the shooter. Putting pressure on the shooter so he or she has to get the shot off quickly; in a game there’s very little time to think, know what you want to do with the ball before you receive it, take a quick touch of the ball ahead of you or to one side and pick your spot.

Striking balls in the air.
At the top of the box, with one line as servers and one line as shooters, throw or lob balls into the shooter’s feet. Make the shooter adjust by playing in a wide range of difficult balls to control. Set limits on the number of touches the shooter can take before he or she gets a shot off.

World Cup battle in the box.
This is a classic game that everyone can play, from defenders to forwards. Split the team up into groups of 6 or 7 players and two teams face off in the penalty box against one keeper. The team that scores stays on. Goals can come from anywhere in the box and from anyone. Goals can come as soon as the ball is thrown or kicked into the box. If the game drags on then set a time limit so the team on the side isn’t waiting too long.

Keep Shooting.
The most important thing is this: Don’t stop shooting. You can’t score if you don’t shoot. You may miss the first four or five shots you take but have the sixth or seventh shot hit the back of the net.

However, strive for your players to hit the target and make the keepers make a save. Players should not be killing the ball and banging it way over the goal. Concentrate on getting your shots on goal, but don’t get discouraged if your first couple of shots don’t go where you want them to go.

It usually takes a few shots to get into a rhythm, so your first couple of shots might be off target, but keep trying and don’t lose your focus. To score goals in soccer you have to look for your chances and make something happen. If you miss a wide open shot or a one on one with the goalkeeper, forget about that play and focus on getting that next chance and putting that one away.

Two players in the 2010 World Cup who knew how to score goals were David Villa of Spain and Diego Forlan of Uruguay. Both players were always on the hunt for the goal, and not afraid to take shots from long distances. If there’s one thing they all have in common it’s that they love to score goals and seem to do a lot of it.

Look at players who score big goals, watch them play on TV and model your game after them. Goals are scored when players get themselves in the right place at the right time. How do you do that? Well, you read the play or take a chance. Will the keeper bobble the ball? Will the defender miss the ball and the ball will go through? Goal scorers make runs with the believe that their teammates will find them. Goal scorers take chances.

Here are some other good shooting drills:

• Master Accuracy Training: Day 1
• Master Accuracy Training: Day 2
• Master Accuracy Training: Day 3
• Master Accuracy Training: Hit the Target

Learn more at soccer shooting skills, how to knuckle the ball, and various ways to strike the ball.

Barcelona Target Practice

Messi, Iniesta, Dembele and the rest of Barcelona’s team practice striking the ball into small goals. What’s key is the run up before they shoot, they never take a shot from just a standing position. That’s rare, really only happens when taking a free kick in a real game.