Here are 4 quick tips to improve your youth soccer team’s offensive line play:

“Who” to block is as or more important than “How” to block for most youth soccer teams.

Even the biggest block on the wrong player can result in lost soccer plays.

On the other hand, many times even a poorly executed block on the correct player can impede the defender long enough for his team to make a relegation gain from the play.

Some things to consider:

1) In order for your team to be able to effectively block the correct player on every play, you must have a simple and solid blocking scheme and rules. Our blocking rule on most plays is GOD, inner space, “on”, down unconditional. The player looks first into the interior space, if there is no one, they look towards “on”. if no one is there, they move to an unconditional drop block.

2) You should teach the schematic to the players in a way that they can understand it and where it becomes second nature to them. We do a lot of freeze drills and first two steps. I also assigned our best coach to the offensive line.

3) Your offense should take time during practice to make sure every play goes perfectly. Make sure the correct player is blocked on each play and that the first steps and head placement are correct using methods such as “birdie” and snap and freeze. These methods include the offensive line taking steps on its 1-2-3-4 count and “snapping in” on the defender to block. This is a slow motion exercise, not a live fight.

4) Technique is important too, but “who” to block is often the most neglected area with most youth soccer teams.

150 Free Youth Soccer Coaching Tips For You Here: Youth Soccer

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