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Technical Proficiency
"Practice doesn't make perfect, practice makes permanent," therefore it is crucial that when you are training you spend valuable time concentrating on learning correct techniques.
What do you understand by the word technique? Explain what you think it means.
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Technique is how you perform a certain soccer skill such as passing or shooting. If you look at a brilliant goal scored by a great shot, you can look at the players shooting action and break it down into certain technical points.
Remember when you started to ride your bike and you kept falling off because you tried to go too fast? Well that was because you didn't learn the correct techniques. In soccer practices most young players want to rush into playing games before they have laid the technical foundations, which are the pillars of your future performance.
You can learn these techniques from watching soccer on television, videos, attending professional games, and also from good players you train with. You should then try to copy or imitate what you have seen. Next, try to introduce what you have learned by doing it in a game.
In the following section try to remember back to the sessions we spent on each area of the game. Think out the questions carefully and try to imagine yourself actually doing what is described and what would happen in each case.
Put a circle around the letter you think represents the correct answer.
DRIBBLING
1) When dribbling use:
A. only the inside of your foot.
B. all surfaces of the foot.
C. mainly the outside of the foot.
2) When dribbling you should;
A. keep the ball under your feet.
B. keep the ball 5 meters away from you.
C. keep the ball close to you.
3) When dribbling you should try to run;
A. the same pace all the time.
B. while changing speed and direction.
C. as slow as possible.
4) When dribbling keep your eyes;
A. looking up as much as possible.
B. looking at your feet.
C. looking at the ball.
* When you are working on your technique you must be patient. Don't expect it to come straight away. Once you get it right you will never lose it.
HEADING
1) When heading the ball keep you eyes on;
A. the player you are heading to.
B. the ball.
C. the defender nearest to you.
2) When heading the ball you feet should be;
A. along side each other.
B. one behind the other.
C. as close together as possible.
3) When heading the ball in defense
A. get in line with it.
B. head it down.
C. head it up.
4) When heading to get more power:
A. jump.
B. arch your back and follow through.
C. use your legs more.
In this next section you have to give 3 technical points of how to perform each skill.
PASSING
1) .........................................................................................................................................
2) .........................................................................................................................................
3) .........................................................................................................................................
CONTROLLING
1) ..........................................................................................................................................
2) ..........................................................................................................................................
3) ..........................................................................................................................................
SHOOTING
1) ...........................................................................................................................................
2) ...........................................................................................................................................
3) ...........................................................................................................................................
1) Imagine you are the coach and you have a new player arrive at your session. He has never played before and keeps asking you "when can we play?" Write down what you would say to him about how important technique is to him. Answer under 3 areas:
A. what is technique
B. why is it important
C. what will happen in a game if he doesn't learn this
2) Explain how you would teach him to defend against a striker who has his back to goal.
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