Throw In Drills at Soccer Practice: Are they important?


by Scott Carlson - Date: 2007-07-01 - Word Count: 328 Share This!

Many coaches treat throw-ins as if they were a small part of the game. While you shouldn't spend very little time practicing the act of throwing the ball, it is important for your players to understand what constitutes a legal throw in, and what their priorities should be when they take one.

Especially in the defensive third of the field, maintaining possession of the ball or clearing it way out of the defensive third should be the highest priority. Players should try to throw the ball to a wide-open teammate who can take possession, as long as they are not under heavy defensive pressure.

In the deep defensive third, throwing the ball to the goalie is also an option. Emphasis possession of the ball and low risk passes that are unlikely to get stolen. If every option is covered because all of your teammates are marked, a throw up the line to a teammate who can either take control, pass it, or clear it up field.

On offense, many scoring opportunities can take shape from quick throw ins. The combination of a quick throw and a sleeping defender is a recipe for a ripe scoring opportunity. Make sure your team understands that there is no offside on a throw in, so if the defense is caught sleeping up the field, throw it in fast and go to goal.

Spending time practicing throw-ins is not necessary as long as your players perform legal throw-ins that are effective given the situation and position on the field. On defense, this means not losing the ball where it can be stole by an opponent that can easily score. When you are attacking, you can be more risky and try to throw the ball into open space and make a run or simply maintain possession and move the ball around until an opportunity develops. If you need some drills, check out http://www.soccerdrillbook.com for Free Soccer Drills, along with 20 pre-planned practices that will transform any team!

Related Tags: coaching, training, sports, parents, games, soccer, parenting, coach, practice, drills

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