Are Small Sided Games the Best for Soccer Practice

My answer to that question is YES! Before I get into the reasons for my answer, let me qualify that answer. What I mean by small sided soccer games are 3v3 and 5v5 games.

Here is my rationale:

• Touches on the ball: In a 5v5 game, there are plenty of touches to go around. The more quality touches a player can accumulate, the better they will become. I hope you caught the word "quality" in that previous sentence. Quality means just that, don't allow your players to have a bad first touch repeatedly, work with them to get a quality first touch in these games.
• Composure with the ball: In a 3v3 game where you put some size restrictions into place, players now must learn to keep possession of the ball while maintaining their composure. Pressure in a small sided, tight space will be plentiful....so they will definitely learn to deal with that pressure in games like this.
• Speed of play: Because of constant pressure, players will also learn how to play quicker with the ball. Enhancing a high quality, quicker pace game can help players and teams alike.
• Athletic performance: If the tempo is high and the play is quick, this will force players to move quickly as well. A players speed and agility is definitely enhanced by small sided games.
• Movement off the ball: players now need to move quickly off the ball and get into supportive positions to a teammate that has the ball.
• Communication is also critical now because of the speed of play, and tighter field constraints. Having teammates working on giving verbal help and cues to their teammates will help make for better play on the big field.

One thing I like to also do before I get into a small sided 5v5 game is have the players work on some technical skill (ie. stepover move). During the small sided games then, I will award a point for any players that execute a proper "stepover" in the game.

In summary, my belief is training your players in a small sided manner (3v3 or 5v5) offers the players many quality touches on the ball, enhancing their speed of play and their overall speed and agility. Composure with the ball and Communication skills are also greatly developed.

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Have a great day!

Gary

http://www.soccerandspeedcoach.com/