Drills for Central Midfielders 2-Pack

with Brandon Koons,
Otterbein University Head Women's Soccer Coach;
2010 NCAA D-III Final Four; 8x Ohio Athletic Conference regular-season and 5x OAC Tournament Champions;
5x OAC Coach of the Year; has earned a USSF "B" License and an NSCAA Premier Diploma

Midfielders are one of the more important positions in the game and need to constantly support and help their teammates.

In this video, Brandon Koons shows you how he trains the technical application of individual skills for midfielders to dominate the center of the field. You will learn how important it is to have the correct body shape, timing of runs, proper decision making, and the right attitude to excel.

Coach Koons breaks up this video into three keys areas. Within each, he breaks down and shows numerous progressions that will help your team be dangerous in the midfield. Coach Koons provides in-depth illustrations both on a white board and on the field to show key technical elements for your players. Coach Koons explains the teaching points he emphasizes during the exercises:

• The movement and supporting angles needed from supporting players.
• Reading the play and making the proper decisions based on positioning.
• Runs that trigger other runs in the midfield third.
• The importance of scanning and checking your shoulder for better vision.

Turning

Koons addresses the ability to turn in a dynamic setting by demonstrating a three-man unopposed passing pattern that lays the foundation to his team's ability to turn and play forward. The emphasis in this drill is on developing a good sense of rhythm when passing and making sure the angles of support are correct. He progresses by adding additional ways to be able to turn and face up the opposition.

Watch as Coach Koons walks his team through dealing with overweighted passes and how the center middies take pace off the ball to make a successful turn and pass. Conversely, see how to deal with an underweighted pass. The benefits of proper body positioning and an awareness of the playing environment are also discussed.

Passing and Dribbling

Koons walks through a series of passing and dribbling progressions that encourage good on-ball and off-ball movement. Throughout the progressions, he encourages ball movement through an emphasis on creativity, which is supported by communication, touch quality, an understanding of run shape, and an awareness of game space.

Overlapping

Learn a great progression to work on tight overlapping runs and how the center midfielder moves and interacts within a confined area. See how Koons teaches his players the different types of runs they can make to not only create space for themselves, but also the ability to combine and find third man runners. Throughout the unopposed exercises, he continues to stress how important off the ball movement can be to rip even the most compact defenses apart in a competitive environment.

The overlapping drills build on the prior drills in this video and are a good way to tie the session together.

Although designed for the center midfielder, these drills will benefit players of any position, including goalies. Koons does a great job detailing the drills on a whiteboard and then taking it to the field. Every coach must teach their team how to skillfully play through the midfield, and Coach Koons gives you the tools to do just that - and more!

126 minutes. 2017.

with Brandon Koons,
Otterbein University Head Women's Soccer Coach;
2010 NCAA D-III Final Four; 8x Ohio Athletic Conference regular-season and 5x OAC Tournament Champions;
5x OAC Coach of the Year; has earned a USSF "B" License and an NSCAA Premier Diploma

Games at the highest level are won or lost in the midfield third, and coaches are always seeking the upper hand to dominate this key area. Your midfield players must possess the technical skill to be able to expose the spaces in front, behind, and in the flanks of the opposition.

Brandon Koons demonstrates a series of small-sided games he uses to build exceptional midfield players, which has made his teams an attacking threat en route to 13 conference titles. Coach Koons breaks up this video into six keys games. Within each game, he breaks down and shows numerous progressions that will help your team be dangerous in the midfield.

Using in-depth illustrations, both on a white board and on the field, Koons explains the teaching points he emphasizes during the exercises:

• The movement and angles needed from supporting players.
• Reading the play and making proper decisions based on positioning to find numbers-up situations.
• What runs trigger other runs to penetrate going forward.
• The importance of scanning and checking your shoulder for better vision.

Center midfielders need to practice the critical skill of turning, as well as connecting right-to-left and back-to-front. Watch as Coach Koons sets up a series of small sided games that focus on quick ball movement in a small space. These transition games teach players how to defend in a frantic environment as well as how to counterattack quickly when winning the ball. The progressions build these games up from an individual focus to a team focus to drive home the concept.

Passing and Dribbling

See how space manipulation within the small-sided games determines the speed and quality of passing and dribbling required for the center midfielder to control the game. These games force players to perform under controlled defensive pressure and be aware of maximizing the space available to play in. The fast and chaotic pace of these transition games forces players to be very aware of how the game develops in order to be successful.

Awareness

All of the small sided games presented by Coach Koons are excellent training methods to help develop field awareness. These games involve constant movement within a quick and ever-changing environment. In addition to building on individual skills, these games develop knowing where players are within the game and how they're impacting it. These games tie the technical, tactical, and cognitive skills of the center midfielder together.

Small Sided Games

The games presented on this video include:

• North, South, East, West - The emphasis in this physical and psychologically-demanding game is on developing transition. As the game progresses in numbers, the angles of support are critical to maintain possession and build.
• End Zone Game - This is where Coach Koons trains players to evaluate the spaces and options given to them by the defenders. It's during this game that Koons stresses which balls to play based on straight or angles runs and how important verbal and non-verbal communication can be in the midfield.
• Double End Zone Game - Here, Koons teaches players to play off a forward's feet and what runs can be made off of it to be dangerous. He reiterates the importance of the different types of runs his players can make to not only create space for themselves, but also the ability to combine and find third-man runners.
• The Mourinho Game - In this game, players are always on their toes and ready to not only take advantage of numbers-up situations, but also to delay and defend based on the coach's command. Based on what number the coach calls, certain players have to quickly change which field they are playing on to sprint and quickly assess the situation on the next field of play.
• Four Goal Game - Coach Koons introduces how to create numbers-up situations with the player on the ball. During the five different progressions in this game, players are able to experience different situations on how to penetrate through playing off a target player, through balls, and the runs coming out of the midfield to create third man runs.

Through the use of small area games and space manipulation, see how to help your players become effective and efficient at ball movement. Using these competitive transition games from Coach Koons, you'll be able to teach your team how individual skills benefit team play.

145 minutes. 2017.