goal kick strategy

banjobongo

I watch soccer every week, ranging from my kids (U9 and U11), to following my team Limerick in the Irish premier league up to the international matches, and recently I have been wondering about what is the best strategy for a goal kick?
I know very little about soccer apart from playing with my kids at home adn watching matches, but from what I have seen there seems to be 2 main strategies:
1/roll/pass the ball to one of your defenders on your team and then move it up the field. Advantages of this method - accuracy, you dont lose the ball to the other side, so you have more control. Downside is you dont get the ball up quickly.
2/lash the ball up the field and hope that somehow one of your own players connects with the ball!
Am I right?
If so, which is the best method for doing a goal kick, for:
1/experienced LOI/premier league/senior teams?
2/kids learning?

Interested to hear feedback especially from goalies!

Mitch Connor

If you have faith in your players - short pass where possible - maintain possession. Kids should be encouraged to play this way but it also doesn't matter in a lot of cases.

1. Generally kid keepers won't be kicking far so it makes no real difference.
2. Should always be looking to develop a kids control, awareness and technique - so always encourage the passing game. Knocking it long lowers percentages and just plays to the team with the bigger kids - not helpful to actual football ability.

Mars Bar

This is probably for the soccer coaching forum but anyway...

For kids, they can't kick the ball far so I try and get the full backs to spread high and wide and the two centre backs spread to the edges of the box. A midfield player should also be ready to receive the ball centrally. The problem that arises from this is A) are your players good enough to turn on the ball and is there any communication.

For LOI, the players have the quality to do the short pass and should do when they can. It then depends on the opposition. If they're a team that presses high up the pitch and pressures quickly then it might not be a good idea.

GavRedKing

Short pass to the FB's although most teams will look to cut this out, you may get away with it every now and again but a good disciplined side will have see it coming after the first attempt and you maybe forced to go long.

If you've got a guy that's good in the air and a keeper with a decent kick, accurate and powerful enough, send him to stand on one of the opposition FB's usually the smaller one and pump balls into him and get people moving off him, simple and effective if the short option isnt available.

Lovely Bloke

Not "one of the defenders". It absolutely must be one of the full backs, even then, it must be the full back on the side where the ball is. That's if you are going short, which as said, is good if your full backs are good in posession and can keep the ball. NOT if they are idiots who try to beat two men every time, they are going to lose the ball and you are going to be under pressure in your own half.

If the full back is good, he will find a midfielder, or a winger and you build an attack - it is probably the best form for kick out strategy, but it's easily figured out, and doesn't take long for the opposition to start marking your full backs when you get a goal kick.

NEVER, under any circumstances pass it to your centre halves, at any level other than top flight professional where the CHs are decent ball players, all you are doing is giving it to a player who is either going to lump it forward, or lose posession. they also have to pretty much turn their back on the whole pitch to receive the ball - not good. A full back only has to do a quarter turn to receive the ball from the keeper.

For long kick outs, you need an accurate goalkeeper, and someone who is going to win the ball in the air. You ALSO need players to get close to the target, who are going to win the "second ball", otherwise all you are doing is knocking it down for the opposition's midfield to regain posession. So, get your best aerial man to be the receover of the long goal kick, and get your best ball player in and around him to receive the ball and take it forward. The "best aerial" is not necessarily just the tallest lump, he also needs some intelligence to knock the ball in the correct direction of the player to get on it.

Dempsey

A mixture of both should be employed to keep the opposition guessing. Always looking to play it short will draw the opposition to press high up the field. Always going long will lead to crowding out of your target man/men. Enourage your players to move into space when the keeper recieves the ball so he has options for a quick release.

Mars Bar

Also, if you're going to do the short pass to the full backs, you really should be kicking the ball from the centre of the goal. That will mean you've equal distance to both full backs.

SantryRed

When I was a kid it was always short passes to the full backs.

But these days I play on a team who like to get the ball down, so it's either short to one of the centre halves who will be on the opposite edges of the 18 yard line, a lofted ball to the full back on who's side your on, or a ping to the winger who should be isolated on the full back.

Key to kickouts regardless of what you are doing is to spread the team, much more likely to keep possession that way.

recyclebin

Vary it or it will become predictable. Also having code words or hand signals can be used so players can be ready and know where to go.

wandatowell

Goal kicks are all about "hang time" for me




THUMP THE F*CKIN THING!!!!

dreamers75

Watch what St Pats do for the ultimate option, 2 CBs go to the corner of the 18 yard box, 2 FBs hug the touch line at centre line. Striker pulls in onto the smallest CB. Wingers go and hug touchline, 2 AMFs push onto the striker. DMF drops towards keeper.

Keeper chooses what option to take and hes a fairly decent passer of the ball but he has 5 options everytime. We do that every single time and more often than not we keep possesion on the ground.

Mars Bar

dreamers75 wrote: »

Watch what St Pats do for the ultimate option, 2 CBs go to the corner of the 18 yard box, 2 FBs hug the touch line at centre line. Striker pulls in onto the smallest CB. Wingers go and hug touchline, 2 AMFs push onto the striker. DMF drops towards keeper.

Keeper chooses what option to take and hes a fairly decent passer of the ball but he has 5 options everytime. We do that every single time and more often than not we keep possesion on the ground.

It's a huge feature in Limerick's game also. It's quite tough to get the ball back off them then.

BhoscaCapall

If your keeper can't kick it very far then get another player to take it. At that level your main aim is to clear the danger rather than set up an attack for your own team, so try and get the ball as far as possible and always play it to the wings as it's less of a danger area should the other team win possession.

Iused2likebusts

recyclebin wrote: »

Vary it or it will become predictable. Also having code words or hand signals can be used so players can be ready and know where to go.

Thats line outs in rugby your thinking about there.

Iused2likebusts

dreamers75 wrote: »

Watch what St Pats do for the ultimate option, 2 CBs go to the corner of the 18 yard box, 2 FBs hug the touch line at centre line. Striker pulls in onto the smallest CB. Wingers go and hug touchline, 2 AMFs push onto the striker. DMF drops towards keeper.

Keeper chooses what option to take and hes a fairly decent passer of the ball but he has 5 options everytime. We do that every single time and more often than not we keep possesion on the ground.

Thats the strategy employed by most teams nowadays and the one coached to youngsters. Thank God its replaced the whack it down the middle strategy unless your Trappatoni.

BOHtox

I'd definitely get one of the "footballers" to come short and try and play some simple passes. If that's not on a big centre half to hoof it up the pitch is what I'd go for. Preferably the former though

Mars Bar

BhoscaCapall wrote: »

If your keeper can't kick it very far then get another player to take it. At that level your main aim is to clear the danger rather than set up an attack for your own team, so try and get the ball as far as possible and always play it to the wings as it's less of a danger area should the other team win possession.

Which level are you talking about?