FineSoccer Kids 8

Welcome to the FineSoccer Kids Newsletter. Today's subject will deal with how to call for the ball.

Too often, when a player wants for one of her teammates to pass her the ball, they stand with their hand in the air as if that is an effective way to ask for the pass. To make matters worse, this person with their hand in the air often is standing behind a defender (meaning that there is a defender between the player with the ball and the player who wants the ball making it very difficult for them to receive the ball). How is the player with the ball supposed to be able to find a stationary teammate waving her hand???

The other thing you see is the player wanting the to receive the pass and they way she indicates her interest in getting the ball is by screaming, "I'm open, I'm open". What players don't seem to realize is that yelling something like that isn't very helpful at all. How much more effective would it be for the player to call for the ball by telling the player with the ball "look square right" or something like that. The more specific you can be to let the player on the ball know exactly where you are, the more likely she will be to find you.

However, an even better way to call for the ball is to do it in a non-verbal way. The first thing you want to do if you want to receive the ball is to put yourself in a position where it's in your teammates best interest to pass you the ball. A well-known college coach uses the term "run to ask". What this means is that if you want the ball, make a good run to put yourself in position to receive the ball. A player is much more likely to play the ball to a teammate making a run than they are to a player who is standing still. This is a form of a non-verbal way to communicate your desire to get the ball.

To sum up this quick pointer, if you want to call for the ball verbally, be specific. However, if you really want to receive the ball, ask for the pass by making a hard run for the ball. Ask for the pass with the run and call for the ball as specifically as possible and you are more likely to receive the ball

Any comments, questions or suggestions should be sent to kidscomments@finesoccer.com.

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Have a great day!

Lawrence