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Theme of this practice is ground balls.
Time |
Drill
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5 Min |
Active Stretching
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10 Min |
Talk About Ground Balls
Its important to teach your players about how controlling ground balls can win games. The following points are good pieces of information to tell your kids.
- The team that wins more "GB's" is going to get extra possessions and extra chances to score. It is that simple.
- These extra possessions are also likely to be followed by "unsettled situations,"- a 4-on-3 Fast Break or 5-on-4 Slow Break of some kind.
- Transition goals are easier to score because there is almost always an unbalance of players
- Always scoop and and move the ball
- Let's work on calling Ball/Man and not Man/Ball
- Its important to make quick passes down field after winning a ground ball. The concept of "ground ball - pass - pass" gives us a high chance of scoring
- After a ground ball, two guys should look to be adjacent for a quick pass, and someone should be backside pipe
Ground Ball Statistics
- The team with the most possessions has a greater chance of winning the game
- At the College Division 1 level each team gathers approx 30 ground balls per game
- If you win exactly 50% of the ground balls you have a 50% chance of winning the game
- The more ground balls you win the higher percentage your chance of winning the game are
- Most ground balls are won after faceoffs
- Let's say there are 60 ground balls per game. If our team wins 35 and they win 25 we now have a 60% chance of winning the game
- Teams with a -5 ground ball differential win only about 1/4 of their games
- If we win 10 more ground balls per game then our competition we have a 70% chance of winning the game
http://www.laxpower.com/content/mauboussin/stats_analysis.php?page=2
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15 Min |
Buckeye Ground Ball
- Drill teaches kids to scoop the ball on the run and make two quick passes (Ground Ball - Pass - Pass)
- Teaches kids to get a proper angle as an adjacent for receiving a pass
Drill
- Make 3 lines of kids with the outside lines being 10 yards apart
- Put the balls in the middle with two goalies to the outside of the outside lines
- Roll a ball out, have the middle guy scoop it up, pick a side to throw to, and then throw to the other guy
- Last guy with the ball circles or question mark and then passes to a goalie and we repeat
- Have some confusion in the middle and run continual
- Variation: Add a chaser for the 2nd and 3rd pass
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5 Min |
Water
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15 Min |
1v1v1 Ground Ball Transition
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFBXWgeg3kc
Fast paced ground ball to transition drill emphasizing "GB - Pass - Pass"
- Use a full field for transition play
- Create 3 lines of kids at the end line behind the goal and outside the box
- Create 2 lines of kids to be used as transition players (on the same side line of the field)
- First line of transition players should be in between box and the mid line
- Second line of transition players should be in between the box and the mid line at the other end of the field
- Coach stands by the 3 lines of kids and gently rolls a ball out
- X1, X2, X3 all fight for the ball (every man for themselves)
- Whoever wins passes to the first line of transitions players and that man passes to the second line of transition players
- Right away the two in the line that lost play again 1v1, the winner passes to the next transition
- Finally the guy that lost twice, does it 1v0 and passes to the next transition
- Each player rotates to the next line
- Have the last transition player come down and place the ball near the coach
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5 Min |
Water
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10 Min |
Steal the Bacon Musical Chairs
- Count the number of players (x)
- Add x-1 balls into a goalie stick
- Line the players up around the box
- Roll the balls into the box
- Players battle for ground balls until none are left
- Player without a ground ball goes out and we remove a ball
- Continue until only 1 player wins
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10 Min |
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5 Min |
Water
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15 Min |
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10 Min |
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5 Min |
Water
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10 Min |
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