So finishing is interesting. At the earliest ages it involves learning some mechanics like the touch leading to the shot, where to plant your foot, striking the ball with power and following through, striking with laces as opposed to toe, where and how to look, and learning to not shoot directly at the keeper and to try for the corners without overshooting. But from there it gets complicated. I have a GK, but through his training I've observed that different locations call for a different type of shot. There's the basic rule of tall keeper low shot, small keeper high shot. At around U12-U15 non-futsal players get into lazy habits of trying to strike it always over the goalkeeper since in the big goals they usually can't always manage the cross bar. But really kids should be learning when each shot is appropriate: such as a toe poke for a keeper that's off balance, a chip for a keeper that's off the line, an inside foot for a keeper making a diagonal run towards the wing, a toe flex from a shot way out of the box, striking center of the ball for a low shot in the goalbox, and then there's the really fancy stuff such as curling the ball or knuckling it.
So for parents of attacking players when and where are they learning this (or are they even learning this....have seen quite a few gifted strikers from top level teams only know the 1 basic laces shot)? Watching the last 3 clubs my son played for, most of finishing practice consisted of the basic mechanics of shooting all from the center of the box, which I discounted since they were young teams starting out (of course you learn the basics first). His first club and second club, though, did finishing practice for all the attacking players (regardless of level) together which meant there's always some new bronze team which means starting with the basics again (and neither had any goalkeepers present so adult coaches filled in). At some higher level soccer camps and finishing clinics he attended, I noticed a lot of when playing without others feedling the ball down the center and having the strikers self-practice the shots, or in the alternate, 1 v 1 drills where the emphasis is more passing and finding the opening rather than the mechanics of when and how to take a proper shot.
So where do kids, after learning the basics, pick up the mechanics of learning how to take the various 10-12 different types of shots and their advanced variations? Is this something the current curriculum just expects them to pick up on their own through experiments or watching youtube? Or is it taught in team practice as they get older higher level (I can't imagine most coaches have the time to teach each player the individual mechanics of a particular shot at a particular location on the field)? Or is it only learned in privates?
So for parents of attacking players when and where are they learning this (or are they even learning this....have seen quite a few gifted strikers from top level teams only know the 1 basic laces shot)? Watching the last 3 clubs my son played for, most of finishing practice consisted of the basic mechanics of shooting all from the center of the box, which I discounted since they were young teams starting out (of course you learn the basics first). His first club and second club, though, did finishing practice for all the attacking players (regardless of level) together which meant there's always some new bronze team which means starting with the basics again (and neither had any goalkeepers present so adult coaches filled in). At some higher level soccer camps and finishing clinics he attended, I noticed a lot of when playing without others feedling the ball down the center and having the strikers self-practice the shots, or in the alternate, 1 v 1 drills where the emphasis is more passing and finding the opening rather than the mechanics of when and how to take a proper shot.
So where do kids, after learning the basics, pick up the mechanics of learning how to take the various 10-12 different types of shots and their advanced variations? Is this something the current curriculum just expects them to pick up on their own through experiments or watching youtube? Or is it taught in team practice as they get older higher level (I can't imagine most coaches have the time to teach each player the individual mechanics of a particular shot at a particular location on the field)? Or is it only learned in privates?
