6 SOCCER DEFENDING TIPS
Here are 6 helpful soccer defending tips to make more tackles, interceptions, and become a better defender overnight.
As a soccer player, defending can be a challenging yet crucial aspect of the game. It’s a skill that requires a lot of practice, dedication, and technique.
In this blog post, I’ll be sharing my top six soccer defending tips that will help you improve your defending skills and become a better soccer player.
Soccer Defending Tips
- Use your body
When it comes to defending in soccer, using your body is key. You can’t rely on just putting your foot in to make a tackle. You need to be able to use your body to body your opponent off the ball. This is similar to the cut-off tackle but with significant force. Being light on your toes and running with the attacker, getting your body in front of them is crucial. This allows you to take control of the situation and reduce the chances of a foul.
- Press with directional intention
Pressing with the intention of winning the ball into a certain space or direction is a great way to attack rather than just stopping the opposition. As a winger, for example, picking the ball off an opposing side-back and bursting inwards towards the goal is a good example of pressing with directional intention. When pressing, your angle of approach is essential. You need to think about how you’re going to trap the opponent and take away their passing options by pushing them towards trouble or out of bounds.
- Be aware of body control
Being intense while pressing is essential, but you also need to be aware of your body control. Strides, posture, and center of gravity are critical aspects to keep in mind. When you get closer, it’s important to have your body in an athletic stance, light on your toes, and ready to change direction if necessary. Also, your body positioning should be directed to the left or right to take control of the situation.
- Crunch the first challenge
Setting the tone with a hard tackle can make all the difference in a soccer game. Hitting hard tackles early in the match will get into your opponent’s head and make them more reactive to your play. This can also benefit you throughout the game by forcing your opponent to make more mistakes and focus more on you than their game.
- Keep possession of the ball
Teams often make the mistake of sitting back and defending their lead, giving more possession to their opponents. This can lead to the other team building more confidence and playing their way back into the game. The best teams retain possession, kill the game off, and don’t give the ball away. Sitting back and giving the ball to the other team is always dangerous because you are giving control to the opposition. Even if you don’t need to score more goals, the best defense is keeping possession of the ball.
- Enjoy defending
Finally, defending is often considered harder than attacking because players tend to have less passion for it. However, if you start to find pleasure in making tackles, interceptions, blocking shots, and winning the ball back from your opponents, then defending becomes easier. The key is to enjoy what you’re doing, practice it, and improve your skills.
Best Tips For Defending In Soccer
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1v1 Defending Soccer Tips
In summary, these are my six soccer defending tips: use your body, press with directional intention, be aware of body control, crunch the first challenge, keep possession of the ball, and enjoy defending. By following these tips, you can improve your defending skills, become a better soccer player, and enjoy the game even more.
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6 Soccer Defending Tips – How to make more tackles!
