Finishing drills for U9-U10

Draw the keeper out, wait for him to commit, then take it round him and roll it in. The finish that looks easy and is missed constantly.

Cutting inside onto the strong foot is the most predictable move in modern football, and it still works. Predictable is not the same as stoppable.

Killing the pace on a dropping ball is the whole exercise. Get that touch right and the shot becomes the easy part of the repetition.

Holding the ball with your back to goal is physical before it is technical. Accept the contact, stay side on, refuse to be moved.

Three runners arriving together is one runner. Stagger them and a pull-back anywhere across the face finds somebody unmarked.

Beating a man and finishing are two different skills, and most players only practise one. This joins them into a single repetition.

Beating a pair is a different problem from beating a man. The second defender is covering, so the move has to occupy him too.

A good first touch is not a still ball, it is a ball in a better place. Cushion it away from the marker and towards goal, then finish.

One defender facing two attackers has exactly one correct play, and it is to delay. Passing early lets him off the hook.

Time the run so the strike is first time and the run never stops. Body over the ball, knee over it, laces through the middle.

Rebound goals are decided before the shot is taken. Somebody has to already be moving while everyone else watches the strike.

Separation comes from movement, not speed. Go where you do not want the ball first, and the space behind opens by itself.

Get to the byline first, then pull it back low and firm into the golden zone. The cutback beats a defence because everyone is facing the wrong way.

The turn is won before the ball arrives. Move the marker, show at an angle, take the first touch away from him, then finish low.

The most common clear chance in football, drilled from both sides. Striker decides early and places it, keeper sets, advances and spreads late.

In a shooting circuit the set is harder than the shot. A bad lay-off ruins a repetition for two players and nobody blames the setter.