How do I get players to stop diving in?

In recent high school games I have watched there seems to be a pandemic of missed tackles as a result of over running plays, stabbing at the ball and diving in when patience is required so I thought I would repost this for the benefit of coaches and players alike.

Diving in or stabbing at the ball is a common mistake made by young or inexperienced soccer players. The defending player, in an attempt to tackle the ball away from an opposing ball carrier, will lunge at the ball. Bad, bad things can happen when defenders do this,

1) They dead leg themselves.  That is, when the foot they lunged with hits the ground that leg becomes exploitable by the carrier.

2) The defender turns himself sideways presenting a far smaller obstacle to the ball carrier to deal with.



Recognizing when a tackle can be attempted is one way to address diving in.  Follow this simple rule;  Do not attempt a tackle if the ball is in close proximity to the ball carrier and between his feet. Wait until the ball is outside of the ball carriers footprints OR he misplays the ball far enough away from his feet as to present it to you for the taking.

There is another means for addressing the problem of diving in.  Teach your players to keep their feet active while playing containing or delaying defense.  We have all seen defensive drills that require a player to be in a proper defensive stance with his feet churning.  That's what we want!  It is extremely difficult to stab at the ball or dive in if your feet are moving.

Teach your defenders to approach the ball carrier in a manner to make the ball carrier predictable. The path is often described as an "?" approach to the ball. Other coaches prefer to say channel first, close down second meaning to get in front of the ball carrier at an advanced position and then approach. In both cases it is essential to utilize a bounce step at the moment of engaging the ball carrier. 

A bounce step is simply planting firmly on the lead foot and bouncing back away from the ball carrier and into a good defensive stance. Doing this prevents the ball carrier from using your momentum against you.  Immediately after the bounce step get their feet churning. Stress contain / delay defense.  Stress the cues for knowing when to tackle.