Analyzing Team Play. What and Why.

If you go to any Internet soccer forum or message board you will find a frequent topic of discussion is the lack of proficiency in scoring goals. This is one of the areas I am most often asked to address in the team camps I conduct. There seems to a general consensus in thought that a magical drill or practice exercise exists that can improve a teams ability to score goals. Of course, this just isn't true.  In fact, the reasons a team struggles to score can often times be a lot more complicated than one might suspect. Before coming up with appropriate exercises to address a teams struggles to score I have to figure out why they are struggling to score.

A friend contacted me after the 2012 high school season lamenting his team generated 22 shots on goal for the entire season. On the other hand, they had converted on 21 of those chances!

For our purposes here we will use the official FIFA definition for shots on goal:  A shot on goal sees the struck ball travel within the frame of the goal and results either in a goal being scored or a save being made.  So, if the shot strikes post or bar and bounces out, this is not considered a shot on goal. And, of course, any shot high or wide of the goal is not considered a shot on goal.

The  coach referenced above is a former college goalkeeper and knows the correct definition of a shot on goal. So I was really curious as to how a team could convert on 21 of 22 chances. That is one of the most confounding statistics I have ever heard of. No wonder he was interested in getting his team to take more shots on goal!

The question I had to answer was, why only 22 shots on goal over the course of 17 games?

The first hint I got was the coach telling me his team refused to shoot from distance. They insisted on being at nearly point blank range before attempting a shot.  Aha! That explains the tremendous conversion rate. It also provided a vital clue in terms of questioning why they only took 22 shots on goal. My suspicion was a lack of striking skill and this was confirmed during my first session with the team. They didn't take more shots or shots from greater range because they could not execute the required skill to do so. Now, I knew where to begin addressing the issue of generating more shots.

Options for Wing Play

Options for wing play  

A wing player or wingers responsibility when attacking is to draw defenders to himself. If in possession of the ball, the winger needs to engage the defense. If by engaging a defender with an individual move the winger can defeat that defender he will have succeeded in taking two defenders out of position as a second defender must come to defend him. This is one method a winger can use to break down a defense. 

The winger can also defeat multiple defenders by passing the ball. If we think in terms of the traditional cross from the flank we recognize the possibility of eliminating several defenders with one “pass”.  It is also possible to defeat many defenders at the same time by utilizing an early cross to switch fields (width)  or by playing a runner forward down the line or in behind the backs (penetration). The early cross can be particularly disruptive to a defense attempting to establish its shape around the ball in a pressing method.  

The opposite wing should remain very wide while his teammate attacks on the other wing. This will help spread the defense out making his teammates job easier. The opposite wings path to goal is through the corner of the 18 to the corner of the 6 to the post of the goal. A common mistake made by young or inexperienced wingers is to move central when the ball is on the opposite flank. Think of it these terms: the space we wish to utilize for a shot on goal is that directly in front of the goal. By moving into that space prematurely we bring defenders there with us thus cluttering or reducing the very space we want to use. 

The Early Cross 

As the wing player approaches a position on the field that extends from the top of the 18 yard area he should consider beating a defender to the inside. Traveling with the ball long the top of the 18 causes multiple defenders to move   towards the wing carrying the ball leaving the middle and opposite sides of the field open. 

If defenders do not engage the wing carrying the ball, the wing should take the shot towards the back post of the goal. If defenders do move to engage the wing carrying the ball the wing should look for a short cross to the back post of the goal.

The opposite wing should remain very wide while his teammate attacks along the top of the 18 yard box. This will help keep the defense spread out making his teammates jobs easier by creating space in front of goal. The opposite wings path to goal is through the corner of the 18 to the corner of the 6 to the post of the goal. 

The Traditional Cross 

When the wing possesses the ball below the top of the 18, a traditional cross is often the best option. The ball should be played across the 18 yard box through the area between the 6 yard line and the penalty mark (12 yard line).

If the wing is attempting to cross the ball to a teammate attacking the near post the ball should be driven below waist high. 

If the wing is attempting to cross the ball to a teammate attacking the back post the ball should be played, driven or lofted as circumstances dictate,  head high.  

The opposite wing should remain very wide while his teammate attacks along the opposite side of the 18 yard area. This will help keep the defense spread out making his teammates jobs easier by creating space in front of goal. The opposite wings path to goal is through the corner of the 18 to the corner of the 6 and then on to the post of the goal. 

The Deadliest Cross

A third option for the winger is to attack along the end line towards the goal drawing defenders and attention to himself and the ball. The winger can then execute a “bangoo” or cross from the end line cutting the ball back across the defense to the penalty mark.  This is the deadliest cross as it is nearly impossible for a goalkeeper to defend against. 

The opposite wing should remain very wide while his teammate attacks along the end line. This will help keep the defense spread out making his teammates jobs easier by creating space in front of goal. The opposite wings path to goal remains through the corner of the 18 to the corner of the 6 and then on to the post of the goal. However, he also needs to be alert to the possibility of flattening his run and bending it off towards the penalty mark to play the deadliest of crosses.

 

Conversion Rates

In baseball, basketball, football and other team sports there are established success / failure rates that define the game and those who play it.  In baseball a Batting Average of .300 or 3 hits in 10 at bats establishes one as a great hitter or an Earned Run Average of 3.00 per nine innings establishes one as a great pitcher.  In basketball converting on 50% of field goal attempts or 33% of 3 pt field goal attempts are standard measures of success / failure.  In football averaging 5 yards per carry is an accepted measure of success for a running back.

What about success / fail rates in soccer?

I had once been told that converting 1 of every 10 shots on goal was an acceptable rate of conversion in soccer. A shot on goal being defined by the NCAA Soccer Statisticians Manual as being a shot on net (see Section 3, Article 3). An article at Soccer Analysts  makes a case for a rate of 10.8% or one goal in every 9.25 shots on goal with a median of 1 goal in every 11 shots in the 4 professional European leagues they tracked. So, 1 goal from every 10 shots on goal wasn't a bad number.

Now, if we refer back to the definition of a shot on goal we discover that "results of a shot on goal must be either a save by the goalkeeper or defending team or a goal by the attacking team. This would indicate the save percentage for goalkeepers should be fairly high and if we check the MLS statistics we find typical save percentages for starting goalkeepers consistently in the low 70's percentile range. 

I have never quite bought into the 10% conversion rate for scoring goals. In the interests of consistency and fairness I took a look at MLS conversion rates and discovered the top goalscorers are actually converting at a far higher rate than 10%.  In 2012 leading goal scorer Chris Wondolowski converted on 27 of 55 SOG or an eye opening 49% conversion rate. The league conversion rate was 29.8% or nearly 3 of every 10 SOG resulting in a goal scored.

It would seem logical to look at what percentage of "shots" are actually "shots on goal".  This number is actually quite low at 25.6% for the 2012 MLS season or a little better than 1 of every 4 shots taken are actually shots on goal. If we look at the conversion rate of goals in the context of total shots taken the number drops all the way to 7.6% which is a little worse than the 1 in 10 number originally quoted to me.

What does it all mean?

I am reminded of hockey great Wayne Gretzky's quote, "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take."

Quite simply, one must shoot if one wishes to score, but accuracy of shooting (shots on goal) is extremely important as the conversion rates referenced above attest to. The more shots taken that a player or team can put on goal the better the chances are for scoring. Common sense stuff, correct? 

Creative Problem Solving: Goal Scoring Edition.

I love it when players find creative ways to solve the problems they encounter on the field of play.

 

This is crazy!

 

 

 

Only those who attempt the absurd

 

will achieve the impossible.

 

GREAT GOAL!

 

SNOW doubt about it!

My U17 team played a college showcase event in temperatures that hovered around 30- 35 degrees last week and it actually wasn't too bad. Our league has been postponing matches because of cold weather and forecasted cold weather for days now. And then there was our United States Men's National Team playing a World Cup Qualifier against Costa Rica in Denver, Colorado during a blizzard!

I love the idea of home pitch advantage. We took the Costa Ricans to the Mile High City to play at altitude and seasonably chilly weather only to be blessed with blizzard conditions. And they played on!

Have to credit the Costa Ricans for playing through it all. Great effort by them!  They could have folded and just played it out, gotten on their flight home and cursed the soccer gods for such rotton luck, but they battled and were quite dangerous at times.  At the 55 minute mark when it looked like the game might be called, the Costa Ricans were standing side by side with the Americans extolling the referee to allow them to play on!  Gotta love it!  That spirit and their effort made this an epic match to watch!

That's not to discount the United States effort for it was superior as well. Dempsy slamming home the rebound for a goal will be frozen into US soccer lore for all time. The images of players and referees with snow accumulating and freezing in their hair. Snow crews shoveling lines, injured players lying in the snow... pretty sure no one was flopping last night.  All memorable and in front of a sold out stadium crowd whose numbers will go from 19,000+  to 190,000+ as the tale of this game is recounted through the ages.

An extraordinary effort by the referee crew as well.  How they could see the lines at times is beyond me. Did the CR miss a foul in the PA that would have given the US a penalty kick?  Who knows?  Sure looked like the player was inside where the PA was supposed to be, but who knows?  Just thankful the visibility was good enough for the AR to see the offside on the Costa Rican goal... and for the CR to see the AR's flag up although I imagine they had buzzers on the flag and a communications system for the referees per usual.

I found myself yelling at the TV for the US players to "Clear it!"  or "Just boot it down to the other end!".... lol.... normally sacrilege, but last nights game was anything but normal. Far, far from it.

At the final whistle, The United States had earned a much needed 3 points... and a huge amount of respect for fighting through a blizzard to secure them. Well done gentlemen!