Crossing, Finishing, Shooting Drill

Chris Johnson 290,290 Views Rating 3.98 (109 Reviews)

This crossing, finishing soccer drill is all about scoring goals. This drill is a great training tool to perfect crossing, finishing, and heading in soccer. 

Soccer Drill Diagram: Crossing, Finishing, Shooting Drill

Soccer Crossing and Finishing Shooting Drill

This crossing, finishing soccer drill is all about scoring goals. This drill is a great training tool to perfect crossing, finishing, and heading in soccer. 
Drill Setup

  1. Place a goalkeeper in a full-size goal.
  2. Assign your midfielders, flanks, and outside backs as servers on the penalty area's right and left sides.
  3. The remaining players create three additional lines in the middle of the field for the finishers who crash the box once the cross is prepped and ready to be served.
Drill Instructions

  1. The right flank player dribbles to the end line on the coach's command and sends in a cross between 6 and 12 yards from goal.
  2. The players in the three finishing lines make curved runs and attack the near post, middle, and far post to finish on goal as quickly as possible.
  3. If the shooter is slow to shoot or receives the ball with their back facing the goal, they should play the ball to the centerline for a first-time shot on goal.
Drill Variations

  • Add defensive players as passive defenders.
  • Add pressure as the players get comfortable with the passive defenders.
Drill Coaching Points

  • Make sure the server dribbles to the end line with speed, preps the ball towards the middle of the field to alert the attackers of the cross coming, and get hips turned towards goal before serving.
  • Make sure the attacking finishers make curved runs to their spots to time their runs into the 6-12 yard area as the ball is arriving.
  • Quick finish with a one-touch volley, header, or quick turn/shot.

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