U14 Corner Kicks Exercise

CORNER KICKS

Corner Kicks: Corner kicks are treated like a form of free kick, so the 10-yard rule and 2-touch rule apply to these kicks. Players below age 10 often do not have the leg strength to get an accurate ball to goal, and the receiving players often do not have the heading or chest-trapping expertise to get the ball into the net if an air ball is sent in. As a result, until these abilities are developed, coaches often rely on the "short corner.” A short corner is accomplished by having the player who is taking the corner kick to pass the ball to a teammate who is inside the 10-yard limit. This player may relay the ball to another teammate standing at the top of the box, or may try to dribble the ball in towards the upper edge of the box in order to take a shot.

There are two ways to defend against the short corner. The first is to put a defender parallel to the target player, and to have the defender rush the target as soon as the ball is passed. The second, which is often employed together with the first, is to have the other defenders push up (i.e., move towards the opponents goal) as soon as the ball is passed. The hope is that, by pushing up and pressuring the ball, the target player will panic and pass the ball back to the original kicker who will be offside.

Of course, many teams will elect to send a lofted ball into the box, even with minimal skill at air ball receiving, in the hopes that they will get a garbage score in the resulting confusion in front of the goal. To reduce this confusion, it is useful to assign specific duties to the defending players. The wing defenders typically will be assigned to stand inside the goal posts in order to narrow the goal and clear any balls coming to the corners. The center defender and sweeper, if used, typically will take the central area. The nearside wing mid (the wing mid on whose side the kick is being taken) will cover the short corner and mist-kicks, while the far-side wing will collect balls, which go completely across the goal. Depending on the number of players on the field, and the numbers sent up by the opponents, the forwards might come in to help defend the corner. If possible, however, at least one forward should be positioned about midway between the goal and the midline to serve as an outlet if your team gets the ball. It is even nicer to have another forward who is wide of the last defender, to whom your outlet player can make a quick relay. However, of course, it is often best to err on the side of caution, so this ideal situation is not always possible.

As teams gain experience in handling air balls, the attackers will start to congregate players towards the far side of the box and then rush the goal as the ball is being played in. This makes it harder for the defenders to mark them, and makes it easier to time a run to connect with the incoming ball. In order to defend against these tactics, the wing defenders and wing midfielders continue in their coverage assignments, while teammates mark the incoming attackers either ball-side (meaning between the ball and the attacker) or ball-side/goal-side (slightly ahead of the attacker, but stationed between him and the goal). This type of marking will help to prevent the attackers from getting possession of the ball inside the critical central area of the goal and/or restrict the angle of any shot due to the presence of the defender.

When practicing corner kicks, it is important to practice from both sides regardless of the age of the players since things "feel" differently on different sides. Additionally, younger players are very literal and cannot make the mental adjustment to simply "mirror" your instructions for the other side. This literal-mindedness will be seen in many other contexts also. For example, an instruction for defenders to stay behind the midline may result in a defender who allows a ball to come to rest just inches from his feet, but will not play it because it is over the midline and in "forbidden" territory. It does not mean that the players are stupid or playing dumb out of spite; just that their brains are still developing, so they do not think like adults.