9 FINISHING FOOTBALL DRILLS TO SCORE MORE GOALS
HOW TO TRAIN SHOOTING IN FOOTBALL WITH TRAINING DRILLS
Learn how to improve your shooting in soccer.
Included, the best finishing training drills used by the top academies.
How do I train finishing?
If you can shoot correctly, you will score more goals. Is that simple.
Great players are able to shoot at goal and finish with a goal in every situation:
- Under pressure
- Long distance
- Penalties
- Free kicks
- Tap in easy goals
- Etc
In this article you’re going to learn the best shooting and finishing football training drills and exercises we use in the morning training in Alicante Football Academy.
HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR SHOOTING AND FINISHING IN FOOTBALL
The main key component to be able to improve your shooting and finishing in soccer is to make a good contact with the ball.
It might sound easy, but if you’ve played in real game, you’ll know that there are many factors that can make you have a bad contact with the ball:
- The opponents pressure
- The speed of the ball
- Hard bounces
- General pressure
- Etc
The way to improve this is to learn to follow the trajectory of with your eyes and anticipate where the ball will be, so you can follow through with the swing of your leg and contact the ball in the correct spot.
Another important point, is to master every type of shoot you can do, like curved shots with the inside or outside of the foot, knuckleballs, chips, and more.
In our academy, we put a lot on emphasis on this, because once the players can learn what we’ve explained above, they’re able to make a better contact with the ball and make it go exactly where they want, which is exactly in the back of the net with a perfect finish!
- Power Shooting Soccer Drills
- Accuracy Finishing Football Drills
- Long Shooting Football Drills
- Soccer Free Kick Drills
It’s crucial that you practise these shooting and finishing soccer drills and exercises with your team and by yourself. That’s the only way you will be able to stimulate your brain and body enough to feel comfortable in a game situation.
The objective is that you’re able to get so good at these finishing aspects of your game that they come out natural, without thinking, and in Alicante Football Academy we always encourage both types of training:
Shooting/finishing training with your team
Group
When you do shooting football training with a group or your team you have to try to focus on doing game-like exercises.
Added to this, you will have a goalkeeper that you can make as a point reference to go past him with a great shot.
Also, take advantage of being with people and ask the defenders to play 1v1 with you to improve your dribbling and finishing!
Shooting/finishing training by yourself
Alone
When you’re by yourself you can still train your shooting skills and game.
Focus on learning the mechanics of a shot and making a great contact with the ball when you finish in goal.
Also, this is the time to work on your composure and nerve so you can make a good shot regardless of the situation in the game.
THE BEST SHOOTING AND FINISHING FOOTBALL TRAINING EXERCISES AND DRILLS
The best shooting and finishing soccer drills are power shot exercises, accuracy finishing drills, long shot drills and free kick training.
Because you want to improve your shooting and soccer finishing skills, we’ve compiled the best exercises, targeting each part of the game, to perform alone and with others so you can become a great defender as fast as possible!
Power Shooting Soccer Drills
Power can be a very strong weapon in your game, not just with your shooting, but with everything.
If you shot is powerful enough, keeper won’t be able to react or stop your shot and you’ll be able to score goals from many different angles and distances.
Power finishing exercises with your team
Group
Get a winger to give a good easy high cross from the side of the field.
Then, you simply have to try to make the correct contact with the ball and hit it as hard as possible.
Keep in mind that, in a game, with a type of cross like this, you’ll want to hit the ball softer but with more technique. But here, we’re trying to improve your shot power and technique at the same time.
If you’re able to connect correctly and hard, then a normal shot where the ball is in the floor will be way easier for you!
Power finishing exercises alone
Alone
The 5 second shot drill is great! Start in any position of the field, and shot the ball as high as possible.
Then, once the ball comes down, you have 5 seconds to shoot! The objective is to bring the ball under control quick, then dribble until second 5 and shoot as hard as possible, and of course, score a goal!
The reason this drill improves your shooting power is because you will be slightly tired of doing the control and dribbling, so you’re putting your body in a more game-like realistic situation where you will still need power to score your shot.
Accuracy Finishing Football Drills
Now we go from power to accuracy. Having both in a shot would be great, but is a reality that the more power the less accuracy and vice versa.
Sometimes you need to make a very accurate finish on the side of the goal to go around the keeper.
This is crucial because, in a game, there will be more situation where you’ll need and accurate shot, rather than a powerful one.
Accuracy finishing drills with a team
Group
Do 1v1’s with the keeper, but start your sprint from the center of the field.
This way, by the time you get to the keeper you will be a bit fatigued and it will test your decision making and composure in a more game-like realistic way.
This is also trying to mimic a counter attack situation.
The objective is not to dribble around the keeper, but rather to try to shoot and finishing around him (or between the legs).
Tactical defensive exercises alone
Alone
Let’s have some fun with a game!
Get a jacket or a cone and place it in different parts of the goal, high or low, and try to hit it doing different types of shots.
This is your chance to try to hit the ball with different parts of your foot to see which is the more accurate way you can hit the target.
Also, try it from different parts of the field so you can be ready to score and accurate goal from any part of the field!
Long Shooting Football Drills
Sometimes, a game is too congested and needs a long distance shot to break the tie!
Long distance shots normally look scary because you don’t want to embarrass yourself by not working the keeper, but you’ll be surprised with the amount of times that keepers are not in the correct place in the goal.
So take advantage of this!
Long shooting soccer drills with a team
Group
Always practice 2v2’s and 3v3’s so you can work on off-the-ball movements to try to break the defensive line and find spaces to finish.
The trick is trying to score as fast as possible, from outside the area, so time the actions and see which group can achieve this!
Here you’re in a hard situation with defenders covering spaces, so you’ll need to find space for yourself to find a shot and work the keeper!
Long shooting football exercises alone
Alone
Take shots from the middle of the pitch. Is that simple. Why not?
This way, you’ll be able to get used to the feeling and be more aware of this when you’re in a game, so you can perhaps surprise the keeper and score for very far.
Another thing we recommend you to do is to learn to shoot with a knuckleball, which is an effect on the ball that makes it move inconsistently, so you can be a nightmare for keepers and finishing for afar!
Soccer Free Kick Drills
If you can become a free kick specialist in your team you’ll have more points to be unquestionable in the starting 11 squad!
Nowadays, there are many fouls in the game, so you’ll have many changes to score more goals.
Free kick football drills with a team
Group
In our academy we always practise strategic free kicks to be able to confuse the keeper.
Put a real wall with many players and have different situations, like a player going over the ball, a player making a dummy to shot before you do it yourself, fake a cross instead of a shot and then shoot. Anything you can imagine to confuse the keeper!
Free kick football exercises alone
Alone
Learn to take free kicks that go over the wall and test the keeper. Every player should be able to do this because it help you create the mind-foot connection to make a good strike with the ball.
No need for keeper or for a wall, just image everything, and make a good shot at goal!
HOW TO SHOOT IN SOCCER
To shoot correctly at goal and do a good finishing you have to make sure your steps towards the ball are performed in a coordinated way, and that you’re not close or too far from the ball when making contact.
Also, is important that you make a correct contact with the ball, with the correct part of your foot, depending of the type of shot you’ve chosen to do.
You also need to learn the different types of shots there are and master them.
Finally, you need to follow through with the swing of your left towards the goal so the ball can follow the trajectory correctly.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT SHOOTING TRAINING EXERCISES AND DRILLS
What is the best shooting football drill?
There’s so many exercises out there, but we think the 2v2 or 3v3 to try to score at the goal fast and from a long distance is great because you have defenders coverting, pressure with the timer, is hard to score, and you have other players whom you can pass so they can take a shot, so there are many variables that will make you improve!
How long should I train finishing for?
A complete finishing soccer session should be around 45 minutes long. The session could be split into power shots, long distance shots, accuracy finishing and free kicks, with team mates as well as individual exercises!
How many times a week should I train shooting and finishing for?
A good number is 2 times a week, and if is possible, 4 times a week is optimal.
The important part is to make the most out of the session with the tips we’ve given you in the article.
FOOTBALL ACADEMY GUIDES
Have you ever felt lost trying to understand how to get into a football team?
Do you want to join a football academy?
In this guide we explain the most common ways to get into a team in Spain fast and how we help you in the process in Alicante Football Academy.
Have you ever been in a football trial?
Do you want to attend one and get signed for a football academy?
In this guide we explain all there is to know about about this and how we help you in the process in Alicante Football Academy.
Do you know what you have to do to get scouted?
How can you make scouts come to watch you play?
In this guide we explain how you can get scouted and how we help you in the process in Alicante Football Academy.
Have you ever felt you need to train better to become a good footballer?
Do you want to bring your training sessions to another level?
In this guide we explain the best exercises, used by the best academies in the world, that we do in our morning trainings.
Have you ever wanted to get even faster?
Do you want to be the difference in every game and go past all your opponents?
In this guide we explain how we train speed in the academy and how you can score more football goals every game!
Have you ever wanted to become a better defender?
Do you want to be a strong, imposing defender that can lead a game?
In this guide we explain how we train defending in the academy and the best defending soccer drills to do alone and with your team!
Have you ever felt you need learn hot to train better by yourself?
Do you want to bring your individual training sessions to another level?
In this guide we explain the best individual exercises to do by yourself, used by the best academies in the world, that we encourage our players to do in their trainings.
Have you ever felt lost trying to understand how to become a footballer?
Do you want to become a footballer fast?
In this guide we explain the most common ways to get into a team in fast and how we help you become a pro footballer.
Have you ever felt lost trying to understand how to train a possession?
The possession exercise is undoubtedly one of the most efficient football exercises to become good in the modern game. Why?
