Teaching Football Skills Understanding the Game Practice Game Condition Players must “dribble and shoot” when they are in or near the opponents’ penalty area. Key Words • Use Your Moves • Go To Goal Principle 4: Use Your Wings There is plenty of space on the field. However, teams will often fail to make good use of this space. One of the typical mistakes is playing the ball too much up the middle of the field where the greatest concentration of defenders are waiting to tackle or intercept. It is often effective to play the ball wide to the wings, and attack down the side of the field before moving toward the goal. Practice Game Condition The ball must go out to the wing during an attack, for a goal to be scored. Key Words • Play Wide Principle 5: Shoot Whenever You Have a Good Opportunity Although football is a passing game, once a player has any reasonable chance to score, they need to shoot, even if there is another player in a better position. A pass to a teammate may result in an interception or loss of ball control. Practice Game Condition To encourage shooting, award one point for any shot on goal that requires a save from the goalkeeper and three points for a goal. Key Words • If You Have A Chance, Shoot Special Olympics Football Coaching Guide Created: February 2004 111