Free kick routine for youth soccer

A simple free kick routine for youth soccer moves the ball a few yards sideways before the shot. One player runs over the ball as a decoy, a second rolls it sideways, and a third shoots first time, low toward the near post. The wall was lined up for a shot from where the ball started, so from the new spot the near post is open. It needs one player who can strike a moving ball firmly and two who can time a pass and a run.

Why it works

From around 25 yards out, most youth players can't bend a ball over a wall and under the bar. The defense knows that, so the wall and the keeper set up for a straight shot from the spot of the kick: the wall covers the near post side and the keeper covers the rest. Their positions only make sense for that one spot.

Rolling the ball a few yards sideways changes the angle. The wall has to keep its distance until the ball is in play, and by the time it reacts, the shooter is already striking. A low shot is the better choice here. It's easier for a young player to keep on target, and a keeper who is moving across finds a low ball harder to stop than one at chest height.

The decoy run helps the timing. When one player runs over the ball as if to shoot, the wall and keeper brace for a shot, and they are a moment slower to react to the pass. The Laws of the Game allow a feint like this, as long as the decoy doesn't touch the ball.

Setting up the free kick routine

Put the passer and the decoy over the ball, the decoy a step further back so their run carries them past it. The shooter waits a few yards to the side, level with or slightly behind the ball, so they can run onto the pass rather than wait for it. A couple of players go into the box to follow up a save or a block, and your back players stay back in case the defense clears it and breaks.

Because the shot comes after a teammate's touch, the routine also works on an indirect free kick. Agree on a word or signal so everyone knows it is coming.

Step by step

O attacks the goal on the right and has a free kick about 25 yards out, to the right of center. D has a wall of three, with D5 lined up on the near post, and the keeper covering the far side.

O10 runs over the ball as if to shoot and carries on into the box without touching it. The wall and the keeper stay set.

O7 rolls the ball sideways into O8's path, and O8 runs onto it.

O8 shoots first time, low toward the near post. The wall was lined up for the old spot, so the shot goes outside D5 at the end of the wall.

Goal. The keeper moved across too late. O1, O2 and O3 stayed back in case the defense won the ball.

To practice it, walk through the routine with no wall first, so the passer learns how hard to roll it and the shooter learns when to start running. The pass should arrive just in front of the shooter, at a pace they can hit without taking a touch. Then add a wall of cones or players and a keeper. If the shooter keeps arriving early, have them start their run only when the passer's foot meets the ball. The corner kick routine uses the same idea of every player knowing their run before the kick.

The full play

You can take this playbook into your own account and change it for your team, for example to roll the ball the other way for a left footed shooter. If the defense starts rushing out at the pass, the same setup works with a straight shot by O10 instead of the decoy.

If you coach a youth or rec team, you can also put your roster on Playspedia so everyone knows who is playing each week.