with Butch Lauffer,
West Texas A&M University Head Soccer Coach;
over 500 career wins;
3x Lone Star Conference Champions;
Finished 2018 season with a 17-3-3 overall record (best in program history);
2018 United Soccer Coaches South Central Coaching Staff of the Year;
2x NCAA Midwest Region Coach of the Year (2001, 2009);
USSF 'A' license, Grade 1 coaching license (Irish Football Association), Class 'A' License (United European Football Assoc.), UEFA pro license (Scottish Football Association);
2008 Trinidad and Tobago Under-17 Women's National Team Assistant Coach
Effective crossing and finishing is the bedrock of all successful soccer programs. In this video, Butch Lauffer, head soccer coach at West Texas A&M University, takes viewers through multiple attacking drills designed to help coaches develop effective attacking strategies for their teams.
In this comprehensive instructional video, viewers will learn, 1) How to effectively time runs, 2) Overlapping and underlapping on the wing, and 2) Entry passes and changeovers.
Timing Runs, Overlapping / Underlapping On The Wing
In this segment of the video, Lauffer discusses important coaching cues to look for to stress the concept of effective crossing from the wings. These cues include how players positioned off-the-ball must time their runs and how to effectively frame the goal to provide targets for the crosser. There’s also a valuable discussion on when to play the ball back out, depending on where a player fields it in the box.
As the video transitions into the segment on overlapping and underlapping on the wing, viewers get a detailed explanation on how the ability to control play on the flanks sets up a variety of options for passes and crosses into the box.
Lauffer demonstrates several excellent overlap and underlap drills to help players learn how to create different opportunities to attack from the wings. By alternating from overlapping to underlapping runs, players learn key techniques for maintaining their attacking shape, while creating a variety of attacking options that are difficult to defend.
Entry Passes, Changeover and Shot Segment
As the video transitions, there is a discussion on the importance of having high players attack as an effective strategy for playing to goal. Coach Lauffer demonstrates this by showcasing how he uses a target forward positioned with his back to the goal and set up in a premium position to lay the ball off to players running into the attack for quick 1-2 combinations and 1 touch shots.
This segment is packed with crossing and finishing exercises designed to teach players how to creatively attack and finish in the final third of the field. By providing drills and their variations, coaches will learn how to teach players several different strategies for keeping defenders off-balance, while creating quick and dangerous scoring opportunities.
This video is a good resource for intermediate and advanced coaches looking to add high-quality finishing drills to their practice arsenals!
55 minutes, 2022.
